Posts
Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you will be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."
Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"
- Luke 14:12-24
On Saturday, we read that it happened, as Jesus went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" And they could not answer Him regarding these things. So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you will be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." Here is a continuation from the previous reading (above). Jesus' previous words were instructions about being a guest; here He shifts to the duties of a host. Of course, while the words are teachings on "gentle" behavior, they are also instructions and even chastisement to His dinner companions regarding the true life of the godly. My study bible says that "this instruction is based on the manner in which God treats us, even though not one of us could possibly repay Him (see 6:30-36). You shall be repaid: See 10:34-35." Let us remember that while the example is based on money or largesse, we also consider every gift we have when we think of giving. A smile, a kind act, a prayer, the sharing of a talent, spending time with someone -- all of these may work in the same ways to create community.
Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" My study bible suggests that this man is unwittingly declaring the ultimate beatitude. "The truth behind his words can come only through understanding the bread to be eternal communion with God."
Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'" Jesus sets the tone for a new parable, about the Kingdom. My study bible says that the parable works on two levels, illustrating both the first and second coming of Christ, who is this servant sent to gather many. Supper indicates evening, the end of the age. The people invited here are first the Jews, and then all mankind.
"But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' " These three excuses have been seen traditionally by the Fathers as having both a literal meaning -- that many are too attached to worldly considerations to accept the Kingdom of God (see also 18:29), and also spiritual meanings. My study bible says that "St. Ambrose sees the three excuses of I cannot come as representing the Gentile, the Jew, and the heretic. The Gentile's devotion to earthly wealth is represented by the piece of ground, the Jew's enslavement to the five books of the Law by the five yoke of oxen, and the heretic's espousal of error by the man refusing on account of his wife. Theophylact more generally associates the excuses with people devoted to earthly matters, to things pertaining to the five senses, and to all pleasures of the flesh."
"So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'" My study bible says that those who are in the streets and lanes are (1) the Gentiles who accepted Christ after He was rejected by those Jews who had no faith in Him, and (2) those outside the Church who replace those within who have rejected their own baptism. Clearly, the call goes out to all the world. The "highways and hedges" indicate every last one. We note finally the invitees are those who are outsiders because they are in some way suffering and afflicted (the poor, maimed, lame, blind), and those who are strangers (those in the highways and hedges).
I once read a novel by the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, titled "Things Fall Apart." To render the book's subject in a very hasty way, it is about the traditional religion and culture in an Ibo village in Nigeria, the coming of the Christian church via missionaries, and the colonial influence that has its effect on all relationships thereafter, including in the Church. There is plenty of criticism to go around. But reading closely, Achebe's story tells us -- at least to my mind -- precisely the essential point of Christ's parable here about those who are invited to the Supper. It also touches upon the themes we read in Saturday's reading, in which Jesus preached parables using the subject of hospitality. In the end, in Achebe's book, despite whatever bad influences were wrought by politics and power, the message of Christ was clear to those who were the outcast in the old religion or tradition. At Christ's table, everybody is invited. But as we see in today's parable of the great supper, those who are particularly invited in the end are the afflicted and outcast: the poor, maim, lame, blind, and the stranger. It's a message that we can't afford to forget. It is the ultimate message of mercy, and there is more to it as well. We see in this action the great justice of God, wherein, as in Mary's canticle, God has "lifted up the lowly." This song of Mary is in Luke's chapter 1, and it sets a tone for the whole of the meaning of the Gospel, and the reality given to the world by the life and ministry of Jesus: that God's justice is mercy. But to know this mercy, and to value the gift requires of us a particular kind of insight, knowledge, discernment. It is still a revolutionary kind of concept. John the Baptist (also called Forerunner) sends the same message as Mary's song, when as herald he quotes from Isaiah, to "prepare the way of the Lord; and make His paths straight." In the image he gives, we see a similar understanding: "Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." With a geographical sort of metaphor, we see God's justice that is mercy itself. The arrogant are cast down, and the humble lifted, every valley filled and every mountain and hill brought low. In this Great Supper of reckoning, so much depends on where mercy finds mercy. It's not just a simple understanding of haves and have-nots. This is not, despite the analogies, a simple equation based on worldly, material, monetary understanding. Jesus has also taught us in the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." To lose out in this Kingdom, at this Great Supper, it is a consideration of the quality of mercy, and its absence. What are we more concerned with? How do we treat those we consider "less-than?" Those who can't pay us back, aren't of a social status we care about in our "group?" Those who can't get us ahead in some way? These considerations affect all classes of people everywhere. Let us remember that we all have our "poor and maim and lame and blind" and those outsiders who are in the "highways and hedges." This reality overshadows every group, every little community, every social structure, and it is meant for consideration by each of us individually. It isn't simply a "macro" picture of country, and it's not just about money, because money can be given without ever touching the heart. It is about who we are, in our own interior, and how we come to grips with this command for mercy and practice it in our own lives, among those whom we consider "not important." Furthermore let us understand the ingratitude of those who refuse the invitation! Where there is no value given to mercy -- a gift -- there is a justice in its ultimate refusal. It is Jesus who also taught us not to cast our pearls before swine. Let us all remember God's grace, this great gift that is offered freely -- and remember to be godly likewise. It is also Luke the Evangelist who gave us the question, "Who is my neighbor?"
