Preference

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110325.cfm

In today's Gospel, Jesus seems to want to put an end to Thanksgiving Dinner. Listen closely: "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters

or your relatives" So if you were looking for an excuse to get out of hosting Thanksgiving, you can lean on the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14. While I am not interested in cancelling our Thanksgiving dinner plans, I do want to spend a moment to understand what Jesus was getting at.

If we continue on with Jesus' lesson, we will hear: "Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." In the realm of Catholic Social Teaching, this is called a preference for the poor, and I want to put this in a particular light for you today as we head into this 'festive' season of year. We are very accustomed to the idea of tithing, or even taxing. In the earliest part of our history - if we trace back our history with God to the Old Testament, we get the very essence of this in the idea of first fruits.

The Jewish people, a mixture of farmers and herders, from their very beginnings (all the way back to Cane and Abel) were drawn to offer God the first fruits of their labors. This became, through God's instruction, the feast of Pentecost. Offering the first of the yield of the land, before it went to market, before the family partook of it. I think that most of us would not argue too vehemently that God deserves the first fruits, and many of us see our monetary giving to the church this way, whether we officially tithe, or are just dedicated to this financial practice.

But since we no longer offer sacrifice in the same way as the Jews, is there a way that we can offer the first fruits to God more directly? Well there is a hint in Jesus' words if we connect this teaching to Matthew 25, where we hear 'Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty?' He responds and says when you did this for the least of these, you did it for me.

So if you want to invite Jesus to dinner, before you plan your Thanksgiving dinner or celebration, consider how you might help the less fortunate celebrate and feast. If you have the opportunity, certainly consider ways in which you might serve and meet and share company with those who are lacking in these things. By doing this you will express your preference for the poor, and therefore your preference for Jesus.