Luke 14:1, 7-14 (NRSV)
Read Luke 14:1, 7-14 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 14On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
Verse 7When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. Verse 8"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; Verse 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. Verse 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. Verse 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Verse 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 neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. Verse 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Verse 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Devotion
Can the Bible remind us too many times or in too many ways of the expansiveness of God's love? The first parable turns our imagination and vision to any places or people we might consider beneath us. God loves us all. The second parable gives us a wide angle lens to see the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Jesus makes clear that we are all loved. Because we are loved together we can come to know that we all depend on God for everything. We all fail to see completely all that God does for us.
The gospel is not merely about seeing this love. The parables ask us to plunge in—take a seat at the low end of the table. Invite those who can never repay the invitation. Stretch. Trust. Be opened to God’s presence in astonishing places. When we live toward these neighbors we learn to know the breadth and depth of God's love for all God's people—and we know our complete dependence on God more vividly for ourselves.
Prayer
Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus. Amen.