In this section of Luke, we continue to see the subversive movement that is meant to undermine the dominant thinking of the day. What value is it to bless only those who have blessed us? Luke has caught on to a characteristic that was present in the movement of the day but also in the everyday lives of those of us in the church today.

Since the time of my youth I have been asked to be a part of design teams, consultations, dialogues on inclusivity, and other such movements of revitalization. In more circumstances than I can count, the conversations have contained comments such as this: “If we take a field trip with young people, whom shall we allow to go? Will it be for church members only?” or other comments with similar mentalities. In our modern society it is easy to reserve our hospitality, our love, and our generosity for those persons who “deserve” it or with whom we are comfortable.

What if God used the same judgment with us: “You shall not have water for you are not really thirsty,” or “You shouldn’t have exerted yourself that much; you should have known you would get thirsty,” or “You shall not have food today, for you do not know hunger.”

It is easy to love only those who love us or to pray only for those whom we care about. Anyone can show such acts of piety. The gospel of the movement of Jesus demands that we lose our self-absorption to focus on the needs of our neighbors. And our neighbors may be those who do not look like us, those who speak other languages, those on the opposite side of the political spectrum, or even those in other countries and regions. This is what the gospel requires of us.