Invited In
The Daily Way · Fall 2026 · Week Six of Twelve
Invited In
OCTOBER 11 TO 17, 2026 · PROPER 23
“Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Matthew 22:9
A Devotion to Begin the Week
Isaiah promises a feast of rich food on the mountain, a banquet for all peoples at which death itself is swallowed up forever. Sunday’s parable shows how the invitations go out. The first guests are too busy, so the king sends his servants into the main streets to gather everyone they can find, the good and the bad together, until the wedding hall is filled. Grace is not a reward for the deserving; it is a summons to the surprised. Our children hear this week how God’s messengers took Lot by the hand and led his family out of a doomed city, a rescue he did not earn and nearly refused. Every one of us at St. Francis is a person who was found in some street and brought to a table we did not set. The proper response to such an invitation is to become inviting ourselves. A household can practice this with almost embarrassing ease: an extra chair at dinner, a text to the family that has drifted from church, a welcome spoken to the new student nobody has claimed. The feast is real, the host is generous, and the hall is not yet full.
The Week Day by Day
Sunday, October 11 · The Lord’s Day
Come to the Holy Eucharist. The readings are Isaiah 25:1-9 and Matthew 22:1-14. Field Life children continue The Stars with Chapter 6, The Rescue.
Monday, October 12Read Matthew 22:1-14
ReflectThe hall was filled with guests found in the streets. How did you first come to the feast, and who brought you?
PrayThank you, gracious King, for a place at your table we did not earn. Amen.
PracticeThank the person, or honor the memory of the person, who first invited you to church.
Tuesday, October 13Read Isaiah 25:1-9
ReflectOn this mountain the Lord will swallow up death forever. How does that promise change a hard week?
PrayWipe away every tear, O God, and teach us to say, this is our God; we have waited for him. Amen.
PracticeShare this promise, gently and briefly, with someone who is grieving.
Wednesday, October 14Read Genesis 19:15-22
This is the passage behind this week’s Field Life children’s lesson, The Rescue.
ReflectThe angels seized Lot’s hand when he lingered. When has God moved you to safety faster than your own feet wanted to go?
PrayMerciful Lord, take our hands when we linger, and lead us out. Amen.
PracticeRecall together a time your family was clearly protected or rescued.
Thursday, October 15Read Psalm 23
ReflectYou spread a table before me. Where is God setting a table for you even in a crowded season?
PrayShepherd us, O Lord, that goodness and mercy may follow this house all its days. Amen.
PracticeSay Psalm 23 aloud together at bedtime tonight.
Friday, October 16Read Revelation 19:5-9
ReflectBlessed are those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Who do you know who has never been invited to anything at church?
PrayMake our home an outpost of your welcome, O God. Amen.
PracticeExtend one concrete invitation: a meal, a pew, a Field Life event.
Saturday, October 17Read Matthew 22:15-22
Read ahead: this is tomorrow’s Gospel.
ReflectAs you read about the coin bearing Caesar’s image, ask: whose image do you bear?
PrayRestore your image in us, O God, and receive back what is yours. Amen.
PracticePrepare your offering, and pray for grace to give yourself with it.
Table Talk for the Week
Who would we love to see at God’s feast, and could we invite them now?
St. Francis in-the-Field Episcopal Church · All are welcome, always
