November 5, 2018

Gospel: Lk 14:12-14
Jesus also addressed the man who had invited him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid. When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

Reflections
We are drawn to the powerful tendency to live by the law of reciprocity. We want that others repay us with whatever we have done. We long to have the same treatment we have done to others. There is a subtle and relentless inclination in our desire to do what will make life comfortable and to avoid any form of insecurity. Jesus offers a different approach in dealing with others. You will be blessed because they cannot repay you! You will be blessed because God has something more for you. You will see that love and grace will freely come and flow into your life. What an amazing thing for Jesus to say! He calls us to have a disinterested benevolence or giving without counting the cost. Self-giving for the poor will bring you great blessing. And the blessing is not in the form of material reward but the experience of unconditional love and unmerited grace. Who wouldn’t count everything as rubbish in order to gain Christ?

© Copyright Bible Diary 2018