Lost and Found
We like to see ourselves as the ‘lost’ who have been found. Yet it is human nature to become more like the Pharisees after we’ve been found for a long time. So with which set of ears do we really hear Jesus? For those who are “bad company” and “sinners” or outsiders, Jesus brings good news. But for the Pharisees, those Jesus is seeking to include are the “unclean” and “untouchable.” Does the gospel sound wonderful to us only when we see ourselves as the target of God’s grace and joy and happiness? Or does it sound bet to us when we see others getting caught up in the divine embrace, even if those “others” are people very unlike us? And if we can feel joy over the salvation of “others,” is it because we realize that when you get right down to it, we are all the same? If we stop thinking in terms of “us verses them” in the church how might we be transformed. I keep thinking about a serious of cartoons done about inclusion of LGBTQ persons with rainbow sheep. Probably time to go there again.