Do Not Look For Repayment

5 Nov

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”  (Lk 14:12-14)

Throughout my life, I have had some friends who have played the “your turn” kind of game in communicating.

To be honest, I really do not get into that.

I call people, email people, text people all because I am thinking about those people, not because it is my turn.

I remember someone chiding me once because I hadn’t called in a while.  I said, “My phone rings as well as places calls, you know.”

Their response?  “Well, I’m not calling because it’s your turn to call.”  Gee.  I didn’t know that we were required to take turns.

We often do things expecting something in return, do we not?

Jesus is telling the host of a banquet not to do that.  Today’s Gospel reminds us all that we should not be doing things for repayment.  We should be doing things simply because they are the right thing to do.

Then, lo and behold, we will be rewarded nonetheless:  at the resurrection of the righteous.

That’s one reward that would definitely be worth having!

FAITH ACTION:  Check your calendar for today.  Are you doing something for someone else for the sake of repayment?  Try to change it so there are not strings attached.