Gospel in Art: A man once gave a great banquet and invited many

Van Gogh's Chair, by Vincent van Gogh 1888 © National Gallery, London

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 3 November 2026
Luke 14:15-24

At that time: One of those who reclined at table with Jesus said to him, 'Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!'

But he said to him, 'A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, "Come, for everything is now ready." But they all alike began to make excuses.

The first said to him, "I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me." And another said, "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please excuse me."

And another said, "I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come."

So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, "Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame."

And the servant said, "Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room." And the master said to the servant, "Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet." '

Reflection on the painting

In November, we remember those who once sat at our tables and whose chairs are now empty. We recall their voices, their favourite stories, perhaps even the dishes they always liked us to cook. Our faith gives us room both to miss them and to hope for them. So there is something particularly comforting about the image of heaven in today's Gospel: a banquet, with people gathered around a table. A meal is such a familiar expression of belonging: there is a place for us, someone is pleased we have come, and there is time to enjoy being together.

Jesus tells of a man whose banquet is ready, but whose invited guests suddenly find other things to do. Anyone who has prepared a meal only to receive a last-minute cancellation will recognise something of his disappointment! Yet the host is determined to share what he has prepared. He sends his servant to bring in the poor, people with disabilities, and those who are blind or unable to walk. The very people who might never have expected an invitation discover that a place has been made for them. This is the picture Jesus gives us of God: a host who wants his house to be full. All of us here on earth still have to accept his invitation, every day: will we accept, or will we make excuses?

An empty chair can indeed be one of the most poignant reminders that someone is no longer with us. The rest of the room may be just as it was, but that familiar seat brings their absence home. One of the most famous paintings of this simple subject is Van Gogh's Chair, painted in December 1888. A yellow wooden chair with a woven straw seat stands on a floor of reddish tiles, with the artist's pipe and tobacco resting where he would normally sit. Van Gogh painted it while sharing the house in Arles with Paul Gauguin, hoping to establish a community of artists. He also painted Gauguin's chair: a more elaborate armchair, with books and a burning candle upon its seat. The two pictures became portraits without people, suggesting something of each man through his furniture and belongings. Their time together lasted just nine weeks before their relationship broke down and Gauguin left. These ordinary chairs carry the memory of a companionship that proved painfully brief.

Although these paintings were not memorials to someone who had died, they help us understand how deeply a person's presence can become attached to an everyday object. We recognise this in a parent's armchair, a grandparent's place at Sunday lunch, or the kitchen chair where a friend always settled for a chat. This November, those empty places may bring both gratitude and tears. Today's Gospel offers us another image to hold alongside them: a table being prepared for them in Heaven. As we remember those whose chairs are empty here, we pray that now they may be seated at God's banquet.

LINKS

Christian Art: www.christian.art
Today's reading: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-14-15-24-2026/