"Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your frien

We like having lunch with our friends. There is something pleasing about having dinner with people we know and like. It's not that Jesus wants to spoil the good times for us; it's just that the easy, hail-fellow-well-met kind of generosity does too little good. It restricts the feeling of mutual trust and amity to a confined inner circle. There is a species of good will toward men that knows no limits; it looks not to be repaid. This is disinterested goodness. And it is a truly redemptive force in the world.