A Table Without a Debt

My dear son,

If you prepare a meal to share, do not begin by counting who can repay you. I want people to have a place even when they have little money or live with a disability. A welcome should make room for them.

Jesus urged people to invite those unable to return the favor. Receive the person at your table as a welcome guest, with a story worth hearing. Give them your time as well as your food.

You do not need much to share today. A small kindness that demands no gratitude matters. Enjoy love's gladness wherever one person warmly welcomes another. I treasure a heart that offers such hospitality freely.

With all my love,
Your Father

Luke 14:12–14

WEB

12He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, don’t call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back.
13But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind;
14and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”

A short reflection

Jesus tells hosts to invite poor and disabled people who cannot repay them, pointing to God's repayment at the resurrection.

World English Bible (WEB) · Public DomainRead the chapter