Jesus Accepts
the Unexpected
Epiphany +1 – January 12, 2020
“Jesus Heals and Teaches”
Grocery shopping before a snowstorm
· Want to get what you urgently need – but frustrated by
bare shelves, or just at the l-o-n-g lines to get out of the store
Barriers to getting to Jesus
· Crowds and crowds of interested people who have heard
that Jesus is back in town – “so many gathered around that there was no longer
room for them, not even in front of the door”
· “Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed
man, carried by 4 of them…”
o And they can’t begin to get past the crowds
o Crowds who are genuinely interested in Jesus and what
he has to say – to the point that they are blocking the way of someone who is
in greater need of hearing him and encountering him
· And then later, Jesus followed by the crowd as he went
out beside the sea
o And he sees Levi, the tax collector, and of all the
people in that crowd, he calls him,
and says, “follow me.” – and Levi got up and followed him
o And Jesus eats dinner with him – and Levi has invited
other tax collectors and sinners to eat with Jesus (this man who is so popular,
so much in demand – and it’s tax collectors and sinners who get a private
audience with him!?!)
· And the scribes of the Pharisees in both scenarios
aren’t too happy with the way these scenes play out
o That Jesus forgives the paralyzed man’s sins and heals
him (how dare he forgive sins!) and sends him on his way
o And then Jesus sits and eats with these people who are
outside the bounds of polite society – who are colluding with the Romans and
making a living off their fellow Judeans
§ And sitting and eating a meal with people is a big
deal; it signifies inclusion and acceptance – you remember the HS lunch table,
don’t you? (I changed from 1 table and 1 group to another 1 year and oh, the
scandal! J )
§ Even in adulthood – Andy and his experience w/ people
he tried to sit w/ at conference who basically asked him to leave because they were
having a meeting…
o And scribes question what Jesus is doing – who does he
think he is?
Wonder about the barriers we set up or have
experienced as people seeking Jesus
· Those who do not feel welcomed in the church (maybe
our congregation; maybe just in the wider, more global expression of the Xn
church)
· Quote this morning: “people are not leaving church
because they have lost faith. They’re leaving church to preserve their faith.”
o Those who feel excluded as people “crowd” around to
hear Jesus and turn their backs on those in need of healing and hope and
restoration
o Those who perhaps feel that the roof may cave in or
lightning may strike if they dare to enter the doors of a church, bc they’ve
heard all of their lives that who they are isn’t good enough, or worthy of love
and acceptance and forgiveness
o The people who have been told (in words or in actions)
that the church is not for them unless they change and become something that
they are not;(LGBTQIA+...)
o or maybe who just don’t feel like they are welcomed
because sometimes church is like a club where you have to know the secret
handshake and code language in order to feel like you belong…
· People of different socioeconomic status – or race –
or ethnicity; how often I hear stories of people who feel excluded because they
don’t eat lutefisk or lefse or know what color jello to bring to the potluck ;)
- we are the whitest denomination in the US. Nothing wrong with being who we are - but there's something going on when people of other backgrounds don't feel welcomed to be full participants
· And we struggle sometimes so much to even recognize
that we may be excluding someone because they may just not bother to come
· It’s hard sometimes because we see Jesus crossing all
of these boundaries in these stories (Mark has a whole lot of them in his
gospel, so buckle up!) – and it can be
scary; it’s not part of what we are used to, we don’t have tons of practice;
it’s not something we feel good at, even if we want to follow Jesus in those
ways
Jesus accepts the unexpected
Grocery
stores adapting: self checkout, phone apps, instacart; new ways to meet the
same needs
· Jesus is doing a new thing in this gospel, in these
different stories we hear today
· He does the unexpected, welcomes and heals the
unexpected, eats with and accepts the unexpected
· Jesus does not act in ways that completely line up
with what is expected of a religious leader – then Or now!
· And I’m caught by the friends who bring the paralyzed
man to Jesus and are so desperate to bring their friend for healing that they
dig down through the roof
· I’m inspired by Levi, who it appears goes and throws a
party for his old buddies to meet Jesus as soon as he accepts the call to
follow him – so that they too can meet this man who he seems to know is going
to change his life
· They break through the barriers others put up
· And Jesus refuses to let those barriers block the way
to a life-changing encounter with him
· And though the religious leaders question him and
press him about what he is doing, Jesus welcomes those who others may think
should remain outside
· Jesus is doing a new thing – and though that doesn’t
mean the old wineskin or the old cloak are worthless and should just be tossed
(I’m a big believer in reduce, REUSE, recycle – and I think Jesus wasn’t trying
to trash the old traditions either!) – Jesus knows that what he is doing can’t
be contained by the old ways of doing things
· Jesus comes with the authority of the Son of Man, as
God’s son, to usher in the kingdom of God in unexpected ways
o And as we follow him, we are invited to reach out to
others, to cross boundaries and barriers to open the way for others to come to
know Jesus – in healing, in fellowship, in this meal that we share with each
other and with Jesus
o It stretches us in ways that are sometimes
uncomfortable – but it’s worth it
· Amen.
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