04/04/2019
In this current sermon series, I have shared the stories of two “undesirables”--the woman with an issue of bleeding and the prostitute who “wasted” an entire jar of perfume by pouring it on Jesus. As we read through Scripture, there are so many “undesirables”--the ten with leprosy, the tax collectors, the woman at the well, the Samaritan…
What does Jesus do consistently in all of these situations?
1. He did not reject or avoid them...he walked through Samaria and not around Samaria; he accepted an invitation from Zacchaeus to his home to dine…
2. He was fully aware of their sinfulness...”He told me everything I have ever done.”
3. He did not change his knowledge of what was righteous to accommodate others.
“Go and sin no more.”
4. Even though he was confronting the sinner about their sin, they did not feel
rejected by Jesus. Instead they felt very loved and accepted.
As the calendar tells us that we are moving closer to the events of Holy Week when Jesus would enter Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, we will experience the final week of the earthly life of Jesus. It is a painful week as we share Holy Thursday and Good Friday focusing on Jesus whose body was broken entirely for us. His brokenness again speaks to us of His love for us.
The brokenness that Jesus experienced as He gave his body and His blood was for us to know the kind of relationship and forgiveness we may have with Jesus. We are called to share this kind of love with others. Remember, Jesus rejected none no matter who they were or what they did. Jesus was always bold about teaching the truth with a heart of love for the person. And when persons encountered Jesus, they knew they were loved.
No one is undesirable in the eyes of Jesus. All are loved.
P.S. Never forget the Good News that followed the journey of Holy Week. We get to celebrate Easter as Jesus is resurrected from the dead and lives forever!
Pastor Patti
Archived Posts
One More Piece of Unsolicited Advice
I had one too many examples yesterday. Here’s the "Ask Pastor Tim" scenario that didn’t make the cut for Sunday’s sermon: (read more)
Not If, But When, the Crisis Comes
One of the best Bible commentators alive today is N.T. Wright or Tom Wright. When reflecting on the parable of the wise and foolish maidens, he wrote this:...
What I wanted to say
but ran out of time this Sunday
Here is the benediction I was going to use before discovering the excellent MLK Jr. video.
The Storm that Comes To Us as Helplessness
I want to share with you a small portion of my conversation with Artificial Intelligence online. Some of you know, I use Chat-GPT as a thoughtful sounding board for the questions and insights I’m working with on whatever scriptures I’m studying each week. What follows is an example of those discussions...
One Final Scene About Scrooge
There was one more scene in Dickens’s novel that reveals something of what has happened to Scrooge over the years. I did not have time to share it on Sunday, but I believe it reveals a great deal about the regrets in Scrooge’s life....
What Jacob Marley Would Do,
If He Could Do It…
I thought about using the following for a benediction—since Jacob Marley was warning Scrooge about the danger of loving money and what it could buy. Ends up with the Cantata and everything else going on, I didn’t have the time. So here is what you might have heard if the sermon itself was 5 minutes shorter!
A Confirming Word on Old King Herod
I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23). Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician. When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2. That’s one paranoid dude.