Gospel: Luke 14:12-14
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:
Who do you normally invite when you have a banquet in your home?
The leading Pharisee who invited Jesus was obviously well-known and powerful. Thus, we can surmise that his circle of friends was naturally well-known and powerful as well. Jesus knew this, which is why He gave the Pharisee something to think about—or food for thought—regarding the matter of inviting guests.
Jesus said to him; when you have a lunch or a dinner. Do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Wow! This is very hard to do for the Pharisee and for us as well!
How could we invite them when they are not inside our circle of friends? How could we invite them when most of them live in an environment foreign to our environment? How could we invite them when they are not externally presentable and there are many more reasons not to invite them.
If we don’t invite them, we are judging them already based on what we see about them. And most of the time what we see on them is unpleasant and not worthy for our very judgmental eyes. But we don’t see the heart of the poor, the cripple, the outcast and the blind. If only we could see what’s in their hearts, it’s none other than Jesus, Jesus dwells in their hearts.
Let us seriously take note of these
teachings of Jesus because when we invite them we are actually inviting Jesus
to come to our homes. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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