Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭31‬-‭36‬, ‭40‬
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Who do I think of blessing first, those who can bless me back or those who need the blessing? Jesus here is checking the conscience of the people at this luncheon. And he is showing them that without God, even when they do good things, many times there are impure motives behind them.
This reminds me of a time when Jesus was asked why he hung out with sinners and tax collectors. “Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭31‬-‭32‬)

But this is a paradox to some degree, isn’t it?

When I was younger in my career, I used to rely on logic to solve every problem. When people did not act logically I would many times think less of them and right them off. As God has worked on my heart over the years, he has helped me to see that winning in life is less about being logically right and more about loving and enabling others as we work through the challenges together. And many times, other less logical people have a better approach than I do to getting through the challenge.

My effort to prove myself valuable by showing only my strengths in life — a logical mind — and refusing to be vulnerable was actually a big weakness!

The wealthy and people of position many times gain their worth through comparing themselves to others and by who they associate with. Jesus’ ministry “flew in the face” of this approach. He saw God’s heart for the hurting, gave up his rank and position and wealth, and instead served the weak and lowly. And he calls us to live in the same spirit of kindness and authenticity.

There are the rewards he gives us in this life for our care for the poor and hurting, and then there are the rewards we gain in heaven by being like him.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for modeling a different and incredibly “real” way to live. Instead of positioning ourselves to always look good and have clout with others, you call us to meet those who are hurting on their level and through your power help to save, heal, and rescue them. What an incredible calling and mission!