Gospel: Luke
14:12-14
On a sabbath Jesus went to
dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who
invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or
your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case
they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a
banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed
will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at
the resurrection of the righteous.”
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Reflection:
Have you noticed that there’s a greater
feeling of satisfaction when you give to the poor than when you give to someone
who could repay you? If you have not done this yet just try doing it so that
you would feel it.
For example, try preparing two
sets of the same food; you give one to your neighbor and the other one you give
to the poor. Notice immediately the deeper feeling of grace and fulfillment that
will set-in to your heart after you’ve given the food to the poor.
Why is this so? Because the
poor, the unwanted and the less fortunate of our society are closest to the
heart of Jesus. In-fact Jesus Himself told a story about the last judgment
where the king said: ‘Truly I say to you: just as you did it for one of the least
of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me (Matthew 25:40).’
In our gospel for this Monday,
Jesus was invited to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees and while there
Jesus gave them a food for thought or something to think about and ponder.
Jesus said this to the host
who invited Him: “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends
or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in
case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a
banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed
will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at
the resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:12-14).”
This loaded and meaningful lecture
of Jesus is not only for the host who invited Him this is also for us. We who
sometimes or oftentimes forget the poor and the abandoned in favor of those who
could pay us back. And we who oftentimes discriminate upon the less fortunate
of our society.
Let us reflect on this for
Jesus is speaking to us through our gospel. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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