Hanging with the Wrong Crowd

What is your test for deciding who you will and will not hang out with?

Don’t pretend that you don’t have one.  We all do.  It’s part of our nature.  How can I say such a thing?

Well, let me make a view observations, and let’s see if you have ever seen or done these things.

Have you ever been in a store just walking up and down the aisles and seen someone you know but don’t want to talk to, and then started looking absentmindedly at all the items on the shelf–hoping that the other person won’t notice you–or if they do see that you are obviously engrossed and not able to talk?  Ever done that one?

Have you ever purposely skipped a party, church, or social gathering because someone you know might be invited or come to that same event?

Have you refused to purchase a red and white shirt or a gold and black shirt because of the proximity to a certain town?

Here’s one that I used to do at my previous congregation.  Every month we did nursing home services, and there was one particular resident who I did not care to visit with.  Every time we went in to give her communion, she would go through a laundry list of everything that was wrong with her.  One time, she even showed me pictures they took during her colonoscopy.  After several months of this, I would approach her room on padded feet; I would crack open the door ever so slightly in hopes that she was asleep; I would do it as silently as possible because if even the slightest squeak happened, this lady would wake up and see me.  If I managed to crack the door and see that she was asleep, I would happily walk on to the next church member.  Hence a revelation of one of my tests as to whether or not I want to hang out with someone: I don’t like someone who constantly seeks attention by talking about how bad they have it.

But, as bad as that might sound, I’ve also been on the receiving end of such tests.  Years ago, when I was a senior in seminary, I preached at a little country church in Rosebud, TX.  It just so happened that one Sunday, they were having a pot luck, and my wife and I were asked to join.  We were also invited, as guests, to head to the front of the line.  We did, and we sat down at one of the tables there.  Interestingly enough, all of the other tables filled up first, and then the table at which Dawna and I sat started to fill up.  However, it filled up at the place farthest from us first, until the folks who went through the pot-luck line last ended up taking the seats closest to us.  We were definitely the outsiders there.

And the question becomes, do you ever get from being an outsider to an insider?  In some places, the answer is unequivocally no.  I remember being at Crossroads one day a couple of years ago sitting and shooting the breeze with Bonnie and some of the customers.  I was listening to a conversation behind me where one of the old timers from here made the comment about another person, “I don’t know why he thinks he has any say around here.  He’s only lived here for 25 years.”  You know, I had heard that such things were said in some places, but that was actually the first time I had ever heard it.

What is normally behind such comments is–you are not like me.  Between you and me are certain social norms, and unless those norms are removed–in other words, unless you become like me, then we cannot be considered on an equal plane.  At the extreme, these divisions can cause all kinds of conflict.  The media highlights those extremes: Republicans versus Democrats; male versus female; black versus white; homosexual versus heterosexual; liberal versus conservative; rich versus poor.  And in the extremes of these movements, you are not welcome if you share another view.  In fact, oftentimes you are escorted out of the room; out of the venue; shouted down; even threatened with violence.

The question fast becomes: can we ever achieve some semblance of a peaceful and respectful society if we hold onto such divisions?  Can we make place for the other if we become so entrenched in our own positions that we avoid people because they do not live up to our standards?

Let’s see what the Gospel has to say to this as we look at this next story from the book of Mark chapter 2.

This text begins with Jesus moving out from the house in Capernaum where he had just established that He had the power to forgive sins, and teaching crowds by the Sea of Galilee.  As Jesus travels, He comes across Levi sitting in his tax booth–now, the actual word in Greek is toll booth.  While traveling from one part of the country into another, there were certain tolls that needed to be paid much like the tolls we pay on toll roads today.  There were no electronic passes that you put on your car to drive back then, and the toll system was set up in quite a different way.  You see, to get a job monitoring a toll booth, you told the government how much revenue you would provide for them.  The government granted you the job based upon how much you said you could make for them.  Then, not only would you charge enough to pay the government back, you would also tack on your own fees to pad your own bank account.  This led to a system which was ripe with fraud, and toll collectors were absolutely despised.

