Luke 14:12-14

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed. - Luke 14:13-14a

I remember when growing up going to my grandparents home for Christmas Day. There would be the adults seated at the dining room table and the kids would be at one or two card tables in the living room. There must have been at least forty of us gathered around tables for the Christmas feast prepared. After we prayed the table prayer, we would descend upon the feast; food passed around and soon after the forks and knives would be clinking, and then a long silence of food being consumed. It was only a matter of minutes when we’d all be done, except for Grandma, of course, as she was the one to get food on the table, and besides that, she was the slowest eater. Grandma would get angry with us that we didn’t take more time eating our food, especially since, it took hours to prepare.

We all knew one another, of course - grandparents, parents and kids, aunts and uncles, and cousins. But once in a while, during the holidays, Grandma would invite a guest to dine with us that we didn’t know. He may have been a long-lost cousin or even a stranger none of us knew, but Grandma met and knew that this “stranger” had nowhere else to celebrate the holiday.

Jesus says that when we put on a banquet that we are to invite people we do not know or would normally not invite. We are to especially invite those the rest of society would consider as undesirables, outcasts, or needy. In other words, Jesus does not want the forgotten ones to remain forgotten. God knows them and loves them and desires the best for them. In other words, no one is a stranger in the kingdom of God. All are welcome! Jesus’ mission that he has passed on to us, is to reach out to those with which we normally would not associate.

Let us pray: Your reign reaches to the far corners of the earth, O Lord, and touches every life. Infuse us with your Spirit of hospitality to welcome all in your wide embrace of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.