Quid Pro Quo

 

He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:12-14 ESV).

 

Unfortunately we have no lack of example for “Quid Pro Quo” in our nation. This is certainly not new. The concept of “giving to get” is a common political and business practice. However, this is simply not the way Jesus directed us to treat others. Our reading today is a specific illustration of what this often looked like in Jesus’ day. Just as in our day, people enjoyed being invited to gatherings of the rich and famous as a way to climb the social ladder. The guests who sat nearest to the host were the most elite, and next to them were guests of slightly lower status, and so on.

 

A prominent Pharisee, a religious leader, invited Jesus to a gathering like that. And Jesus was not impressed. He looked around and saw people who had already achieved high status, and he pointed out the glaring absence of people who were excluded and forgotten.

 

It’s easy for us to embrace “our” people from whom we have something to gain. As unattractive as this is in our world, it is so in the world of our faith. Jesus turns our world upside down and says that the last will be first and the first will be last. So who should be on our list to call, text, email, or invite to our homes? Jesus says we are blessed when we get out of our comfort zones and build relationships with people who may be marginalized, such as those who are widowed, divorced, homeless, gay, immigrants, single moms, ex-prisoners, and more. Jesus invites us to his banquet and offers us the best seat in the house. Doing anything less is merely “giving to get”. It is not the way of our Lord.

 

Perhaps we should be challenged today to be intentional about how we give of our time, talent, and resources.