How much were they despised?  Let me quote to you Mark Edwards in his commentary.  I personally think this is priceless, “The Mishna and Talmud [Two commentaries on the first five books of the Bible–...register scathing judgements of tax collectors, lumping them together with thieves and murderers.  A Jew who collected taxes was disqualified as a judge or witness in court, expelled from the synagogue, and a cause of disgrace to his family.  The touch of a tax collector rendered a house unclean.  Jews were forbidden to receive money and even alms from tax collectors since revenue from taxes was deemed robbery.”

How would you like that job?  Most of us might not appreciate the social stigma associated with such a job, but these jobs were actually in high demand because it was a quick and easy way to get rich.  Levi had such a job, and was probably doing quite well.  Though despised by many in society, he was well off, so it is actually quite surprising that when Jesus said, “Follow me,” Levi simply got up and went.

What makes this so surprising is the fact that Levi has a government job.  You see, Simon, Andrew, James and John could always go back to fishing if following Jesus doesn’t work out.  Levi will not be able to return to his.  Someone else will take the position, so Levi is giving up quite a bit to follow Jesus.  But he is going to go out with a bang.

The scene quickly shifts to a dinner celebration where Levi and his associates have joined Jesus and the disciples.  As they feast together, the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’

The scribes of the Pharisees are very much put off by what they see.  Jesus has made a name for himself proclaiming the nearness of the kingdom of God; He has healed the sick; and He has shown authority to forgive sins.  Why in the world would he associate with toll collectors and others who were considered sinners?

Robert Guelich says it very well when he writes:

From the standpoint of the Pharisees, Jesus was doing that which was ritually defiling through disregard for the laws concerning table fellowship and clean and unclean foods.  Neusner has pointed out the importance of those concerns among the Pharisees before A.D. 70.  Part of the concern grows out of fear that one not only will be ritually defiled but also be morally contaminated by such company.  Eating with someone had special connotations.  “It was an offer of peace, trust, brotherhood and forgiveness; in short, sharing a table meant sharing life.”  Eating together created a special bond or fellowship through the eating of the broken bread over which the host had spoken the blessing.  Therefore, guests were selected very carefully.

In the scribes’ eyes, Jesus was not being selective enough about who he kept company with.  Jesus was defiling Himself by being around those who were corrupt, deceitful, sinful.  They were scandalized by what they saw Jesus doing.

Jesus retorts with a common saying nearly everyone agreed upon, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”  This is actually a profound statement of Jesus’ purpose as the Messiah.  It’s a profound statement about the Kingdom of God.

First, let me quote William Lane as he adds an important detail about what Jesus was doing, “The expression used in Ch. 2:15, “they reclined at table together with Jesus,” suggests that Jesus–the Messiah–and not Levi, was the host at this festive meal.  When this is understood, the interest of the entire pericope centers on the significance of Messiah eating with sinners.  The specific reference in verse 17 to Jesus’ call of sinners to the Kingdom suggests that the basis of table-fellowship was messianic forgiveness, and the meal itself was an anticipation of the messianic banquet.  When Jesus broke bread with the outcasts, Messiah ate with them at his table and extended to them fellowship with God.”

The Messiah was extending fellowship with God toward tax collectors and sinners.  However, this in and of itself wasn’t a huge deal.  Most Jews agreed that God wanted fellowship with sinners.  God wanted sinners to follow Him.  That wasn’t an issue, but something else really was.  And what was that something else?

We return to what Mark Edwards says in this extended quote:

But what exactly was it about Jesus’ association with such people that offended them?... Their opposition is the more explainable on the ground that reform was not the fundamental assumption of Jesus’ ministry, as it had been for John the Baptizer, for instance.  There is no word in the call to Levi and in the dinner with sinners about repentance.  Repentance, in fact, is curiously absent from Jesus’ proclamation in Mark.  The scandal of this story is that Jesus does not make moral repentance a precondition of his love and acceptance.  Rather, Jesus loves and accepts tax collectors and sinners as they are.  If they forsake their evil and amend their lives, they do so...not in order to gain Jesus’ favor but because Jesus has loved them as sinners...The fact that Jesus can be found in the company of people such as Levi reminds us of the difference between his mission and that of the scribes.  They come to enlighten; he comes to redeem.  Given that mission, it is as senseless for Jesus to shun tax collectors and sinners as for a doctor to shun the sick.  The grace of God extends to and overcomes the worst forms of human depravity.

