Dorothy Day and the Unwelcome Guest

In 1933, Dorothy Day opened the first Catholic Worker house in New York City's Lower East Side. The dining room had no reserved seating, no VIP table, no distinction between benefactor and beggar. A wealthy donor once visited, expecting recognition for his generous contributions. He found himself seated between a man who smelled of the Bowery and a woman muttering to herself through missing teeth. Offended, he pulled Day aside and asked if there might be somewhere more suitable for him to sit.

Day looked at him with steady kindness and said, "This is the suitable place. Everyone who comes through that door is Christ in disguise."

She meant it literally. Day arranged her tables so that the person with nothing and the person with everything shared the same bread, the same bench, the same conversation. She refused to create tiers of dignity. The philanthropist who wrote checks and the alcoholic who could barely write his name received identical welcome.

This is precisely what Jesus describes at the Pharisee's dinner table. Stop calculating your social position. Stop inviting only those who can return the favor. Instead, throw open the doors to those who have nothing to offer you in return. Because in the Kingdom of God, the guest list is not arranged by status — it is arranged by grace. And the lowest seat at that table turns out to be the place of highest honor.