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You Need a Reason.

I preside at weddings, but I do not go to wedding receptions. I typically only know the bride and groom, and I cannot hang out with them the whole time. I would sit at a table of folks I do not know, and after a few drinks, they always grip, “I can’t understand why priests can’t get married.” I tell them, “I think it is a good suggestion and that I will tell the Pope the next time he calls me for advice.” Then the Village People start singing, and everyone goes to the dance floor, and I sit there alone wondering why I accepted the invitation. Yet last year I accepted an invitation to a wedding reception, and this is why. I run road races with the bride and groom. Plus, they invited all my friends. My point is that you need a reason to accept an invitation.

After my first year as a priest, I went on a retreat. My director, a priest, asked me how the year went. I told him that I could sum up my experience as learning to put out the fires. If the roof leaked, I fixed it, if the boiler broke, I fixed it. If someone’s heart broke, I tried to fix it. He told me that would change soon. He then shared his experience. He said that on the day of his ordination, they handed him an envelope with his first assignment. When he opened it and read it, he couldn’t even pronounce the location’s name. He flew halfway around the planet, got into a jeep, and drove three hours on a dirt road. When he arrived, there were no paved roads, no running water, no church, no school, and I didn’t understand the dialect. He told me that for the first time in his life, I felt truly alone.”

Twenty years later, he told me, “I received a second envelope: my next assignment. When I was ready to go, I turned around to look at the place one last time. I saw roads, running water, a beautiful church, a vibrant faith and many people crying because they did not want me to go. Then I heard God say to me. Take a good look at what we did together.”

Everyone is invited to the heavenly banquet, but not everyone will accept the invitation. You need a reason. If you hear God tell you, “Look at what we did together,” you will have your reason.  

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