Today’s reflection is another wise post from retreat presenter Fr. Michael Schleupner. Are you familiar with the roots of the word ‘opportunity’? This visual described below can be a great reminder for us to evaluate and take advantage of our opportunities in life, based on guidance from Scripture. Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. Matthew 22:1-10
The Word Opportunity
Today’s gospel has led me to learn something about the word opportunity. What I learned is that before the days of modern, deep-water harbors, like the Baltimore or the New York harbor, before the days of these deep-water harbors, a ship had to wait for high tide before it could sail into port. It would wait outside the harbor. The captain would judge when it was just the right time to ride the tide into port. Then he would signal the crew, and they would get started.
In Latin, there was a term for this: ob portu. These two Latin words, ob portu – spelled O-B and P-O-R-T-U – they literally mean outside the port. Our English word opportunity is derived from these words. The idea is that the captain of a ship outside the port had to be ready for the opportunity to move.
If he missed this window, he would have to wait for the next tide. So, our word opportunity means a chance to do something that might not happen again or at least not soon again.
Our Opportunities
Jesus is concerned today about opportunities and especially missed opportunities. He tells the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. The invited guests decline the invitation. It seems as if some are just too absorbed in their own lives to pay any attention to this. Others think that their work must take priority. And some are angry that they are even bothered with this invitation, and they become violent. Now, the passage says that Jesus is speaking this parable to some of the religious leaders of his day.
His point is that some of those to whom God first offered the gift of salvation missed this opportunity to be close to God and part of God’s kingdom. Today, the parable cautions us to be alert to opportunities where we can find God or make God’s kingdom more alive.
Opportunities Lost and Found
For example, parents may regret that they did not go to more of their children’s games or concerts or dance performances. If that is the case, today they might find other opportunities to be with their children and even their grandchildren.
Right now, we are all aware of the horrific violence in the Middle East. We might be seeing this at a distance as only the age-old hostility between the Palestinians and the Jews. If so, I suggest we might see this as an opportunity to look more deeply. It is an opportunity for us to look at anti-Semitic, anti-Islamic, or anti-black, anti-Asian, or anti-Hispanic sentiments right here and maybe within ourselves.
We can use this as an opportunity to see the senselessness of prejudice and hatred and the violence that comes from that. We might see that the large-scale violence we are now witnessing on TV starts with individuals and our relationships. And with this awareness, we can use this today as an opportunity to pray. We ask for God’s grace to bring healing and reconciliation to us and everyone.
A final example about opportunities. We may become aware that we have just been slipping in our relationship with God or even neglecting it. We may have gotten use to watching Mass at home – and get me right, I am glad we have livestreaming for those who cannot be there especially for health reasons. But maybe we’ve been consistently missing the opportunity to be there for the full celebration of the Eucharist and for receiving Communion.
And with this awareness, we can now resolve to accept this wonderful opportunity, unlike some of the folks in today’s gospel. We can resolve to be part of this spiritual banquet where we sacramentally receive Jesus.
Conclusion
The point is that there can be ‘ob portu’ or kingdom of God opportunities in our lives.
We don’t want to miss them. Instead, we want to be like the captain of ships of long ago and be ready to sail into port with the high tide.
~Fr. Michael Schleupner
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