Wednesday 14 December 2016

December 14

Passage: Luke 7:31-35

 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’” (Luke 7:34)

Jesus tells us that fasting and feasting is often interpreted by others as something that is evil. This Advent, we have begun discovering the discipline of fasting in new ways for ourselves. Perhaps we have already heard some negative comments about some of our deliberate choices. Be comforted, people said John the Baptist had a demon.

As we transition from secrecy to celebration this week, it is appropriate that we be reminded that this, too, will be misunderstood by some people. Jesus was accused of being “a glutton and a drunkard.” Did this stop Him from accepting invitations to dinners and parties? Did Jesus stop hanging around with the ‘wrong crowd’? The rest of the Gospel of Luke tells us quite the opposite!

If Jesus is our supreme example, perhaps we need to ask ourselves if our lifestyle reflects His. Jesus did both: fasting and feasting. Jesus was neither afraid to accept an invitation from a Pharisee nor a tax collector. A mature Christian once asked me if she should accept an invitation to the wedding of a gay couple. What would Jesus do? Notice that the criticism of John the Baptist and Jesus does not come from ‘tax collectors and sinners,’ but from the religious community! Do we base our choices on what we think our friends at church might think? The Salvation Army has proven that we can be in the midst of ‘sinners’ without taking part in the sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll that they offer. Could Jesus be challenging us to do so without a ‘holier than Thou’ attitude? Do others see us as being joyful Christians, gladly accepting invitations to celebrate?

Being reminded of not letting our left hand know what our right hand is doing in this context might lead us to not necessarily broadcasting which Christmas parties we attend or plan to attend. Of course people will find out, and we don’t need to lie about it. We might even be a witness in calmly explaining the reasons for our decision! How would our non-Christian friends react if we offered to be their ‘designated driver’ at the next party? Is there a non-Christian friend in our life whom we could invite out and ask to go to a restaurant or concert of their choice?

Of course we want to be prepared for the occasion. We will have prayed for guidance. We may ask a trusted Christian friend to intentionally pray for us. We should definitely put on “the full armor of God” (Eph 5:14-18) before leaving. But perhaps it would also be good to remind ourselves, that in order to be the ‘salt of the earth’ and the ‘light of the world,’ we need to follow Jesus’ example in going to places that need salt and light! May He give us Joy in partying as Jesus would!

Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven, we confess that too often the comfort zone of our church family hinders us from being with the ‘tax collectors and sinners’ You call us to go to. Forgive us for when we have been insensitive to the prompting our Your Spirit in extending or accepting invitations to enjoy time with the non-Christians You have placed in our lives. Please open our hearts to love them as You love them. Please open our ears to hear You calling us to ‘go.’ Please protect us from the evil one when we obediently go to the dark places ‘in the Name of Jesus.’ Thank You for teaching us how You want us to be the salt and light You call us to be. We pray this in the Name of Jesus, Who calls us to follow Him to be with the ‘tax collectors and sinners’ of our day. Amen

Further lectionary texts for today: 
 Zechariah 8:1-7 God's promise to Zion 
Matthew 8:14-17, 28-34 Jesus heals 
Malachi 3:16-4:6 Elijah and the coming one 
Mark 9:9-13 Questions about Elijah 
Micah 4:8-13 God will thresh out the people 
Luke 7:31-35 The Messiah and John the Baptist

No comments:

Post a Comment

We ask that all comments be respectful and on topic.