For the last year or so I have been praying for my neighbors. I have intentionally tried to establish a relationship with them, talking to them whenever I see them, trying to get to know them. At special times like Christmas and Easter, I have given them cookies and devotions with the hopes of having an opportunity to share the Gospel. I have secretly picked up their garbage cans when the wind has blown them over picking up the trash that has fallen out, and surprised my neighbor by mowing her grass. They are always nice and cordial whenever we speak. But after more than three years of intentionally trying to build a relationship with them, I still know very little about them.
As I read my Bible today the New Testament passage that I read captured me from the very beginning. Luke 15:1–2 (CSB) “All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”” How did Jesus attract so many people if He was so Holy?
I always have rationalized that the reason my neighbors didn’t show an interest in my efforts was because they were offended by my faith. After all, my inner Pharisee rationalized, “They are sinners.” But in Luke, the sinners are flocking to Jesus. Luke says “ALL” of them were coming near to Him. In the Greek, ALL means all, every single one of them! Those we would assume would be most closed to the gospel were drawn to Jesus like a moth to the flame.
And they weren’t just mulling around listening from a distance; they were approaching Jesus. No social distancing here. The Greek word means to draw near (spatially). Jesus, the most Holy man to walk the face of the earth, was constantly attracting the sinners to his presence. How!?!
Perhaps the Pharisees give us the answer. Jesus welcomed them. Jesus was accepting of the rejects of society; one definition says that He received them favorably. Not only did He welcome them into His presence, but He also fellowshipped with them regularly. The Jewish culture celebrated the entertaining of guests. To eat with someone was to show them incredible respect. As Stein comments, “This shared activity implied acceptance of such people as one’s “brothers and sisters”” [1]
Jesus spent so much time with sinners that He was accused of being a “glutton and a drunkard” Luke 7:34
Stein writes, True Christianity has always broken down economic, social, ethnic, and racial barriers; for where Christ is truly present, “people will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God” (13:29).[2]
So, it seems a new strategy is necessary if I want to reach out to my neighbors. It’s not enough to go to them; I need to welcome them to me. When the Covid-19 crisis is over, I’m going to try again. Only this time, I’m going to invite them to my house for dinner. Only it won’t be me that’s doing the inviting; it will be Jesus. Afterall, Galatians 2:20 (CSB) 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Who knows? Maybe Jesus’ strategy is better than mine. Guess who’s coming to dinner?
SUNDAY SCHOOL, WEDNESDAY NIGHT ZOOM SCHEDULES!
Our I.T. team has made some corrections to the Zoom Schedule that was sent out last week. Look for the new schedule that Amy sent out this week to know how to connect for Sunday School and our Wednesday night events.
In order to minister further to our Piner families, we would like to give them an “Easter” dinner box. If your family is able, we are asking you to collect the following items and deliver to church by Wednesday, April 8, for delivery by the school resource officer:
Easter
Box Items:
Ham (donated and purchased by church-no need for you to
purchase)
Bag of Potatoes or Box of Mashed Potatoes
3 Cans of Vegetables
Jar of Applesauce
Dinner Rolls
Dessert – we suggest a baked good from the Kroger bakery
Easter Candy for kids
Jody is asking that we put these items in a box or in paper bags for easier delivery. Kroger is very generous in giving paper bags.
EASTER CARDS NEEDED!
I want to include our children in this project of
helping needy families. Have them make
cards that we can include in these bags of groceries, just to let them know
that Piner Baptist is praying for them.
[1] Stein, R. H. (1992). Luke (Vol. 24, p. 182). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Stein, R. H. (1992). Luke (Vol. 24, p. 182). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.