12. Then Jesus spoke to his host. "Suppose you give a lunch or a dinner," he said. "Do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, or your relatives, or your rich neighbors. If you do, they may invite you to eat with them. So you will be paid back.
13. "But when you give a big dinner, invite those who are poor. Also invite those who can't walk, the disabled and the blind.
14. Then you will be blessed. Your guests can't pay you back. But you will be paid back when those who are right with God rise from the dead."
15. One of the people at the table with Jesus heard him say those things. So he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in God's kingdom."
16. Jesus replied, "A certain man was preparing a big dinner. He invited many guests.
17. Then the day of the dinner arrived. He sent his servant to those who had been invited. The servant told them, 'Come. Everything is ready now.'
18. "But they all had the same idea. They began to make excuses. The first one said, 'I have just bought a field. I have to go and see it. Please excuse me.'
19. "Another said, 'I have just bought five pairs of oxen. I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'