Luke 14: 15-24
One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to Jesus, “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 regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ 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.’”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
God’s Invitation Among the Lowly
It would behoove us to remember that God isn’t picky. We have a tendency to determine who is “in” and who is “out” based on the world’s standards: career success, leadership potential, GPA, having the right friends. But God’s kingdom doesn’t require a polished resume. Anyone and everyone is welcome – as long as we show up. If we get distracted by the world’s standards like the characters in today’s Gospel – a new business proposition, the perfect real estate deal, projecting a flawless family life – we may miss the kingdom entirely. But if we dare to be imperfect, acknowledge our brokenness, and listen for the invitation, we might find ourselves at the feast. And we’ll discover ourselves surrounded by those the world has thrown away who have been in God’s arms all along.
How can you let go of the world’s standards today and listen for God’s invitation among the lowly?
—Brian Martindale, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province serving as a campus minister and math teacher at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School – Twin Cities.
Prayer
Jesus, help me to discover my vocation in downward mobility. It’s a scary request… The world is obsessed with wealth and security and upward mobility and prestige. But teach me solidarity, walking with the victims, serving and loving. You offer this for me to consider – downward mobility.
And in this enterprise there is a great deal of hope.
Grant me the courage to lose control.
Grant me the courage to feel useless.
Grant me the courage to listen.
Grant me the courage to receive.
Grant me the courage to let my heart be broken.
Grant me the courage to feel.
Grant me the courage to fall in love.
Grant me the courage to get ruined for life.
Grant me the courage to make a friend.
Amen.
—Adapted from Dean Brackley's "Downward Mobility"
Pray with the Pope
