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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost

November 6, 2023

Invitatory

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Reading - Luke 14:12-14

He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

Meditation - Winnie Smith

For whatever reason, my social media feed has been flooded recently with a particular type of viral video: in it, the camera operator is always in a large box store. He approaches various customers, asking them if they have dropped the handful of cash he is holding out in front of them. Several people say “oh yes, thank you” and he gives them the money. But then, inevitably, a customer is actually honest with him and replies, “no, that’s not mine.” Instead of walking away, he insists on paying for their items and then also on giving them the cash. It is a way of rewarding honesty and spreading kindness. And each time I see one of these videos, I can’t turn away. I watch them knowing the exact arc the narrative will take, still smiling to myself at the fundamental goodness shown by the video’s end. The creator of these videos - the person behind the camera, talking to customers - does not expect repayment for what he is doing. His actions do the opposite of asking for repayment. They are acts of kindness for the sake of kindness without any hope or expectation of something in return.

This is so counter-cultural. It is not the way we seem programmed to operate. We keep track of everything, and are always aware of who owes whom. In the short Gospel passage appointed for today, Jesus is eating a sabbath meal at the house of a leader of the Pharisees. He tells his dining mates not to invite friends or relatives to a meal which they can pay back the same way. Instead, invite the “poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,” who could never return the favor. He explains that while those guests will not be able to repay their host fully, he “will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” To be repaid at the resurrection is a pretty good offer, and a good goal to work towards. Isn’t resurrection one of the fundamental Christian hopes? Jesus’s lesson over dinner is about as straightforward as they come: do good to others without expecting the same in return, and you will ultimately be repaid.

This idea of offering a meal and fellowship to people without expectation of the same is an act of righteousness. It is the same idea as the viral video creator who extends immense generosity for no reason but to spread positivity. Jesus teaches the Pharisees that to provide hospitality to those who cannot do the same will reward them at the resurrection, and I think that’s a pretty good motivator to follow his direction.

A Prayer for Peace:

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.

- Book of Common Prayer, p. 815