THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE
Opening Song # 21 Scripture Reading Jh. 14: 1-4
Closing Song # 506
It is told by the Doctor Luke in chapter 7 and verse 36 of His gospel that one of the Pharisees whose name was later known to be Simon, invited Jesus to eat with him.
This may seem a strange occurrence to some, but it occurred at sometime before there was outright hostility to Jesus by this sect. Jesus as his manner was graciously accepted this invitation and so it was that Jesus found himself in the company of the elite of the land eating bread.
It was at this time that a woman is introduced into the scene: Let us go to luke 7: 36 , 37.
[Luke 7:36-37 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
37. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that [Jesus] sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind [him] weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe [them] with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed [them] with the ointment.
This woman’s only description is that she was a sinner. Whether she was beautiful, tall, short intelligent or stupid was never given. Whether she was married or had children; we cannot tell. She was just a woman. She had come into the house like a phantom and found herself at the feet of Jesus. No one noticed her. No one paid attention to her. She was one of the invisible people until she opened her alabaster flask. Immediately all eyes were fixed on the source of this wonderful scent.
Luke 7: 38
And stood at his feet behind [him] weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe [them] with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed [them] with the ointment.
What Luke failed to do regarding her physical attributes he made up by describing her actions. This woman washed the feet of Jesus with her tears
wiped them with hair,
kissed his feet with her lips
and anointed them with her ointment.
Come on, who would catch any of us kissing someone’s feet. This woman’s devotion was complete.
All the pharisee could see was a sinner but Jesus saw a soul. Her whole existence was defined by the pharisees in one word- “Sinner.”
But Jesus saw a person!
A person who was capable of feeling
A person capable of loving deeply and
A person who appreciated the good that Jesus had done for her.
To the pharisees her opinion and her thoughts was of no consequence but to Jesus they meant everything. He weighed in on it in while rebuking Simon the pharisee: Lk. 7: 44-48
44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
To the pharisee this woman did not matter in the grand scheme of things.
Her existence was not essential.
She was of no consequence.
But to Jesus she was a soul worth saving.
To the pharisee she was invisible but to Jesus she was a person.
How many invisible people do you know?
They are everywhere.
At work;
At church;
In our communities;
In our schools.
The maids in our offices
The janitors in our schools
The poor in our communities
The children and youth in our homes and churches
The quiet person who sits in our pews and says little.
They are there and yet they are not. They could disappear and we would not be aware of their absence. We do not know their names; their addresses; their families. They opinions and thoughts are not sought after or required. They are the invisible people.
Jesus was a master at making invisible people visible.
The woman came to the well in the middle of the day.
She was one of the invisible people.
She wanted to avoid the crowd.
They made her feel so insignificant;
They made her feel so alone and hopeless.
Her views and reason for being were not important to them. She was pushed to the outskirts of society and she had accepted her fate. She preferred, to be alone in the boiling heat of the hot sun than with a crowd in the cool of the day.
Jh. 4 ; 7-26
She had at least three strikes against her in that society: she was a woman: She was a Samaritan and worst of all she was a sinner.
The Gospel of John tells us in 4: 7 that she met a man at the well who asked her for something. Immediately she felt useful. Someone wanted something from her. To make matters worst he continued to have a conversation with her. He listened to what she was saying and replied in concert. Her self-esteemed rose another notch. And finally, he offered her something valuable. This was off the charts.
But what amazed her most was this person was not only a man, but he was a Jew. And to top it all off, he knew her life history yet continued to converse with her and offered something she could never refuse. “The water of life”. She had met the messiah, and everything was right in her world again. The messiah had chosen to reveal himself to her and she was exhilarated.
She was thrilled.
She was overjoyed.
She left Jesus filled with energy, she was visible.
She went directly to the men of the city and told them “I have met the messiah” She was no longer invisible. In fact, she was so convincing and persuasive that the men went to see for themselves.
The man born blind was of little consequence. He was cast aside by society because it was thought that his sins or that of his parents had caused him to be blind. He was Ignored and side-lined as he stood outside the temple begging. His name was not important. How he felt was not important. All that was important to them was that someone had sinned and caused him to be that way. So often we look at the reasons why people are in the condition there are in. We use the reason to the deny the assistance that we should be given. But Jesus did not focus on the caused of his disability Jesus focussed on the man.
Jh. 9:1,2 1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
The disciples uttered the societies prejudiced. But Jesus was not so much interested in the cause as to the solution. In healing the man Jesus made him visible. He now held the attention of the pharisees.
God has called us to make the invisible – visible. We must see everyone as a person. Every person has a story. Each one of has a beginning. We have feeling, we each experience pain and sorrow. The element of compassion gives us the ability to see the invisible and to make a difference in their lives.
Jesus has called us to make a change. Make the invisible people of this world visible again. Each of us are responsible for affecting positively the lives of others.
The Holy Spirit speaks to us in James 2: 1-6
My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. 2 For if someone enters into your assembly in fine clothing with a gold ring on his finger, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, 3 and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Be seated here in a good place,” and to the poor person you say, “You stand or be seated there by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts? 7 Do they themselves not blaspheme the good name ?of the one to whom you belong??
In 2020 Covid-19 has taught us that everyone is important.
Each one of us breathe the same air.
Any one of us can pass on the disease to another.
This disease has forced us to recognise that we are all connected.
From the president of the united states to the drug addict on the street;
From the Prince Charles of The United Kingdom to the prostitute in the Brothel
We all can be affected.
As we venture in the unknown of 2021 we hold closely the philosophy of the song writer Joan Boez who penned the words
No man is an island,
No man stands alone,
Each man's joy is joy to me,
Each man's grief is my own.
We need one another,
So I will defend,
Each man as my brother,
Each man as my friend.
By Joan Boez
Jesus says to us “ Let not your heart be trouble.”
No matter what 2021 may throw at us he says “Let not your heart be trouble”
To the poor and destitute destitute Spirit says in Phil. 4:6, 7
Be careful for nothing but in everything with prayer and supplication and thanksgiving let your request be known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
To those who may experience sorrow and pain Jesus encourages you to cast your mind forward and behold the A new heaven and a new earth where He will wipe away all your tears, sorrow will cease to be and there will not be any more crying or pain.
No one will be invisible, no one will be marginalised. All will be clothed in similar white robes which is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
As we begin this journey into the unknown remember the words penned by Hezekiah Walker
And let it be our prayer.
I need you
You need me
We're all a part of God's body
Stand with me
Agree with me
We're all a part of God's body
It is his will that every need be supplied
You are important to me
I need you to survive [x2]
[Vamp:]
I pray for you
You pray for me
I love you
I need you to survive
I won't harm you
With words from my mouth
I love you
I need you to survive
By Hezekiah Walker
