Who is the Kingdom of God for?

I recently re-read the Gospel of Luke. One striking thing is how much Jesus talks about money, power, humility and self-righteousness. Jesus saves his harshest words for those who claim to be religious. Jesus gives many pictures of what the Kingdom of God is like. Here I just want to look at the parable of the great banquet. Some earlier thoughts on the parable are here.

Luke 14

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.’

16 Jesus replied: ‘A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.”

18 ‘But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, “I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.”

19 ‘Another said, “I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.”

20 ‘Still another said, “I have just got married, so I can’t come.”

21 ‘The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”

22 ‘“Sir,” the servant said, “what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.”

23 ‘Then the master told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”’

The first three people invited to the banquet are committed to and distracted by the ``good life'' of this world: wealth, possessions, business, career, comfort, romance, security, ... The kingdom of God is not important to them and it is clear they will be excluded.
In contrast, the weak and marginalised (the poor, crippled, blind, lame, ... ) are invited to and come to the banquet. 

All of this is consistent is with many other passages in Luke, such as the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, which suggest that it is very hard for the wealthy, the successful, the self-reliant, and the powerful to enter the Kingdom. In contrast, God seems to have a preference for those on the margins. Church history seems to bear this out. As countries (communities) become more prosperous they are less open to the Kingdom, particularly this bit about engaging with the marginalised. In contrast, communities that are oppressed and desperate, often welcome the good news of Jesus.

This raises questions about priorities for mission. Should upper middle class churches and organisations focus on communities just like them or instead focus much of their substantial resources (human, financial, professional expertise, ... ) to engage with marginalised communities, learn from them, and build mutually beneficial relationships.