Grupo A (part. Filipe da Guia e Coletivo Candiero)

Life is worth more
Here’s the lesson that the guests
Of that important feast
Were about to receive

There’s Jesus
In the house of a prominent Pharisee
Look at how kind
Our beloved Master is
Sitting at the table of the Pharisees
We’re in chapter 14 of Luke
In 15, He’ll be sitting
On the sidewalk with sinners and tax collectors
Everyone is a target of His message
Rich and poor
Religious and lost
It’s not too hard for Christ
To meet with rich Zacchaeus
Or spend a night chatting
With important Nicodemus
Or even linger at the well
Next to a woman
Of bad reputation
Without a name or title
In boats with fishermen
In the temple with preachers
Christ is used to sitting
At any table
Without distinction
And lighting up everyone with the beauty
Of His message

Some are blinded by this light
To the point of being blinded
Finally, they can see
Others are cast into the shadow
By the same light
Here, in chapter 14
Of this gospel for the poor
Luke records one of the most beautiful parables
Of Jesus
Important people at the table
Jostling for the best seats
And serving themselves from their own greed
While on the margins
Of that gathering
A sick person waits for
Someone’s generosity
Everyone rushes to enter
That place, only Jesus
Allows Himself to be crossed by him
It’s Saturday and Jesus knows
The risk He’s taking
In front of His hosts
If He decides to break
The tradition of the Sabbath
And heal that poor man
Jesus’ commitment
Is not to tradition
Thank God
That’s the commitment of the religious
They need the tradition
To stay rigid
Like a high protective wall
Any threat
To that ancient fortress
Stays outside
The doors of the banquet
Don’t sit at the table
But Jesus’ commitment
Is not the same
As the traditional religious
His commitment is to life
The Sabbath points to the supreme value
Of the law, Life
God gave the Sabbath for
The preservation of life
Just like every law was given
Exactly for that purpose
The Pharisees used the Sabbath law
Now to maintain their
Religious system, and then
Jesus decides to use the Sabbath
To point to the eternal value
Of the law, Life
And taking the man by the hand
Jesus healed him
And let him go, now yes
Let’s sit and eat
While one of His brothers
Was with life
In tatters the doors
Of that feast
Jesus would refuse to enter
To feast, but now
That the man is
His life restored
And his dignity returned
Now that he leaves happy
And crying with joy
Standing, like a son
Now yes, now yes
Let’s sit and eat

On one side, people are fighting
For the best seats
On the other side
Pretentious people
Who think they deserve too much
Of those banquet honors
And our Jesus
With a look of tenderness
And much attention, observes everyone
To some, He says it’s better to wait
For the honor that comes from outside
Than to dig for oneself the merit
Those who exalt themselves
End up being humbled
But those who humble themselves
Will be exalted, He will say this
To others, Jesus instructs
That it’s best to throw a party
For those who can’t return the favor
Invite the poor, the blind
Those on the margins
And receive their kindness
With absolute joy
Without calculating the change
Because they simply
Can’t pay
Your reward will come in the end
In eternity
When the righteous are
Being gathered, then
You too will enter the feast
Hearing this word from Jesus
Someone sighs a beautiful phrase
Blessed is he who eats bread
In the kingdom of heaven
And this beautiful phrase is the key
That opens the door to the parable
Of the Great Banquet
It’s the warmth needed to spark
One of the most beautiful stories
That Christ, The Storyteller
Left for us, it’s the right phrase
On the wrong lips, yes
Blessed is he who eats
At God’s banquet, but no
This place isn’t for those
Who think they deserve it, no
Let me try to draw it out

A certain man was preparing
A Great Banquet
And invited many people
When it was time to start
He sent his servant to say
To those who had been invited
Come
For everything is ready now
We don’t know who this man is
But we can assume he was
Someone very rich and powerful
Only the majesties
Used to throw parties
With such magnitude
As we know the feast
Was so grand
It had two invitations
One that was sent out with the
Necessary advance
Another, that is sent on the day of the feast
This second invitation came with a caravan
Descending from the palace, in celebration
Shouting about the banquet
And cheering those who had
Been invited
It worked like a preview of the party in the street
Thus, the guests who were technically
Getting ready
Got even more excited
Imagining what was to come
And those who hadn’t been invited
Could taste a bit of the flavor
Of that feast, restricted to the rich
But this time something curious happened
The carefully chosen guests
Turned their backs on the invitation, all
As if in a secret agreement
Made in the shadows
They decided it wasn’t worth it
So, each one offers a
Ridiculous excuse
Those at the table
Listening to the storyteller
Probably laughed at
These lame excuses
They still didn’t understand
That Jesus was talking
About them, that’s why they laughed
When it’s us who are ridiculous
Grace runs out
Isn’t that right?