“’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.’ … ‘God out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’” Luke 14:13-14, 21c

To give a banquet one must prepare to serve the banquet. Who will I/you go to the trouble of preparing, serving and giving a banquet for? People we like to hang out with? People we want to be around? Or people who are in need? “Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him and seek to grow into his likeness.” (United Methodist Book of Worship) Being followers of Christ who seek to become like Christ shouldn’t all our invitations go to those in need, those who we can bless with the blessings we’ve received from God? Isn’t that, at least in part, what it means to be rich toward God?