Who gets a seat?

In Jesus’ world, your place at the table announced your place in town. He doesn’t lecture the guests so much as hand them an exit from the contest: choose the lowest chair and let the host decide what you’re worth. Then he tells the host that the whole invitation list needs turning over.

“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.”

Luke 14:13

This isn’t etiquette advice. It is a glimpse of God’s kingdom, where the guests who can never return the favor are seated first, and where each of us eventually realizes we were the ones brought in from the road.

Talk it over

• Where do you catch yourself angling for the better chair, at work, online or in the family?

• Who could never repay you? What would an invitation to them look like this month?

• Read Luke 14:21-23 aloud. Which person in the story feels most like you right now?

• Name one person who needs a place at your table, and pray for them together.

Go deeper

Read all of Luke 14 in one go, then turn to Isaiah 25:6-9 for the banquet Jesus seems to be echoing.