Grumbling
Luke 15:1-10[1]
We are a people with plenty of boundaries. We find all kinds of
ways of drawing lines that let in only those who look like us, who talk like
us, who live like us, and excluding anyone who is “different” in any way.
Whether it’s the fences we build, or the neighborhoods we choose to live in, or
the lines we draw to keep “undesirable” children out of our schools, we find a
way to keep company only with those who are like us. Even on the internet,
observers note that we tend to filter out messages from those who represent a
way of thinking we may find offensive. Instead, we only want to hear from those
who endorse the same ideas we do.
Although the Christian faith is intended to be radically
inclusive, the way we as a people tend to practice our faith can fall into the
same kind of exclusion. Bill Moyers, a journalist who was known for his PBS
documentaries in the last Century, used to say that religion has a healing
side, but it also has a killing side. Now, we’re not the kind of people to
commit a terrorist act in the name of God, but there are other ways to carry
out the “killing side” of religion. One of those is by rejecting the people we
consider to be “less than,” or “undesirable,” or even “sinful”—the very people
Jesus welcomed in the name of a loving God. We may not actually “kill” in the
name of God, but we have other weapons that can rob a person of life just as
effectively.
It might come as a surprise to hear these comments in connection
with the parables of rejoicing over finding that which was lost in our Gospel
lesson for today. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost
son are probably some of our favorites. They remind us that God never stops
seeking us out until he finds us and brings us home. They reassure us that even
when we wander astray, God never gives up on us. And when that which was lost
is found the proper way to celebrate it is to throw a party!
I’m not sure we fully appreciate this side of Jesus. We can take
ourselves and our faith so seriously, that we can miss the fact that Jesus was
known among the “religious people” of his day as “a glutton and a drunkard, a
friend of tax collectors and sinners!” (Luke 7:34). Apparently, Jesus’ ability
to celebrate the joy that comes from knowing God’s love and seeing that love
transform those who were “lost” earned him a “reputation” among the good,
upstanding people of the day. They were so busy obsessing about their religious
“obligations” that they missed the whole point of it all: living in the joy of
God’s unconditional love, and sharing that love with others—all others!
That was the reason why Jesus told these parables in the first
place. Again, Luke clues us into that with the way he introduces the chapter.
He describes the setting this way: “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).
Now, there are some things we need to understand about this. First, “tax
collectors and sinners” was something of shorthand in that context. It was a
phrase that included everyone who was considered “undesirable,” whether they
were actually immoral or just consigned to the category of human “trash” by the
good, upstanding people.[2]
It’s easy for us to overlook this dimension to the parables
because we tend to identify with Jesus’ point of view when we read the Bible. I
think that’s a natural response to Scripture: we would like to think that we’re
the kind of people who hear and obey. Therefore, we assume that we’re “on God’s
side.” But of course, it’s that assumption that allows us to fall into the trap
of the “killing side of religion” by rejecting others and setting up boundaries
to keep them separated from us.
The irony in this situation is the fact that those who were
consigned to the category of human “trash” were the very ones who responded to
Jesus and his message of God’s all-inclusive kingdom![3] In
the Gospels they are the examples for us to follow regarding how to respond to
Jesus. By contrast the “religious” people kept their distance. Or if they did
“stoop” to associate with Jesus, it was only to confirm their assumption that
he was misguided at best and dangerous at worst. Despite their narrowness,
Jesus continued to reach out to the “religious” people, inviting them to join
in the celebration of new life. The parables in this chapter leave it open as
to whether they would accept his invitation, or continue to cling to relative
safety of their grumbling.
We face the same choice today. We can choose to assume that we are
justified in writing off those we exclude as “trash.” If so, we will have
forgotten that though we have all gone astray, we want God to be merciful to
us, but we’re asking him to withhold that mercy from those we reject![4]
Instead of assuming that posture of judging others, we can admit that Jesus has
something to say in these parables that we desperately need to hear as much as
anyone![5]
If we have the ability to hear him, perhaps then we can leave our grumbling
behind, and join with him and “all heaven” in rejoicing when anyone from any
walk of life who was lost is transformed by God’s love.
[1]
© 2019 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 9/15/2019 at
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2]
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According
to Luke X-XXIV, 1073.
[3]
Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke,
570.
[4]
Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, “The Gospel of Luke,” New Interpreters Bible IX:298: he says that we want God to be
merciful to us by giving us more than we deserve, but we want those we view as
“undesirable” to get no more than they deserve.
[5]
Fred Craddock, Luke, 184.
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