Hi there everyone,
This is Bro. Angello Forero, and behold I come with another Neurodivergent Bible Study! In this occasion, we’ll talk about the disability champion parable of Jesus: The Big Supper! This parable, indeed, makes part of Jesus Christ’s parables to teach with pity to the Pharisees and all those who did listed to Him. Indeed, there is something special this parable has in common with disability though.My name is Angello Forero and welcome to another blog post here at angelloforero.org and angelloforero.com
What is the main idea of the text?
The following parable is somehow related to disability given that the main idea of this passage has to do with those who we invite to certain events, and indeed, they come up with some good excuses. However, something curious that I find in the Beyond Suffering Bible is that this parable has a lot to do with the Messianic Banquet, which means the banquet for the Second Coming of Christ (in my own understanding, though).The following passage begins with a man who was sitting on table in the crowd of those who were hearing Jesus’ messages. He then exclaimed: “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the kingdom of God!” (v.15) Can you guess what then? Jesus replied with the objective parable we are currently studying in this blog!The parable tells the story of a master who had prepared a great feast, sending out many invitations! (vv.16-17), those invitations were delivered by the master’s servant. So, can you guess what they did? They started to make excuses (vv. 18-20). The first one said he had bought a field and should therefore inspect it. The second one had supposedly bought five pairs of oxen, and shamelessly wanted to try them out. And the third one was getting married, and couldn’t go indeed. Furthermore, something that is the knowledge point we are getting to go approaches to Jesus Christ, saying:The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘there is still room for more’. So, his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I first invited will even get the smaller taste of my banquet(vv. 21-24) When the servant had told his master the made up excused brought to him by those he was guesting, immediately, the own master was some kind of furious and wanted to force those who were crippled, poor, lame, and blind. The pretty curious thing is found in v.24: For none of those I first invited will even get the smaller taste of my banquet. So, what are the meanings of this parable? How could we invite those with our same disability to our churches, even when they refuse to go with us? This parable can have a lot of meanings just like the parable of the Rich and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31, more specifically, v.31). So, go ahead and consult with our friendly Bible scholars in regards of this passage!
What is the meaning of this parable?
“In this parable observe the free grace and mercy of God shining the Gospel of Christ, which will be food and a feast for the soul of a man that knows his own wants and miseries. All found some pretense to put off their attendance. This reproves the Jewish nation for their neglect of the offers of Christ’s grace. It shows also the backwardness there is to close with the gospel call. The want of gratitude in those with slight gospel offers, and the contempt put unto the God of heaven thereby, justly provoke him. The apostles were to turn to the Gentiles, when the Jews refused the offer; and with them the church was filled. The provision made for precious souls in the gospel of Christ, has not been made in vain; for if some reject, others will thankfully accept the gospel. The very poor and low in the world, shall be as welcome to Christ as the rich and great; and many times, the gospel has the greatest success among those that labor under worldly disadvantages and bodily infirmities. Christ’s house shall at last be filled; it will be so when the number of the elect is completed.” (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, n.d)
“As our Lord’s words seemed to hold forth the future “recompense” under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man’s mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord’s reply is in substance this: ‘The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, notwithstanding, shall now want abundance of guests; but not one of its present contemners who shall yet come to sue for admission shall be allowed to taste of it’. This shows what was lacking in the seemingly pious exclamation of this man. It was Balaam’s, ‘Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his’ (Numbers 23:10), without any anxiety about living his life; fondly wishing that all were right with him at last, while all heedless of the precious present” (Jamieson-Faussett-Brown Bible Commentary, n.d)
Neurodivergent Analysis of what the Great Feast means
“The point of this story about serving others is that it’s as much for the person throwing the party as it is for the person with a disability sitting at the table. The Church needs those with disabilities just as much those with disabilities need the Church. That’s why Luke 14 says do this and you will be blessed like that restaurant maître d’ who was so blessed because he went the extra mile to help me. It’s a lesson to remember as you and your church reach out to those with disabilities. It may take extra work and a little creative thinking, but as you do it, your church will be Blessed” (Beyond Suffering Bible, 2016)
