Luke 14:12-24
He 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 neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.”’
Are we taking up God's invitation?
In today's passage, the dinner scene with Jesus continues. He finishes telling off his hosts, flipping the customary logic of inviting people who would invite you back and offering instead the logic of the Kingdom – privilege the poor, the outcasts, and the oppressed. The scene is almost comedic. Jesus finishes his critique, and someone trying to keep the conversation going takes one of the last things Jesus says and offers a tangential connection. But Jesus's response doesn't let anyone off the hook. He offers a critique of those who think they're righteous, that they're in. Those are the guests who offer excuses (which would have been seen as very thin and inappropriate in the social context of the time). Instead, the invitation goes out far and wide and people are compelled to come and to feast – to experience the grace God has to offer.
What kind of excuses do we offer to God to not come in and experience grace? Do we extend the invitation to those considered "unacceptable," or only those who have "earned" grace? How could we follow the Master of the Banquet more into expressions of reckless grace?