At that time, Jesus said to the chief of the Pharisees who had invited him: "When you give a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors.

 

At that time, 12 Jesus said to the chief of the Pharisees who had invited him: "When you give a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors. For they might invite you too, and that would be your reward. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. 14 Then you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous."

— Word of Salvation. Reflection 1. The banquet is not for the achievement of personal interests. Certainly, the Pharisees wanted to observe Jesus and be well regarded in society. From banquet to banquet, they lived the game of self-interest. Certainly, they did what tradition recommended, they followed the ancient social dictates, they tried not to make mistakes in the form of the banquet. On the other hand, they hid their true needs, made it easier for those who wanted to be honored in the eyes of everyone to be clever, and in the end, it all ended up in a huge game of self-interest. In other words, even though they were “God’s people,” they acted with the same worldly schemes. 2. Jesus wants his disciples to do everything selflessly. A very clear example of this is the banquet for the poor, as a sign of no material reward. Furthermore, serving those most in need is a sign of inner transformation. On the other hand, there are also those who use the poor for other purposes. Here too there is a great risk: that of giving society the impression of being charitable, committed to the less fortunate. Because of this, many are welfare-oriented, concerned with perhaps implementing the famous “bread and circuses” policy. What Jesus truly wants is for the lives of his disciples to be donated, given for the good of these marginalized people and all those in need of salvation. As I have said before, each disciple must be a gift to others. The relationship with the poorest does not end with giving them food or clothing, but also with genuine attention to them in all ways: in pastoral work, in the Church, in meetings, in front of other people, especially if they are from the wealthy. The poor must be valued, loved, and treated as what they truly are, a human being and a priority for God. In other words, the disciple must be, out of love, dedicated to the cause of those most in need in every way. 3. The ideal is for the disciple to be poor in heart, that is, empty of the world and full of God; that his wealth should be only in living according to Jesus Christ; that his attachment should be that of being detached; that his interest should be in living the salvific interest of God. He was not invited to love the poor because he was poor, but to love selflessly, to love without expecting any reward. In this way, the disciple expresses the love of God. Only those who love in this way can be elevated, seen as different from a world that lives under the same bonds of the logic of power of the past. They are invited to overcome Israel, which, despite having been the people of God, was unable to free itself from the world's way of thinking; worse still, it placed it inside the Temple.