Mrs. Eareckson Tada points out something special for we as people with disabilities: Hebrews 10:25:
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near
This may sound eschatological sometimes, but in that same case, it is necessary for each of us to gather in a local church whatever be the issue. Just take me for example, as the church where I attended was not prepared at the time when I started to be a member, many of those involved in the Church committed lots of mistakes that in some cases made me discomfort. Amid those things, you must really congregate in a church as a duty for God and not for the man. “I’m not going to Church unless I please you” Great mistake. I certainly say unto you, my dear listeners, that I have all the scruples to say that when you please an autistic person to going to Church, the Holy Spirit will doubly reward you when you die. There’s nothing to decipher in this statement given that you are going to please the Lord Himself each time an autistic person invites you to the Church.The second key principle of this parable is pointed out to Matthew Henry’s Commentary on this issuing passage: “This reproves the Jewish nation for their neglect of the offers of Christ’s grace”. His commentary seems to be aimed at Exodus 32, which tells the story of the golden calf, or even the Book of Judges, when every time there was not a judge or a human political leader, behold, the Israelite nation was corrupt whatever the issue was. In my own understanding of this parable, perhaps the most important thing is to remind us about the issue we had towards inviting our family members to the Church, which in some cases, they said “Enough! I am a Catholic” “I’m sorry, we are not of that”. Furthermore, there is something I also want to figure out as well, and is the issue of not inviting those who are on the same feeling, they will even regret it doubly than those who are not on the Lord’s path. This happened a lot to me. In this context, I was enrolled in a disability non-profit in Bogota (Colombia) for many years, and unexplainably, I was enrolled in a Christian school that wasn’t prepared at the time and in the same way, I lasted there for seven years. But Mr. Forero, where are you going with all these extensive tenses? Well, I want to say that, amidst those obsessions, I always forgotten than those within the disability facility (both staff and families) needed more of the gospel! And now that I picked up from the capital city of Colombia and live far away from it, I understood the waste of time! It is hard, but disabled individuals (more specifically, those with developmental and intellectual disabilities), need to understand better the gospel and be saved than those of your family, including the neurotypical people you see on the streets!The third principle is completely found on v. 24:
For none of those I first invited will get even the smaller taste of my banquet(New Living Translation (NLT))
Let’s admit it. In the foundation where I’m interning, there is a Reformed Baptist Church gathering on Sundays. That same congregation is filled with neurotypicals! What it has caught me the attention is the beautiful bond between such a faith community and the foundation! Where am I going with this? Is in the sense of cooperation between a Church and a disability foundation!! Perhaps we judge people without knowing them (this frequently happens to me). In my local context, indeed, the Roman Catholic Church, despite being an “unbiblical” church, has provided a lot to the disability community of Colombia, as She has partnered with tons of local foundations, non-profits, corporations, businesses, and associations in providing assistance toward the disabled Catholics. So, if the “Great Harlot” has done so much with the handicapped, what about the Church of Christ that Luther reformed through the Bible? I know many of us don’t read it, but what about laying through her through a lectionary? There is no need to implement a Bible course in a U.S. public school given that there exists a lectionary!
How these three principles can relate to the neurodivergent’ life and ministry in their Churches?
Behold is the principal topic I’m going to explain about these principles in relation to the parable of the big feast: Ecclesiastical Cooperation!There are many types of inclusion: Educational Inclusion, Social Inclusion, Financial Inclusion, and Work Inclusion. Amid those, there must be a new one that lineages with Christianity: Ecclesial Inclusion! As neurotypicals have closed the door to the Gospel, then the neurodivergent can open you the door. All this depends on the families and the environment. Most of them could be closed, but there are some that are open to cooperate with us in a beautiful sense of belonging.The parable of the big feast is a reflexive approach to the Second Coming of Christ. If you have the chance to talk to a person with a disability, invite them to the Church!
Angello Forero
Barranquilla, Colombia
References:
Beyond Suffering Bible. (2016). Tyndale Bible Publishers.
Luke 14 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2024, from Bible Hub: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/luke/14.htm
Luke 14 Matthew Henry’s Commentary. (n.d.). Retrieved from Bible Hub: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mhc/luke/14.htm
Pulpit Commentary. (n.d.). Retrieved from Bible Hub: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/luke/14.htm
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