Proper 19 / Pentecost 17 / Ordinary Time 24
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
-- Luke 15:1-2
Even before we get to the stories that attract our interest we are confronted with two questions. First, why were the tax collectors and sinners attracted to Jesus? Second, why did the fact of their attraction seem so offensive to the Pharisees and scribes? Or to put it in contemporary terms, what would the church have to do to be attractive to the sinners of our day and would such behavior seem offensive to the leaders of our churches? In typical Lucan fashion, the parables that Jesus told alternate between featuring a man and a woman.
The first parable, which featured a shepherd, raises a question of its own. It began with a question: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?" Members of Jesus' audience might want to respond, "Who would be so foolish as to risk leaving the ninety-nine vulnerable in the wilderness to go after the lost one? Better to cut your losses and protect the majority." Isn't that what contributes to the grumbling among church leaders if too much time is spent associating with outsiders and not tending to the members of the church? Jesus suggested that from a heavenly perspective, it is the lost one that merits our attention and effort.
The second parable featured a woman who lost a coin in her house. While the coin was of similar value to the other nine, she was willing to set aside her other duties and focus her attention on recovering that coin. A major thrust of Jesus' ministry was reaching out to those who were excluded and restoring them to the community of faith. This may answer the question of what made Jesus attractive to sinners. He treated them as valued children of God who were worthy of attention. He also expended his energy addressing their most immediate needs.
The answer to why the Pharisees and scribes grumbled may be similar to why church members grumble when they feel others are getting more attention than they are. It is hard for us to accept Jesus' conclusion: "... there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." It is our resistance to Jesus' message that causes us to recognize our own need for repentance.
-- Luke 15:1-2
Even before we get to the stories that attract our interest we are confronted with two questions. First, why were the tax collectors and sinners attracted to Jesus? Second, why did the fact of their attraction seem so offensive to the Pharisees and scribes? Or to put it in contemporary terms, what would the church have to do to be attractive to the sinners of our day and would such behavior seem offensive to the leaders of our churches? In typical Lucan fashion, the parables that Jesus told alternate between featuring a man and a woman.
The first parable, which featured a shepherd, raises a question of its own. It began with a question: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?" Members of Jesus' audience might want to respond, "Who would be so foolish as to risk leaving the ninety-nine vulnerable in the wilderness to go after the lost one? Better to cut your losses and protect the majority." Isn't that what contributes to the grumbling among church leaders if too much time is spent associating with outsiders and not tending to the members of the church? Jesus suggested that from a heavenly perspective, it is the lost one that merits our attention and effort.
The second parable featured a woman who lost a coin in her house. While the coin was of similar value to the other nine, she was willing to set aside her other duties and focus her attention on recovering that coin. A major thrust of Jesus' ministry was reaching out to those who were excluded and restoring them to the community of faith. This may answer the question of what made Jesus attractive to sinners. He treated them as valued children of God who were worthy of attention. He also expended his energy addressing their most immediate needs.
The answer to why the Pharisees and scribes grumbled may be similar to why church members grumble when they feel others are getting more attention than they are. It is hard for us to accept Jesus' conclusion: "... there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." It is our resistance to Jesus' message that causes us to recognize our own need for repentance.