Do you see the radical nature of God’s grace here?  Do you see the radical nature of what Jesus does here?  Do you see how this flies in the face of what we normally practice when it comes to our associations with others?  The scribes and the Pharisees would not associate with you until you cleaned up your act.  It was assumed that God would not associate with you until you cleaned up your act.  It is assumed by many of us that we will not associate with another until they agree with us.  But Jesus does the exact opposite.  He sits down in fellowship with unrepentant sinners; calls them into a relationship with Him; and then watches the transformation occur.  It’s completely and totally backwards according to the world’s standards.

But in reality it is the only way God can have fellowship with us. For there is no way we can completely clean up our act.  The scribes and the Pharisees show this in their own self-righteousness.  They believe that people can cure themselves.  They believe that people can become righteous before God on their own.  And because righteousness–to them–is a self-help project, they hold others in contempt.  And when you hold someone else in contempt, are you practicing genuine love and compassion?

If our relationship with God is up to us, then we will inevitably become self-righteous.  But if our relationship is dependent solely upon God’s grace, then no one is allowed to boast.  No one has the right to be contemptuous.  No one has the right to shun another because that other fails to live up to certain expectations.  You don’t live up to those expectations either!!  The scribes need Jesus just as much as those toll collectors and sinners need Jesus!!  Oh, and we know that Jesus will also dine with those scribes and Pharisees in His ministry.  Jesus will fellowship with them as He held fellowship with Levi and the other toll collectors and sinners.  God’s grace is to be extended to all.  And our sinfulness will indeed rub off on Jesus.  He will become tainted with our hatred, our self-righteousness, our discontent, our desire to draw lines and avoid people who do not agree with us.  He will take all of these things upon Himself and put them to death with Him on the cross.  He will become sin who knew no sin so that we can be forgiven.  It is He who hosts the heavenly banquet; who welcomes all not based upon what we do but based upon what He has done.

And when you realize that you are at the banquet not because of who you are but in spite of who you are...

When you realize that your place at the table was not earned by you but given to you...

When you realize that Jesus has invited others who are not like you; who desperately need His love just like you need His love...

You realize that the heavenly banquet is made up of people who are not like you, and you have the opportunity to show a different reality “on earth as it is in heaven.”  You realize that the love of God in Jesus Christ provides a tremendous basis and foundation to overcome differences that arise.  You and the other are both sinners; Jesus has sought both of you out; and Jesus has redeemed you both through His death on the cross which revealed the nature of the God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.

If you focus on what God has done for you and for those who are not like you, then you will not shun the other; you will have compassion and understanding, and you will work toward peace.  Amen.

Where is Grace?

(Trying the video thing once again.  For those who wish to simply read, continue below.)

    During my senior year of college, my roommate and I went camping in Perdernales Falls State Park.  We enjoyed a couple of days of hiking around and enjoying the hill country scenery.  On the second morning of our stay, we hiked around one of the “mountain” trails–actually, it was more of a hill.  As we hiked along the main trail, I saw a narrow pathway heading toward the woods.  On a whim, I took this branch.  My roommate wasn’t exactly thrilled about getting off the main trail, but I said, “Let’s just see where this leads.”

    We walked around a few cedar trees and came upon a small creek.  As this creek made its way down the hill, it had eroded into three small waterfalls.  The falls had eaten into the rock and formed three pools a couple of feet deep each.  The clear, cold, spring water had turned various shades of green, blue, and dark blue.  The red and white of the rock added further color to this sight.  The color and chuckling of the water made the place overwhelmingly peaceful, and we sat there for several minutes before carrying on.  We actually traveled up the creek, and in about 75 yards, we intersected the main trail once again.

