Matthew 21:28-32
“Prostitutes, Skater Kids, and All Other Manner of ‘Sinners’ Welcome!”
By: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pastor, Grace United Methodist Church, Soddy Daisy, TN www.graceumcsd.org
In their book Justice in the Burbs: Being the Hands of Jesus Wherever You Live Will and Lisa Samson write:
“The suburbs seem particularly designed to avoid facing the bigger issues of life.
It almost feels as if these communities were designed to avoid interruption by anything unpleasant or uncomfortable.
Planned developments have ways of controlling who comes near.
And electronic garage door openers seal the deal…
…the burbs are safe, but they are safe at the price of keeping out questions of need, questions of poverty, questions of insufficiency.
In fact, they are designed to maintain an illusion of a particular life, the American dream, where no one is needy, where there is a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage (and a boat, and those tools we never use, and a riding lawn mower…).
Let’s face it—we don’t want to be bothered by those in need…
…whole industries exist to create pleasurable experiences that divert us from the real pain of life…”
In essence, we have become comfortably numb!
Let’s ask ourselves this question.
Would the most reviled of sinners feel welcome and loved in our churches?
Would drug addicts, prostitutes, those who have lived with multiple partners, those who have addiction problems, the homeless, the mentally ill, the depressed, the marginalized, those who have spent time in prison feel welcomed and loved unconditionally?
Would they know that we love them just the way they are…
…sins, warts and all—no matter what their lifestyles, no matter their appearance, no matter what is in their bank accounts….
…would they know we love them just the way they are?
And do we?
Do we really?
God loves us just the way we are.
For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…
…and Jesus came not to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him!
When folks come to our churches do they see in us the kindness and richness of God’s love and tolerance and patience and forgiveness?
Do they see Christ in you, in me?
When they see our churches, drive by them…
…do they think we are a bunch of hateful hypocrites or loving, inclusive, non-judgmental sinners—saved by grace—but in no means—stuck up or holier than Thou?
A friend of mine at another church has a really neat ministry going with skater kids.
You know who I’m talking about.
You see them around town.
They are the kids who dress a bit funny.
Their hair may be dyed a few different colors like orange, blue or green.
They are usually between the ages of 12 and maybe 16.
And they look troubled.
Anyhow, one day, a year or so ago my friend was driving in the Hixson—Soddy Daisy area, and he saw 6 or 8 skater kids riding their skateboards in a vacant parking lot.
He wanted to speak to them so he pulled into the parking lot and began to walk toward them…
…but when they saw him coming they took off fast!!!
You see, these children are so accustomed to being told to “get out of here” or “get off this property” by adults that they have come to expect this.
Anyhow, my friend saw where they went.
They had headed behind the Bi-Lo grocery store building across the street.
So, he drives over there…
…gets out of his car…
…and walks back behind the store building.
The kids were staring at him, preparing to bolt the minute he gave them indication that he was going be a threat.
But, instead he called out, “Hey guys. I want to talk to you. My name is Terry Davis. I go to Covenant Church up the road and I’d like to invite you to come skate in our parking lot!”
The kids were dumb-founded!
“Really?”
“Are you serious?”
You see, Terry knew that these kids who love to ride their skateboards have very few options—very few places to skate.
No one wants them.
So Terry and some other folks built a skate-park with professional skate ramps and all kinds of stuff in the church parking lot for the kids.
And the kids come there in the droves.
Terry tells me that most of these kids have virtually no parental supervision or love.
Many of them have one parent in prison and another parent strung-out on dope.
The kids often tell stories and lie about their lives because they are ashamed and insecure.
Before being invited to Terry’s church, many of them thought of Jesus only as a curse word!!!
Not too long ago, the Church I pastor, Grace United Methodist Church hosted a Christian Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Concert and we had a blast!!!
And Terry was there and so were the skater kids.
When they drove into the church parking lot, Terry later told me that some of the kids said, “We know the pastor here. Sometimes we come here and skate, and he will come out and talk to us—saying something like, ‘It sure is a nice day to ride a skateboard.’”
I was barely aware of this.
But it made a big impression on them, because they are accustomed to being told to “get off” church property by people who are called Christians…
…and not to skate in church parking lots.
How sad.
Of all places, they should feel welcome and loved at a church!!!
And this is the way all persons should feel.
Where have we gone wrong?
How have we gotten so off base?
Jesus was talking to the religious people of his day.
He was talking to the church goers and the pastors and He said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”
How could that be?
Well, Jesus tells us the parable of the two sons.
A man had two sons and he went to the first son and said, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.”
“I will not,” the son answered the father, “but later he changed his mind and went.”
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing.”
And that son “answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.”
How many of us, when we signed on to be Christians answered God’s grace by saying, “I will love You with all my heart, with all my mind and with all my strength and I will love my neighbor as myself”?
And how many of us promised that we would keep the charge—the great commission set forth by Jesus to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”?
And let’s be honest, how well are we doing in this department.
Did we indeed go like we said we would…
…or have we become distracted by the things of this world…
…by our status in the community…
…by the size of our homes…
…by the love of money over the love of people?
Have we gone or have we not gone?
Are we sold out for Christ or just sold out?
Do we spend more time in judgment of others or being intentional about welcoming the stranger, the marginalized, persons with “messy lives”—the outcast, the poor, the disenchanted, the disenfranchised, those who doubt, those who do not know the love of God, those who have been hurt by the church.
Do we seek to live in the kind of community that does not pass judgment, but instead embodies the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience toward all?
Are we shutting the Kingdom of God in person’s faces or are we opening the doors for all to come in?
