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Luke 14:13-14
13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,and the blind. 14And you will be blessed.
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MUSINGS
When my wife Shannon and I were married 11 years ago, we worried about how we were going to host the rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding ceremony. Our worry was that our families would be meeting each other for the first time, and my family, Caucasian and mostly from New Jersey, with her family, African American mainly from Southwest Kentucky, would be like trying to bring together the Sopranos and the Klampetts. Quickly we realized that environment and setting would be important to make people comfortable. We also realized that we didn't want to go out to eat because trying to decide on a place where everyone would be comfortable and relax would be a challenge. Finally, we settled on two things that our families know, Church and Food. We had our reception dinner in the Church Fellowship Hall, and we invited our families to have a potluck, where people brought food.
What followed was a lot of laughter, recipe exchanges, and plates piled with Pierogis and Greens! Our families found our connection in faith and food, drawn together by love. North, South, Black, White, we became family that night, and haven't stopped since.
I imagine that this is what the Gospel writer of Luke had in mind when we are invited to the banquet that God hosts. It will be filled with unlikely characters coming together, finding our commonality in our brokenness, drawn together by love. It is here, at the banquet, with a simple meal around a common table that we can begin to redefine our sense of family and community. It is here that the poor, the differently abled, the blind, the diverse mix of all God's children are welcomed and seen as brothers and sisters. I guarantee as our Gospel writer reminds us, when this happens in our communities, we will be blessed indeed.
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