Then
Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite
your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors;
if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you
give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and
you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)

             The great
eighteenth-century hymn writer and ex-slave trader John Newton marveled at the
far-reaching impact of these words spoken by Jesus in Luke. “One would almost
think this passage was not considered part of God’s word, nor has any part of
Jesus’ teaching been more neglected by his own people. I do not think it is unlawful
to entertain our friends” he says, “but if these words do not teach us that it
is in some respects out duty to give preference
to the poor, I am at a loss to understand them.” Looking at the current state
of the American church, one can’t help but wonder if the “luncheon or dinner”
Jesus was referring to could be what we call our church service today. We spend
so much time catering our churches to our friends, brothers, sisters, relatives
and neighbors, that we completely disregard those Jesus is calling to invite
join us in our “banquet.”

            It’s not that Jesus commands us, his
Church, to disregard those who we consider being friends, peers or of high
economic status, for Jesus himself often ate with his peers and people of wealth.
However, his mission was still for the poor. Jesus commanded that his disciples
should share their homes and build relationships not with people of their class
or higher, people they could profit from or that would pay them back, but with
people who were poor and without influence. I believe he is calling his church
to do the same; to be for the poor, with the poor, and in pursuit of the poor.

            Although I am unaware of any churches that actively turn the poor away, I
am also unaware of many that actively seek out those in extreme poverty as
being a part of their community. Most church facilities and services seem to be
catered more to the middle-class who drive in from their different
neighborhoods to come together with like-minded, similar looking people of
their social class for once, maybe twice a week, fellowship and teaching.
Although I’m sure many of these churches do really wonderful things to
help the underserved and poor, it’s not as easy to make the case that they are
designed “for the poor.” The
Bible speaks of God as being “a refuge for the poor” (Isaiah 25:4; Psalm 14:6).
Therefore the Church, as the body of Christ, is called to stand with the poor
as a physical and spiritual place of refuge for them in this world. Is your
church a banquet for your friends or a refuge for the poor?

Melissa