Readings: Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 14:15-24
In the parable of those invited to a feast
Jesus paints for us a picture
of people who are too wrapped up in their own lives—
their own acquisitions and accomplishments—
to join in the joy of the kingdom of God,
the great feast of heaven.
And he suggests that it is precisely the lowliest among us—
the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame,
those who in our worldly judgment
seem to have acquired and accomplished nothing—
who will be the ones whose hearts are open
to responding to God’s invitation.
Jesus paints for us a picture
of people who are too wrapped up in their own lives—
their own acquisitions and accomplishments—
to join in the joy of the kingdom of God,
the great feast of heaven.
And he suggests that it is precisely the lowliest among us—
the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame,
those who in our worldly judgment
seem to have acquired and accomplished nothing—
who will be the ones whose hearts are open
to responding to God’s invitation.
The humility that Jesus commends in his parable
is something that he himself lived out.
St. Paul tells us that Jesus,
though he was the eternal Son of the Father
and heir to all the riches of God’s eternity,
emptied himself into our history,
joined himself to the lot
of those without acquisitions,
those without accomplishments,
the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame,
taking upon himself the death of a slave: death on a cross.
But God his Father raised him up,
calling him forth from the poverty of death
into the riches of the eternal feast,
exalting him beyond all powers of heaven and earth.
The humble welcomed to God’s feast:
this seems simply to be how God works.
It is not the powerful,
with all their acquisitions or accomplishments,
but the poor and the wounded
who find themselves welcomed to the feast
and exalted to eternity.
We see this in the saint we remember today:
Martin de Porres.
Born in Peru during the colonial period,
because he was of mixed race
he was not allowed under Peruvian law
to join the Dominican order,
so he lived with them as a servant.
Eventually allowed to join as a lay brother,
Martin faced racist discrimination
from some of his fellow Dominicans.
But he persisted,
not out of a desire for acquisitions and accomplishments
but because he had heard God’s invitation to the feast,
and who was he to refuse such an invitation.
He became a great friend to the poor and the outcast,
and God greatly exalted him,
numbering him among the friends of Christ.
Martin de Porres.
Born in Peru during the colonial period,
because he was of mixed race
he was not allowed under Peruvian law
to join the Dominican order,
so he lived with them as a servant.
Eventually allowed to join as a lay brother,
Martin faced racist discrimination
from some of his fellow Dominicans.
But he persisted,
not out of a desire for acquisitions and accomplishments
but because he had heard God’s invitation to the feast,
and who was he to refuse such an invitation.
He became a great friend to the poor and the outcast,
and God greatly exalted him,
numbering him among the friends of Christ.
Today is election day:
a day dominated by people
with many acquisitions and accomplishments
who are asking us to help them
acquire and accomplish even more.
I sometimes wonder what our politics would look like
if we took the parable of the banquet
as the key to how to acquire God’s favor,
if we took Jesus and his friend Martin
as our models of true accomplishment.
At the very least, it should remind us
that it is not the powerful of the world
who hasten the coming of God’s kingdom.
but rather the humble and the meek,
who spend their lives in loving service
of God and neighbor,
and who are open to hear God’s invitation:
“Come, everything is now ready.”
a day dominated by people
with many acquisitions and accomplishments
who are asking us to help them
acquire and accomplish even more.
I sometimes wonder what our politics would look like
if we took the parable of the banquet
as the key to how to acquire God’s favor,
if we took Jesus and his friend Martin
as our models of true accomplishment.
At the very least, it should remind us
that it is not the powerful of the world
who hasten the coming of God’s kingdom.
but rather the humble and the meek,
who spend their lives in loving service
of God and neighbor,
and who are open to hear God’s invitation:
“Come, everything is now ready.”
