Sunday, August 13, 2017

Wearing Herself out for One of the Least of These

Our gathering is different than any other I personally know of...and in many ways.

It is different, perhaps most of all, in what our people actually do in real life as far as difficult, dirty, smelly, uncouth, socially misfit people are concerned.

In even the most open traditional seeker-sensitive church I've been involved with, the seeker had to be pleasant and clean to be genuinely welcomed and encouraged to participate in the church in a meaningful way.

Certainly, the unwashed, literally and metaphorically, were tolerated. They were welcomed to be a number in our attendance stats and they were smiled at and handshook and encouraged to come again. But, to become one of us?...

...they'd have to stop being difficult, smelly and/or uncouth, even if they truly believed the the message of and about Jesus.

And, that was in the, by far, most open traditional seeker-sensitive church I've been involved with.

In most traditional churches I've been a part of, the clear, but unwritten, rule was that the least of these could expect, at best, a begrudging handshake and a grimace in the place of a smile.

One of the essential principles of our gathering is that Jesus meant what He said about righteousness and, because of that, we must obey Him...literally.

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In the case of the topic of this post, our view of the difficult, dirty, smelly, uncouth and socially misfit is absolutely dictated by the teaching of Jesus in the Sheep and Goats description of the Day.

Speaking for myself, I don't like difficult people or the dirty or smelly or uncouth or socially misfit.

But,...

...Jesus is my Lord. I let Him tell me what to do and not do...

...and, honestly, compared to Him, I myself am difficult, dirty, smelly, uncouth and socially misfit.

And, Jesus said when you feed the hungry, house the stranger, care for the sick, etc., the issue of who is difficult and dirty and smelly and all of those things becomes crucial.

We Believe that when you feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, etc. and do it for someone not among the people Jesus calls the least of these, your kind act is not an act of righteousness...

...and, that it won't be counted on the Day.

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Evie's worn out these days, physically, emotionally and, probably, to a degree, even spiritually.

One of the people we have been driving here from the home is declining physically. She's in her mid 70s and has not been well for years. Her name is Marian.

Marian is totally impoverished. She is supported by government benefits. She literally has no family and is so shy and reserved that she will never speak unless spoken to and then only in a nearly indistinct mumble.

And, when her most recent physical ailments surfaced, she was also diagnosed as suffering from dementia.

She ended up in a local hospital and Evelyn, because the poor woman was sick, visited her. That is, after all, right out of our playbook.

Two days ago, Marian was moved to a nursing home and both the hospital and the home, believe it or not, had Evie sign some of the paperwork!?!?

And, Evie is just absolutely worn out.

I believe that what we are doing for my parents counts for little, if anything, for eternity.

Jesus pointed out that even sinners love those who can return your love.

It's what Evie is doing now that reflects the love and mercy of Jesus Who gave Himself for people who had no right to ask and didn't deserve mercy from Him.

I'm blessed.

Our talk is radical.

Evie walks our talk.

She's wearing herself out for one of the least of these.

But, she needs, as even Jesus did, to go off to a quiet place and get some rest.

4 comments:

  1. If you believe in what the Bible says, then nothing that you do by way of being pious or righteous is counted for anything at all. The Bible states, though not in these exact words, that "the very best of your efforts to be pious is GARBAGE in the eyes of God". Therefore, anything you do to care for the difficult, dirty, smelly, uncouth, and misfit only serves to make you, yourself, feel more pious about yourself. I am, by far, not saying we should not do these things because I, myself, find use and solace in doing them. If God is, indeed, within us all, then in order to become a better person to Him we must become better people to ourselves. It would only then follow that to enable ourselves to do this, we would also have to be better people towards others, no matter how distasteful we may find them.

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  2. I don't think Evie comes away from these acts of love mercy feeling anything close to pious. If anything, she feels humbled that God Himself would give His life for her.

    Reading the Bible, it's clear to me at least, that God is not, as you say, within us all. Rather, both Old and New Testaments say that there is no one who is good, no not one. The truth is that all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and that it was while we were sinners Christ died for us.

    There is no becoming "a better person," only obeying Jesus' command to deny yourself and to take up your cross and to follow Him.

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  3. FWIW, I like this post. Not that I like Evie being worn out, but this vein of thinking. Yes!

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    Replies
    1. Dan,

      One of the moments that formed my life change was the moment that I began to believe that Jesus was perfectly serious when He said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

      Showing mercy has become a daily goal for us. I see few in traditional seeker-sensitive churches who make showing mercy a way of life.

      For most church people I know, the difficult, dirty, smelly, uncouth, etc. are to be kept at arm's length.

      Being people of mercy can be exhausting. Very rarely, if ever, are people who receive mercy able to reciprocate, even if they want to...and, few want to. That's the nature of showing mercy.

      But, Jesus said what He said about the least of these.

      That's good enough for me.

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