August 3, 2012
Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus' followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, "Why does he eat with such scum?" -- Mark 2: 15-16 (NLT)
I have watched at a distance the controversy this week surrounding the fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A. This all started when the owner of the chain, who is a Christian, gave his opinion against gay marriage. He of course is protected by the first amendment of the Constitution regarding free speech but that did not stop the opponents from going on the offensive. It reached the height of irony when three mayors decided that they couldn't take the "intolerance" so they suggested banning the stores from their respective cities, proving that they certainly do not seem to understand the meaning of the word "intolerance." The week culminated with a Wednesday "support chick-fil-a day, where thousands of Christians frequented the stores and purchased chicken in the name of the Lord. In retaliation, the LGBT community promised a "kiss-in" at those very same stores on Friday.
I do not wish to debate the righteousness of waffle fries for Jesus. As Christians, we are responsible for what we do and what we say. We know that for every careless word we will be held to account. When it comes to controversies like this I want to go back to the Scripture and the life of Jesus. The Bible says that the things of God are foolishness to those in the world. Yet so often we see well intended Christians responding to events such as this by trying to explain Scripture to the non-believers. This will be like speaking to an American in Chinese and getting frustrated because they do not seem to understand you. We are not charged with bringing the morality of a religion to the lost but rather, the love of Christ. I know the "heal the land" crew from Christianity is up in arms right now but we need to realize that the land is in jeopardy not because of the behavior of the world but because of the behavior of the church:
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. -- 2Chronicles 7: 14 (NLT)
We are the people called by His name beloved. This verse is the recipe for healing the land and it always starts with us. Repentance should never start with the other guy. There are four things here specifically that God says we need to do and protesting a "kiss-in" is not on the list. First we are to humble ourselves. Now, I have been pleasantly surprised at the tameness of the Christian reaction to this controversy. Usually we do much worse. Why does the God say we need to humble ourselves? Because we are too prideful! Because the people who are on the outside of salvation looking in will not gravitate towards and arrogant religious spirit. When the religious people of Jesus' day found a woman caught in the act of adultery they wanted to stone her! Jesus however said that neither would He condemn her -- now go and sin no more. That is the spirit we are to embody. Likewise, people on the outside need to see that we are a praying people who seek after God. They need to see our faith in action not merely in words. When they see our peace in the middle of the storms of life they will want that too. That is how the land is healed. Not through legislation. Not through picketing. The land is healed when people come to Christ. We are the vehicle God has chosen to bring His Gospel -- not religiosity to the fallen land. Lastly in the land healing verses is that we must turn from OUR wicked ways. The church has become enamored with the sins of the world. They are already walking in darkness but when you ask the typical non-believer why they do not go to church the number one reason is the hypocrisy of those who believe. They see through the rhetoric and realize the same people who condemn them for their sins have a big ole plank sitting in their eye. If the people who are called by my name"I will heal their land.
Besides Scripture however, we have the life of Christ to turn to as a guide for matters such as these. The key verses for today are from the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. Levi, who is also known as Matthew, was one of the 12 disciples but when he was called by Jesus he was a tax collector. These folks were considered the scum of the scum in these days. They accepted positions helping the Roman Empire against their own people and often cheated their own people as well. Did Jesus turn His nose up at him? Did he sneer at him for being such a low down dirty dog? Did He hold up a sign that read "God hates tax collectors" at the annual Tax Collector Pride Parade? No. He went to his house and had dinner with him. Then He recruited him to be a disciple. Matthew would go on to write the Gospel of Matthew and hold to his faith until he was martyred, possibly by beheading.
It wasn't just tax collectors but also disreputable sinners. What about the Samaritans, who were considered half-breeds by the Jews? Jesus also spoke with them and tried to reach them and when He told a parable about being a true neighbor for someone He made the Samaritan the hero. What about lepers, whose contagious disease was so reviled they had to live outside the city limits and shout "unclean!" whenever they were around people.
Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. "Lord," the man said, "if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean." Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," he said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared. -- Matthew 8: 2-3 (NLT)
Jesus could have just healed this man by saying so. Instead however, He reached out and touched him first. He made it a point to touch who no one else would touch. He made it a public point to say that the biases of men do not apply to God. Diseased, half-bred, disreputable -- sinners. It simply did not matter because this is who He came to save. The well, do not need a doctor. Lord forgive us if we start to veer into the mindset of the Pharisee who forgets that they too were the scum once. But for the grace of God go I. The song sings about a wretch and that is me!
So, we ask the age old question, what would Jesus do? If presented with this situation involving Chick-Fil-A, what would He do? I stand here today as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I am very confident that He would have gone down to His local Chick-Fil-A, but not on Wednesday. No beloved, Jesus would have been at the kiss-in. He would have mingled through the lines of people and told them how much He loved them. How much the Father loved them. He would have healed many, condemned none, and loved all. Let us never stray from His model and His example.
Rev. Anthony.
