November 4, 2013 Invite the poor Lk 14:12-14 [On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.] 12He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. 13Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 14blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Reflection: Invite the poor. Jesus is not prescribing us a way of making our guest list. He is telling us to love the unlovable and to give a place for them not only around our table but also in our hearts. When we love those who seem to be unlovable and cannot repay us, we show them the love of God that is agape, a love that loves people not because they deserve to be loved but because God is love and truly loving. That is the kind of love we have received and continue to receive from God. That is also the kind of love we must pass on to others. Do you reach out to the poor, the unattractive, the powerless, those who will not be able to repay you? Or do you do good only to those from whom you can get something in return? Be like God, for you are God’s child!
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 09:27:44 +0000