Are You Willing To Love A Sinner Into A Relationship of Promise?
Good Morning Friends,
The setting for the passage from Matthew is the call of Matthew and a dinner with sinners. The passage from Genesis today has the passing of one generation to another as the setting but it is really about the story of Isaac and Rebekah and though the most winsome of the passages have been left out of today’s selection, it is still a love story with a sweetness and simplicity of mutual devotion for the ages…literally a marriage made in heaven. What they have in common is that they are about strong-willed people and that some will be being willing to follow and that others will not be committed. Are You Willing To Love A Sinner Into A Relationship of Promise?
Scripture: Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years; this was the length of Sarah’s life. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Abraham rose up from beside his dead, and said to the Hittites, “I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but will go to my country and to my kindred and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb .Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67 (NRSV)
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
Matthew 9:9-13 (NRSV)
Message: Today we explore the possibility that we can seek people’s company not because we like what they are and acquiesce in what they are, but because we hope to have some influence in changing them and passing on from one generation to another the comfort of our faith. Teachers spend their lives in the company of children not because they prefer the company of children to the company of adults, but because they regard it a great privilege to have some share in developing the potential of children to become functional adults. Social workers spend their time with challenged families not because they prefer families with complicated challenges to families without major challenges, but because they hope to be able to help to solve the challenges. Surely some hunger for the truth. But the Pharisees failed to discern that Jesus had a similar motive in fraternizing with publicans and sinners and even the likes of Matthew, a tax collector. Still, these Pharisees made a false judgement about Jesus and assumed he preferred their company to the company of those who thought themselves righteous. In fact, they assumed that he approved of their sinful conduct. It does not seem to have occurred to these Pharisees that Jesus might have kept bad company for a good reason. But Jesus did have a good reason and so should we. Sinners need the message more than the righteous. Regardless, the Pharisees were outraged and scandalized by Jesus’ behavior given the culture and context of the situation. Here a man who was called a Rabbi was keeping table with people the Pharisees considered the very scum of the earth. Pharisees kept company with Pharisees, and Rabbis with other Rabbis. They were put off because Jesus was not praising them for their devotion to the Torah but instead castigating them as hypocrites because they did not understand that they were religious bureaucrats that were catering to the palate of those who wanted to dine on forgiveness without requiring real repentance and love. Friends, Jesus wants sinners who desire to dine on the word of the Lord. The Pharisees were starving themselves. But let us not judge them too harshly. It is way too easy to become self-righteous and miss the people that Jesus sought out. Maybe we will not be as bold as Jesus, who was never afraid to get into places of darkness so that He could shine a little light. But maybe we could on occasion share a bright or enlightening word with those that hunger for God.
And So, there is a cost for following Jesus. And frankly it is a relationship where there is no earthly security. It is worth it if you love, but you must be strong enough and that means abiding in the Spirit. If you are called to be a disciple of Christ, then it must be a priority above all else. We are not to be distracted by the world…by money…by power… by family. And there is no turning back for once you start with Jesus you are spoiled for everything else. People still ignore Christ’s warning and undertake to follow Him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved, well enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. If you practice a religion that protects you from the hard unpleasantness of life, then it is little more than escapism. This is not about keeping up appearances. The Great Physician came to heal us for life eternal not to insulate us from it. That is why we must not just be birds of a feather sticking together. We must realize that people really cannot tell who we are by the company we keep. Still there is a price for loving a sinner into a relationship with God and if we love the price is worth it.
Pray we never lose our appetite for scripture. Pray that instead of being collectors and enforcers we become givers and sharers. Pray we hear and understand intellectually. Pray we see and perceive emotionally. Pray we open the eyes of our hearts and hear and see and understand spiritually. Pray we appreciate that Jesus is more interested in mercy than sacrificial protocol. Pray we are saved from a wasted life and a famine of failure. Pray we find abundance as we follow the Word and Way. Pray our breaking of bread in communion becomes an invitation to a feast for all. Pray we shine a light in the darkness. Pray we are not lukewarm Christians. Pray we go deeper with our faith. Pray we are authentic Christians. Pray we commit ourselves completely and hold nothing back.
Pray we not look back but always forward. Pray we consider the cost of following Jesus but also consider the cost of not following Jesus. Pray we are guided with a purpose in this life we have been given and discover an opportunity to glorify God in a relationship of promise. Pray we learn to love. Pray we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Pray we are healed for a purpose. Pray we experience God’s mercy. Pray we love the next generation into a relationship of promise.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 