Danger of Lame Excuses!

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Rom 12:5-16ab; Lk 14:15-24

Today’s Gospel highlights the danger of lame excuses.

Jesus tells a parable that lets us understand the generosity of the host and the thankless behaviour of his guests at the same time.

A comprehensive understanding of the passage requires a closer examination of the excuses given. 

The first one talks of the purchase of a new property, while the second one mentions the purchase of five yoke of oxen. The third one cites his marriage as the reason for skipping the dinner. 

At first glance, these excuses sound reasonable, but upon a closer examination, we discover that these excuses come masking their disrespect and indifference. In the first two instances, it is obvious that the examination of the land and the evaluation of the oxen could be postponed to a later date without any problem. The third man could have very well taken his wife to the dinner. 

But they don’t.

The host is more disappointed not by their absence, but by the sort of excuses they give. It is clear that the invitees suffer from misplaced priorities, and therefore, their excuses only point to their lack of reverence and disrespect towards the host. 

What aggravates their excuse-giving mindset is that they said ‘yes’ to the invitation at first. But when the time came to act on that ‘yes,’ they walked away from honouring their word. By not honouring their word, they only betray who they really are. Further, their excuses are proof that they were not really busy but tried to hide their disrespect and indifference under the pretext of business. 

Thus, they disqualify themselves by not being trustworthy. We must note that the host does not disqualify them. But on account of the excuses they make, the irresponsible invitees stand disqualified. 

The parable is a call to reexamine our priorities and ascertain if they should remain our priorities at all. The invitees thought that they had taught their host a lesson. But alas, by disrespecting and ignoring the generous invitation, they missed out on the joy of communion. 

As the parable helps us realize, we often fall out of God’s grace on our own accord. 

Let us pray that we may be people who say ‘yes’ to God not with our lips, but with our lives. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar