LUKE 14:15-24
During Lent we reflect on the cost of grace. But what about the cost of evangelism?“Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.” The host expected a glittering gathering of pretty, well-dressed, well-off people, folks pretty much like himself. We tend to hang out with folks like us; it’s human nature., which is why nearly every church in America is limited to a narrow band of social or economic or ethnic classes. This is why the topic of evangelism leads us to imagine churches filled with people very much like ourselves. But the truth is that comfortable middle and upper class America has pretty clearly decided not to come to our party, just as this parable predicted.The owner of the house said, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame…” We love this story, as long it happens either two-thousand years ago or in some end-of-time future. But what if it’s now? Imagine your congregation’s fellowship hall all decked out for Easter. Tables are covered with pristine white tablecloths and pretty flower arrangements. The floor is polished and gleaming. You have put out the good china. Now imagine the room filled with ragged, dirty, smelly people. Some came from where they’d been lying in an alley; some haven’t bathed in days. We’re talking about the meth addict with open sores on her face, the schizophrenic man talking to himself, the young man with gang tattoos tabulating how many people he’s killed.
Is this your vision of a growing, vibrant church? How are we to relate to such people?What would we talk about? What do we have in common with them? Be honest, do you really want those people in your church? Sitting next to you? Eating across from you in the fellowship hall? Talking to your children? The church in the twenty-first century is remarkably similar to the church in the first century – our faith is no longer the religion of the land; instead we are viewed with suspicion and hostility. It may help to remember that in those days Christianity appealed primarily to the marginalized, to the destitute, to the despised, to the invisible, to the outcast lowest classes in society, those so low in the social pecking order that they had no standing at all in “normal” society. That’s what churches looked like in the first century, and apparently, if we take this parable seriously, that’s how Jesus wants it.
Do we really want those people in our church? Do we really want those people in our lives? Are we really willing to share our congregation…and our lives…with them? Will we tell the good news to them?
Prayer: God, I’ve got some okay china, and some pretty nice dishes cooked up. I could use some help serving them to the meth addict, the guy talking to himself, and the gang member. May my church help me share your love where it’s needed, and may I help the church do the same thing.
Amen.
Steve deFields-Gambrel serves as pastor of the Circle Church in Santa Cruz.