Luke 14:13-14: But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

According to the gospel, inclusivity and creating space for everyone on the table is not a luxury or an added feature, but an essential part of Jesus’s ministry and message. The ‘kingdom of God’ was the heart of Jesus’s passion and his definition of the kingdom included specifically those who are rejected, ignored, and marginalized. So if we as churches are to echo the community that Jesus created and called God’s kingdom, our churches are to look the same. But Jesus doesn’t make it easy for us does he?

If we ask ourselves who are the marginalized of our society today, or in other words, if Jesus was saying those words in Downton Sacramento today, he would have said: “invite the homeless, the severely mentally ill, that guy who smells on the street corner and yeah the woman who doesn’t stop yelling…” I find it hard to accommodate those people in my church. I think I would be very uncomfortable. And yet I find it humbling to think that one day I will be sitting with those people on one table in that great eternal feast!

I tend to think many share my discomfort, and with our current church structure. Our denomination has created a vision for at least the coming two years, this vision is called Matthew 25 and it is a vision of being and becoming a church that cares first and foremost for the “least of those” that Jesus pointed to.

I do not know exactly how we are called to invite those people to be church with us, but I think we are all challenged to find a form of church that would be welcoming to the “least of those.” (check Matt 25:45)

Prayer: God of the poor and the crippled, help me to see You in the least of those. Amen.