The Invitation List

Gospel: Luke 14: 12-14

The invitation to our dinner parties are exactly like those described by Jesus.  We invite our relatives and those we wish to impress.  We use the occasion to promote ourselves and advance in social position.  The meal is not really an occasion to come to know another person but rather one of our own self-interest.  This is often the case when it comes to whom we invite and allow in church as well.  We seek out the big donor and those who can be of advantage to the church's bottom line.

But how different are the values of Jesus! He instructs us to invite the poor and lonely and lame - those who truly need the meal and human companionship.  Jesus invites us to use the meal as it is intended to be: a place of hospitality, an opportunity for encounter with another person, an occasion for meeting God in the soul of another person.  The meal is not to be an occasion for self-promotion and self-interest; it is an opportunity for self-giving and encounter with God.

Our entire culture is about self-interest and self-promotion.  Our education and professional worlds preach this without end.  Modern religion is largely about egocentric spiritualities as well.  But the message of Jesus is the exact opposite of this worldly message.  It is the path of self-renunciation and self-denial for the sake of others.  It is a path of encountering the other person and in so doing encountering God as well.