Many will tell you that some of the most receptive persons to the Gospel of Jesus Christ are the very people who feel as if they are having the doors of America’s churches slammed in their faces!!!
We are the privileged!
Have you ever thought of yourself this way?
In Romans Chapter 5, the Apostle Paul writes: “Because of your faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand…”
Do we think of “where we now stand” as a place of undeserved privilege?
And what a difference it would make in our lives, in our community and in our churches if we did!
We know something about life that many folks no nothing about.
We know that God loves us.
And we know that God loves everyone!!!
And Jesus said that people will know we are Christians by how much we love.
Love is what attracts people to Christ!
Do people see in us something that the world can’t offer…
…a superabundance of grace-filled, unconditional love toward all people no matter what?
Pastor and Author, Neil Cole, is doing some amazing ministry.
In his book, Organic Church, Cole writes about a time he decided to have a baptism in the parking lot of a ghetto apartment complex in Los Angeles.
He and other church members brought a barbecue and let the smell of steak grilling over the fire fill the apartments, and lots of people started coming out for the free lunch.
They started singing songs and filled a little kiddie pool with water.
Cole writes, “Curiosity kept everyone watching; in fact, the balconies were filled with onlookers.
We had the new believers sit down in the little pool, and we baptized them in front of everyone.
Then we presented the message of the Gospel and asked if any others wanted to come down and accept Christ and be baptized.
Cole continues to write, “Three more people gave their lives to Christ and were baptized.”
He adds, “Our presence was now well known in the whole neighborhood, and we were being watched closely.”
And this is the really neat part.
Cole writes, “One evening we were sitting in a circle discussing the Bible, I noticed a young woman watching us.
She was not entering into the circle but observing at a distance with her two small kids, simply listening to the Word of God.
As the weeks went on, Juanita eventually worked her way into the meeting.
She would sit quietly and listen to the Scriptures.
A few weeks later we read about the suffering of Christ.
The scourging and crucifixion were described in detail.
Juanita was sitting on the edge of her seat, speechless.
Then I read about the resurrection, and she couldn’t contain herself anymore.
Cole continues, “When I said, ‘He rose from the dead,’ she raised her hand and without hesitation asked, ‘Do you mean His spirit rose, His ghost?”
“I (Cole writes) said ‘No, not just His spirit, His body came back to life.”
Cole says, “I asked, ‘Do you remember Doubting Thomas?”
“She shook her head.”
At that point Cole “realized that this girl, who spent twenty years living in Los Angeles, had never heard the story of the Gospel before.
“She was amazed by the message.”
Cole says that after the meeting he spoke with her.
He asked her about her kids.
They had different fathers, both in prison.
Her younger child had never even received a name.
They just called him Pudgy.
His father was in jail, without possibility for parole.
When Cole talked with the kids, he noticed that they were shy about speaking.
Later he found out from others that they both had serious speech impediments.
The following week, Juanita came to the meeting they were now having weekly in the parking lot of this dangerous area, and announced to Cole, “The devil doesn’t want me to become a Christian because he will lose a recruiter.”
Cole affirmed that the devil does not want her to become a Christian, and then he asked her what she did to recruit people to the devil.
She told him, “I am a drug dealer. I have been doing this since I was thirteen years old.”
A week later, Juanita’s two boys came running up to Neil Cole.
They were calling out his name in joy!
Their speech problems were apparently cleared up entirely.
Then Cole saw Juanita, and she ran over to him and gave him a big hug and announced to him, and to everyone within a mile, that she had given her life to Christ.
She also told him that she had found a real job.
She had to drive a lot, work long hours, and not get much money for doing it, but it was legitimate, and she felt good about it.
There are folks like Juanita living all around us!
Some of them look like skater kids.
Others are homeless.
Some are drug addicts.
Some look like you or me.
Some live next door.
Some live in close proximity to this church.
Many people know nothing about the Love of God.
Is it not our job to share God’s love with them?
We are called to be Christ to a lost and dying world.
We are called to be Christ to children whose parents are either in jail or on crack or both!
We are called to be Christ to the parents of the children.
We are called to be Christ to those who have been hurt by the church.
We are called to be Christ to those who have gotten caught up in the cycle of sin and addiction; the marginalized, the lonely, those who feel unlovable!
What a privilege!!!
What an exciting calling!!!
If you are like the second son in our Gospel lesson who said he would go, but did not—there is still time to jump into the lovely thick of it!!!
There is still time to invite persons of every persuasion under the sun to come join us at church!
The religious leaders of Jesus day scoffed and said about Christ, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Do we welcome sinners—no matter what that sin might be—and eat with them?
And if we do, is everyone in our community—whatever they do and whoever they are—aware of this?
Let’s get our priorities straight.
Let’s do what we can to have food on the table, and a roof over our heads, but when it comes to all the extra gadgets and the neighborhoods with locked gates—we would all do well to go on a diet!!!
Let’s get to know our neighbors.
And let’s face it.
Many of our neighbors are in plenty of trouble.
They are going through divorce or abuse.
They may be contemplating suicide.
They are on the verge of bankruptcy and on the verge of losing their homes.
They are lonely.
They are isolated.
They need Jesus, just like we do!
Jesus told His disciples that His “food” was “to do the will of” God.
Is this not our food as well?
No wonder so many of us feel so spiritually malnourished!!!
Jesus said to His disciples and Jesus says to us, “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest?
I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!
They are ripe for the harvest.”
And as the New Living Translation puts it, the “fruit” of the harvest is “people brought to eternal life.”
Now that’s something I want to be part of…
…right here in Hamilton County…
…how about you?
