What kind of "church people" am I?

Jesus chastised the rich and pious and sought out the orphans and widows, the poor and those stumbling around in the darkness of sin.  Jesus chastised the church people that felt good about themselves because they avoided the people they deemed “dirty.”  Jesus’ mission was to seek and find those the church folks had ostracized and offer them the kingdom.  This theme is all over the New Testament.  And the church needs to be asking an important questions.   Are we the pious church folk, or are we the ones seeking to follow the Way of Jesus?

“Woe to you...for you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These things you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” -Jesus in Luke 23: 23

Why is it that it is easier to tithe than to role up our sleeves and get into the middle of the controversy that is involved with justice and mercy?  There is a trial concluding this week in Nashville that involved an immigrant woman, pulled over for speeding and then subsequently arrested and held in jail for a traffic violation.  This woman just happened to go into labor at this time.  How was this handled?  Juana Villegas delivered her baby in shackles. I have had some experience with shackles, during my time as a Juvenile Probation officer.  They are handcuffs that snap around your ankles, with a chain connecting each cuff so that you are not able to easily walk or run.  As a seven-month pregnant woman, I would have to say that shackles would not be necessary for me at this moment.  I had a difficult time keeping up with the retired folk of our church at a luncheon yesterday.  Let alone considering the research surrounding the danger this is to mother and child at the time of a delivery.  This is not the justice that I would expect to receive due to a traffic citation.  Is there no room for mercy? Why have many churches and so many church people remained silent in light of what is happening to our neighbors? While it is easier to keep a comfortable distance and distract ourselves with the busyness that is life to keep us from some of the reality that is around us, and while it is more difficult to face the complex issues of immigration and the more basic question of at what point is it okay to stop treating people like people, and better question of, is there ever a point when it is okay to treat a person that God created and Jesus died for as less than human, it seems as if the call of Jesus to the “church people” of his day, and to us as His church today, is to pursue justice and mercy.  To be faithful to the call of Jesus is to be aware of what is happening not just to our loved ones, but also to our neighbors, some who have lives similar to ours and some with lives very different.  In our communion liturgy, there is a time of confession; we pray together an honest and beautiful prayer…. We have failed to be an obedient church, we have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive  us we pray.  Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Graceful...

There is a difference between performing and giving out of the gratitude that is in your heart.  In our culture of self-sufficiency and rewards based on performance in school, in athletics, in the workplace, it can be easy to mistake more performing for true service and true fellowship.  There is nothing wrong with hard work placed towards a noble goal.  It is not the way of grace; grace is unearnable.  This is a hard shift to make.  I liked school, in preparing for taking a test I would set out to conquer.  I wanted nothing less than 100% and I could usually get at least very near to this goal.  I was rewarded with a big A.  It makes sense, work hard for it and then receive it.  Now, there is a place for hard work in our spiritual lives, for setting goals about how to live and how to love our neighbors.  Our relationship with Christ is one of commitment (covenants even) and faithfulness to His voice.  Yet when it comes to receiving and extending grace, this is a different part of the journey.  Grace is the open door; grace is the reason for responding to the Father and Son whose love is so great; a great sacrifice was made.  The rest of the journey is for acts of love with the help of the Holy Spirit and out of the heart of one who is debt free and full of gratitude.

This realization has helped me come to terms with the parable of the vineyard.  The one where the employer basically pays the workers the same whether they arrived at 6 am or a half hour before quitting time.  Yes, initially, something inside me screamed, “it’s not fair!” But as I am taking my small, sometimes unsteady, sometimes one step forward-three steps back on my journey towards my goal of coming nearer to the path Jesus would have me walk, I can see that the point is, He loves all of us and wants all of us.  His grace allows us to come, and to come, as we are, when we are ready to come. 

God of Grace and Love, I pray that I may remember the grace that pursued and wooed me.  I pray that I may remember to extend this grace to those I bump into in your world today.   Amen.