Feb 17

February 17, 2013

Mark 2:16-17 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"  On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus saw hurting people and responded by leaving his comfort zone and becoming their friend. Make no mistake about it; this was a real party.  It was a long, drawn-out, celebratory feast and not a quick visit to Liz Sue Bagels. The guest list that night would probably not be your "A" list for dinner guests at your house. It included tax collectors and sinners - generally referred to as the "worst kind of people," pimps, prostitutes, party animals… and whoever was unwilling to play "goody two shoes" with the Jewish law. Jesus and his disciples were there along with the Pharisees. Who invited them? I don't know. The picture is of a loud, raucous party.

It is also worth noting that neither Jesus nor his disciples evidently had any great hesitation about being at this party. The Pharisees, on the other hand, finally got so upset that they insisted on making a ruckus by asking (and probably none too quietly, to be sure that Jesus would hear) why Jesus regularly hung out with "riffraff."

Here is the bottom line; Jesus was enjoying himself. I can imagine him laughing, telling stories, and playing Charades. He was not standing in a corner by himself, waiting.  Jesus likes people. He didn't wait - he initiated.  I'm convinced Jesus' approach to people is as attractive as ever. Whenever the world gets a glimpse of his unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness, it stands on tiptoes for an unrestricted view.

So who is the model for your life, the Pharisees with their perfectly intact reputations or Jesus and his scandalous reputation?  How many of us are comfortable being called a "friend of sinners?"

The church is the only institution that exists primarily for the sake of those who are not yet its members. We are not meant to be a "refuge from sinners"; we are called to be a mission outpost "looking for sinners." Our mission is to copy Jesus. It's to be in the business of rescuing people who have lost their way in the darkness of this world.

Every person you meet today has been created in God's image. Everybody has the divine tattoo. They were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Yes, but that's only part of the story. They are also loved by a God who longs to release the potential He's planted in them. No wonder Jesus risked social rejection to express friendship to people the religious leaders shunned. No wonder those who recognized his sincere overture of unconditional love were magnetically attracted to him.

So who are you like, Jesus or the Pharisees?  It's a great question to ask each day.