    At this point, I wondered to myself, “Why is it the main trail diverges so far away from this little piece of heaven?  Why isn’t that little side trail marked on the map?  Aren’t people being deprived of seeing this little piece of beauty–especially if they simply stick to the main path?”

    I mean, I know there is something to be said for staying on the main path–taking the same road everyone takes–following where the crowd has gone before.  For the most part, it’s safe.  For the most part, there are others traveling along the way who can help you out if you get in trouble.  For the most part, the path is usually the easiest to follow as it is well marked and generally avoids the most troublesome spots.  There is nothing necessarily wrong with following the well marked path.

    But the marked path does not always lead you to the places of utmost beauty.  The marked path does not always lead you to the places of tranquility and peace.  The marked path may get you to the end faster, but it does not always guarantee you arriving in the state which is best for you.

    Jesus makes no bones about the fact that Christians are not called to walk on the main path.  We are not called to go through the wide door.  We are to intentionally seek out and find the more narrow paths–the more narrow doors as we grow in faith and seek to serve God.

    In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is asked, “Will just a few be saved?”

    Jesus responds, “24‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” 26Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” 27But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” 28There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. 29Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’”

    In some ways, this teaching is very troublesome for certain people.  Jesus here makes no bones about the fact that some people will be left outside the door knocking and begging to come in.  There will be some people seeing the great saints in the Kingdom of God, and they will weep and gnash their teeth while seeing them.  Even more frustrating to those who are left outside is the fact that they knew the Lord.  “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets!”

    And the Lord’s reply is curt and cuts to the bone, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!”

    Now, the temptation here is to try and label those who are the evildoers.  The temptation here is to find a group that fits that description.  And of course, when we label that group, it will not include us.  It will be them and those people who have the problem.  It will be that group that has to worry about what Jesus is saying.  It certainly can’t be us–no, not at all.

    I would caution us very strongly against doing such a thing.  Because whenever we label ourselves as the “in” group and those others as the “out” group, we find ourselves butting up against Jesus’ next statement, “Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.”  And listen to this, “Indeed some who are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

    Some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.  Whenever we start labeling such things and putting ourselves first, we might just find ourselves bringing up the rear.  We might just find ourselves on the outside looking in.  We might just find ourselves weeping and gnashing our teeth.  It’s not a pleasant thought.  Not at all.

    At this point, at least with me, the question then becomes–what is the narrow door?  What does it mean to seek out the narrow door?  How is it possible to enter through that door, and where is grace in this whole process?

    I believe the concept of grace is important here–very important. I think we must remember that Jesus didn’t speak these words in a vacuum.  In fact, these words are surrounded by others which I think help shed some important light on this teaching and help us understand it much, much better.

    I would like to invite you to turn in your Bibles again this morning to Luke chapter 14.  In our gospel lesson, Jesus ends with those who will be eating in the Kingdom of God, and just a few verses later, He fleshes that out more fully.  Let’s begin reading Luke 14 verse 7

    7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
    12 He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

    Notice the humility Jesus calls his followers to display.  Notice the narrow door He sends them through.  No one would have thought to act in this manner during the time Jesus spoke these words.  Everyone wanted prestige and self-aggrandizement, but Jesus says, don’t seek it.  Instead, be humble.

    This is a consequence of grace.  For if we believe that God is responsible for our salvation–that it does not come from anything we do–then we do not become self-righteous.  We do not think that we have all the answers.  We do not think we are above everyone else.  We do not think we have any sort of special privilege because we know Jesus.  Because Christianity isn’t necessarily about knowing Jesus–those left out of the door knew Jesus–Christianity is about being known by Jesus.  And those who are known by Jesus do not point to themselves and the way they act or behave.  Instead, they point to Jesus.  Because it is in Jesus that we find Grace.  It is in Jesus that we find mercy.  It is in Jesus that we find the narrow path and the narrow door.  Amen.