June 12, 2016
Pentecost 4
Luke 7:36 - 8:3
Back in 2009, how quickly
the TV talent show judges judged
Susan Boyle - they saw her appearance and wrote her off. This will be good for a laugh; that is all.
You can see the
embarrassment for her in the judges’ eyes as she shook her hips and laid claim
to the dream of being a professional singer (well, not Simon, he was ready to
pounce on her audacity to waste his valuable time).
And then the she sang...
//
Susan Boyle (and others
like her) gave rise to a new twist on the TV talent competition which began
with “The Voice of Holland” in 2010, with US and UK versions to follow. There have been versions of The Voice now in
59 counties or regions.
What makes The Voice
different from the “Got Talent” or “Idol” franchises is that the celebrity
judges do not look at the
contestants as they audition - they only listen. They don’t get to “see” them until they have
already said yes to the person
continuing in the competition.
They don't judge the book
by its cover.
//
//
Luke tells us that Jesus
had been invited to the home of a pharisaic leader, named Simon (not related to
the TV talent judge, as far as I know).
You heard the story.
A party crasher came in and
went straight to Jesus and started rub his feet. It was a deeply emotional moment for
her. Her tears fell on Jesus feet and
she had to use her hair to try and dry them.
She kissed his feet. She rubbed
ointment on them.
In Simon, the host’s eyes,
it was a disruption. That would have
been true, not matter who she was. But
it was worse because she had a ‘bad’ reputation in that community.
No one in the story tells
us what the nature of her sins were,
but clearly, she was not someone anyone of any social standing would invite
into their circle.
The fact that Jesus
accepted her attention - in Simon’s mind - said more about Jesus that it did
about her.
Reading between the lines
of the story, we can presume that Simon had invited Jesus to diner because
Jesus had developed a reputation as a prophet
- one who speaks and acts with authority.
Seeing Jesus allow this sinner to touch him and kiss him made Simon
second guess his original assessment of Jesus.
He whisper (to himself -
the text says - but obviously, Simon wanted others to hear him as well):
‘If this man were a prophet, he would have
known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a
sinner.’
Jesus was not intimidated.
In fact, he welcomed her
and defended her all the more, praising her for the act of welcome - comparing
it to the lack of attention Simon had paid to Jesus.
//
I don’t know what ‘sin(s)’
this woman committed, but clearly Simon was not interested in her ability to
find renewal, restoration, pardon, assurance.
All he saw was her sin, which he had decided was permanent. She was not worthy of anyone’s compassion -
at least not in his house. And if his
guests thought differently, then Simon wondered if they belonged there as well.
//
Jesus looked at this person
in an opposite way. He saw a woman. Maybe she was a legitimate sinner (the text
seems to assume this), but Jesus ignores the sin and embraces the person.
Jesus declared her many sins, forgiven. Her slate was whipped clean in Jesus’
eyes.
Her faith was justification
enough.
//
There is not one of us who
does not have a history of behaving like Simon.
In fact, I suspect that most of us do it every day, in one way or
another. I count myself in that number!
Without knowing anything
about someone’s life story, we make judgements about who they must be. We might give them more credit than they
deserve, or (like Simon), less.
Often we catch ourselves
and keep those quick assessments to ourselves.
Maybe - the best of our faith learning kicks in
and we fight against those urges to ‘judge and dismiss’ and try to approach
things the way we imagine Jesus might.
In those moments, we have
opened more than our eyes - we have opened our hearts.
For
God so loved the world
that
Jesus was given,
not
to condemn it but to save it.
God does not (so much) look
at the world, but into the world.
Condemnation is easy. We set the
criteria in our heads and decide who’s in and who’s out.
As my go-to-folk-singer
said (in a concert one time): we build this religion around this [wily,
crazy carpenter] and suddenly the gates are all closed and the fences are high
and we look around and... he’s outside the fence.
The goodness (the Gospel)
is that the Holy Way is one of welcome, forgiveness and renewal.
Jesus not only taught this.
He lived it.
//
The author of Luke added
the notation to the end of this story that the group that travelled with Jesus
through the various villages and towns were both women and men - some of them
with fairly checkered pasts. Luke points
out that among Jesus’ closest followers and travelling companions were those
who benefited from his gifts of healing and his forgiving heart. One of the women that was mentioned
specifically might have raised eyebrows - Joanna, was the wife of King Herod’s
steward. Herod was seen by his people as
a sellout to the Romans - a person who’s claim to leadership was a tenuous
family history and a lot of empire butt-kissing.
Why would Jesus want to
welcome someone with such close ties to Galilee’s puppet king?
Jesus saw past her
reputation and she served Jesus’ gospel and ministry.
There was also Mary, who at
one time was so ‘not herself’ that she was said to have been dominated by seven demons. We don’t know what physical or mental
impairments she had, but it is fair to assume that at her worst, she must have
been judged harshly by passersby - not given much hope of offering anything to
society other than her ability to scare and annoy because of how different she was.
I will not perpetuate the
horrid notion that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. That reputation is NOT biblical and needs to
leave our minds and sense of church history.
Mary was ill. Jesus healed her. And she responded in gratitude and service -
eventually becoming one of the central figures in the Jesus’ movement.
Jesus saw beyond the
surface and got to know the person inside, as often as possible.
//
My goal in life is that if
someone is going to have a bad reputation is my eyes, they are going to have to
earn it. I will assume the best about
them, until then.
I struggle with this
sometimes, but I work on it.
//
//
God’s passion for justice
is a powerful thing. When we rely on our
best hope and faith, we are guided by God to see with hearts of compassion, not
eyes of judgement.
//
It is so hard to watch how
negative the political discourse is this election season south of the
border. Insulting nicknames based on
heritage or physical characteristics.
Pre-judging people based on their gendre, their race, their
ability.
Where is the compassion?
Where is the humility?
//
I remain hopeful that what
makes entertaining TV is not the final word.
//
I am a firm believer that
in democratic societies, we always deserve the leaders we vote for. And we have survived bad choices and been
surprised by good ones.
Politics always divides -
which is why faith is always superior to politics - not always as much fun, but
superior.
//
//
If you have seen the news
today, you know that there is a new record holder for the largest single
location mass shooting in the United States.
Fifty people were killed in the Pulse Orlando Night Club in Florida last
night.
It is early. Too early to know why this shooter felt
justified in doing this. A couple of
obvious theories are being bandied about based on demographics of the gunman
and the victims. One theory not getting
a lot of traction yet is that this was the act of a deranged individual who
didn't understand what he was doing. The
early assumption is that this was a deliberate act of carnage.
What kind of thinking goes
into planning this kind of deliberate death.
Sadly, the victims may have been targeted - not as individuals - but
because of a surface assumption of who they are. Sadly, pundits are making similar assumptions
about the shooter.
Judging books by their
cover is not only a problem of rhetoric.
Hateful rhetoric espoused on blogs, on campaign trails, in houses of
worship, on street corners is part of the environment that leads to acts like
this.
//
Our faithful proclamations
and actions do not have to be part of the problem. They can be the alternative that Jesus showed
us at the home of Simon the pharisee.
Let us follow Jesus' Way!
//
// end //
Faith can remind us of what
we hold in common - that (each of us) are created in the image of God.
That God loves the whole
world and the result is our redemption not our condemnation.
Can we see this?
Can we follow this?
The early followers of
Jesus had his example to watch and follow.
We have the stories of that
example to inspire us.
//
Jesus welcomes us along
this Way.
//
Thanks be to God.
//
Let us pray:
God of grace and power, open our
hearts to know your care. Open our arms
to show your care. Amen.
#371VU
Open My Eyes
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