At the Table

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

AT THE TABLE

Luke 14:12-24

12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."  15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." 16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 20 "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' 21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22 "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'" 

NIV

It is rather difficult to break this into several sections, or take one saying without the other so we just have to grab this rather large amount of the words of Jesus all together. The point Jesus is making is a comparison of how the rich and the poor respond to the message of salvation. It is easy enough to understand Jesus is talking about his invitation to enter the kingdom of God and be at the banquet feast in heaven. Those who put value on the things in this world do not have time for his invitation to come and be a part of his banquet. At first he talks about how the rich friends would repay him. This is all about those who think by doing good words they can either earn a better place at the table, or that it makes them a better believer, that they can repay the Lord for his grace and mercy. The truth is we simply cannot repay the debt he paid for us no matter how many good deeds we do. Of course that does not excuse us from doing good deeds, but it is about the motive we have in doing them that counts. As far as those who were invited and make excuses why they could not attend, they will never come.  But it can also apply to our setting today. Surely Jesus has invited all men to his banquet, but there are those who understand the invitation but simply have too much invested in their own lives to be bothered with his invitation. The servant may well be the Holy Spirit who Jesus sends to all mankind to bring those who have nothing and also have some need in life into his house. These are people who understand they are without hope, are not invested in this life and all its trappings, and understand they are in need of a cure. Within the whole of the context of his conversation at the table in this Pharisee's home, seeing some thinking how great they are trying to sit at the place of honor and his talking about prideful and humble, these words also are directed to that truth. It still is about those who think themselves “Good Christians” because of their position in the social or religious setting at Church. Those who are either wealthy and because they think they give a lot out of their abundance should be in a place of honor, be lifted up by the pastor and congregation for that matter. In comparison, the poor, those who cannot give a lot might feel inferior and less important in the church. Surely in the social setting there is a great disparage between how the wealthy and the poor are treated, and that should not, but is to some extent carried into the church as well. Jesus says that is not the case with him and his banquet table. If men are too busy with their own lives, their own material goods, then so be it, they will not be at his table, but all those who see their need are invited and his house will be full. We have to make sure we do not get distracted by life and are always aware of our need. We have nothing unless we have Jesus, and he is truly all we need. We should be extremely content just having a seat at the table, even the one of the least importance, if there really is one that is. It surely has to be that all seats are of equal standing. But nevertheless to be at the table is absolutely enough.