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Fourth Week of Lent
Scripture: Luke 15: 1-7
Word was spreading that Jesus, accompanied by His disciples, was traveling from one city and village to another teaching, healing and demonstrating in His actions, God’s kingdom of love, forgiveness, justice and mercy for all humankind and teaching us to treat each other in the same way. This teaching leads to the many episodes of the ‘insiders’ (Pharisees, scribes, some chief priests) criticizing and challenging Jesus for His deliberant interactions and hospitality with ‘outsiders’.
According to the religious insiders’ rules, some people were categorized as unredeemable, unclean outsiders, others as sinners still having not met their sin sacrifice offerings at the Temple.
As this scripture passage begins, some of the outsiders are coming near to listen to Jesus’ teaching. Jesus invites them to join Him at the table for a meal. He extended hospitality to them, thus opening their hearts and minds to receive God’s love, kindness and message of forgiveness and learning how to live as God desires. What is notable to me is these outsiders wanted to come near and hear Jesus, yet the insiders, if they had enforced their rules, would have sent them away.
Have we done that today in our community? Have we scoffed at the ‘other’, the ‘outsider’, the one “not like us’, thus establishing barriers to their hearing and receiving the kindness, love, and mercy Jesus taught us to have and to give?
During this season of Lent, may we overcome such prejudices and truly welcome all to join our gatherings in the community of Christ. As the Pharisees and scribes are grumbling loudly of Jesus ignoring the rules, Jesus tells them the parable of the one lost sheep, the man leaving the larger flock to look for it, and upon finding the sheep, carries it home, reunites it with the flock, and holds a party for his neighbors to come and rejoice with him, for one was lost and is now found.
Jesus’ closing rebuke to the ‘religious insiders’ was “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance”. Perhaps Jesus not only was speaking of the outsiders who came near to listen and trust, but also an invitation to the insiders for them to repent, change their ways, come to the party and share in the hospitality and joy with all who accept the mercy, grace and forgiveness given us by God the Father through Jesus Christ.
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