98. Humble Hospitality

When he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat, many were watching him. Seeing a man who had dropsy, Jesus said to the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

But they were silent.

He took the man, healed him, and let him go. He said, “Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn’t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”

They couldn’t answer him.

He told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats: “When you are invited to a marriage feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since someone more esteemed than you might be invited, and the one who invited both of you would come an d tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that the one who invited you may say, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble them-selves will be exalted.”

He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you give a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might return the favor and pay you back. But when you have a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind. You will be blessed; they don’t have the means to repay you, but you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”

Reflection

Rarely do those who insist the Bible must be taken literally have parables like these about humility and hospitality in mind. How would your life be different if you acted like this? What would it look like for a church to practice radical hospitality? 

Prayer: Help me take seriously, Lord, the things you taught which challenge me the most.