I suppose all of us take celebrations for granted from time to time.

Where I live, in wine country, there seems to be a fancy fundraising event every week. Each one features rare wines, food prepared by a celebrated chef, and exotic items sold through a silent auction. When we first moved to Napa, we attended these events eagerly. Now we great each invitation with a yawn.

My children are addicted to birthday parties, and each time an invitation from one of their classmates arrives at our home, I roll my eyes and say to myself, "Here we go again" --- the usual routine of games, cake and goody bags. Even weddings can be perceived as a chore --- in spite of the fact the celebrations are usually elaborate and carefully planned to delight the guests. Why wouldn't we always great these celebrations with enthusiasm and gratitude?

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells his followers that the kingdom of heaven is like a king who gives a wedding feast for his son, but none of the people invited to the feast can be bothered to attend. The king is outraged that his friends and subjects are not eager to attend his feast. And so the king orders his servants to find anyone who is willing, rich or poor, and invite them to the feast. The hall is quickly filled.

Why do we take celebrations and parties for granted? Probably for a combination of reasons. We get busy. We think we may have more important things to do. We might think that if we skip one, another will come along when we are more interested.

And perhaps we take this attitude toward the kingdom of heaven as well. After all, God's invitation to us is open all the time. But at least part of the message of today's Gospel is that at some point even God will lose patience with ungrateful people.

In his book "Mere Christianity," C.S. Lewis says a problem with human beings is that "we are far too easily pleased." We shun the riches and richness that God offers us in favor of the small pleasures of material security, achievement and beauty. God offers us eternal joy. We are like children playing in a mud puddle, Lewis says, while some is trying to tell us we could have an endless holiday at the seashore. The metaphor Jesus uses to describe the kingdom of heaven is that of a lavish feast, where our every desire is satisfied. How could we pass that up?

"On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples," today's first reading tells us. "A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines… The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face."

God's promises are indeed lavish. It seems silly, really, that we would choose anything over the invitation to follow Jesus Christ. But if you're like me, you make that silly choice several times a day, at the very least. I choose to be preoccupied with my career, my finances and my family's comfort rather than choose to love my neighbor. It seems too risky to choose Christ over my own well being.

But the real risk, in the end, is to choose otherwise. We might take celebrations for granted, but to ignore the invitation of God to the greatest banquet of them all is to risk too much.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.