4th Wednesday of Lent (April 2). DINNER GUESTS

Prepare to Listen.  I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 14:12-24
12He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.  13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.  14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’  15One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’  16Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.  17At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.”  18But they all alike began to make excuses.  The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.”  19Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.”  20Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.”  21So the slave returned and reported this to his master.  Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.”  22And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.”  23Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.  24For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.”’
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
Parables are intended to make us think, especially about ourselves.  What does this make you think about yourself?
 
His host, said Jesus, had invited the wrong people, his own kind who could repay him.  Instead, Jesus said, invite “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,” those who can’t repay you, and you will be blessed.  One of the Pharisee guests spoke up for his host, correcting Jesus: “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”  Jesus could have argued with him, proving his point with Scripture, such as, “Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9).  Or Isaiah, who maintained God expects us to share our bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into our homes (58:7).  Instead, he told another parable.
 
Someone, probably a wealthy landowner, invited his rich neighbors, the sort Jesus warned his host not to invite to a great dinner.  Thus, the someone isn’t God or Jesus.  We know these men were rich from their excuses. They all rejected the invitation, infuriating, even shaming the host.  But it also dramatically changed his heart.  He sent his slave to “bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame,” the very people Jesus said should have been invited.  The slave had already done so, but the table still wasn’t full.  He was sent out again to compel, coerce people to come in and fill the house.
 
The parable concludes with a dire warning, left unexplained, “For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.”  Unlike Matthew’s similar parable (22:1-14), Luke’s isn’t about the kingdom, a wedding banquet or final judgment.  Put yourself in this parable.  Who are you and what is the challenge for you now?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord Jesus, your ways are always more demanding than the ways of the world, and always more difficult to live.  Show me who I am in this parable and how I can live more in line with your ways.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Practice welcoming the outcasts.