"I can't let them see me this way." "I've got to get cleaned up and put some make up on before we can go." "God couldn't possibly love me. Do you know what I've done?" "I can't go to church like this because everybody there is always so happy." Hmmm...Jesus challenges us to rethink these thoughts!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, let's just call a spade a spade. You know we are quite a bit less than perfect. We struggle with our obesessions, our impulses, our anger, our fears. And our closets have bags of bones in them! But we're looking for some good news today. Help us find some hope, some good, some beauty. We need your help. Amen.
Matthew 9
Comments
What did we expect God to be like, the meanest boss we've ever had, the school teacher who seemed to look forward to punishment, the moody friend who made us wonder if they ever liked us? I've met many people who seem to think that God only loves perfect people, and God is lurking behind every corner excitedly waiting to pounce on all others. This is not the same God that we find in the Bible!
Here is Jesus, fully God and fully human, showing us that God is love. Jesus is not waiting impatiently with a stormy red face and a tapping foot for us to "get it right." Jesus goes to the outsiders, the irreligious, the sinners, the diseased, the demon possessed and gives them great news! Following Jesus by faith will lead them toward health, forgiveness, freedom, and the true religion of love for God and others! This is great news!
For all of the bad news we hear about in the media and all of the "dirty laundry (reference Don Henley's song by the same name, it's a great song!)" aired out through our tv's, mobile phones, and iPads, finally, we have some good news! Jesus invites us broken, dirtied, sinners to follow him into new life. There is hope! "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Jesus invites you..."Come, follow me!"
Prayer
Heal us, Great Savior and friend! Make us whole where pieces of us have broken off and where shattered pieces of others have gouged us. You are the hope, the good news to the world, that all can be made whole through your cross and empty tomb. Thank you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
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