Jesus said, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
In his advice for making guest lists, Jesus prefers those who cannot repay their hosts with a return invitation and with a place of honor at their tables. Luke wants to broaden the circle of those who eat at the tables of the elite rather than tighten the social circle. He wants our guest lists to help distribute food justly rather than cut people off as chronically inferior, deserving distance from us rather than place among us. Luke urges us to seek God’s blessings rather than honored places at earthly meals.
What places of honor might you give up? What would you lose or gain?