Galations 3:28-29
“The Big Picture: Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”
By: Rev. Kenneth Sauer
Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
By now, many of you have probably seen the television ad compaign that has been
running during the month of September....each commercial ends with the tag, “The people of the
United Methodist Church: Open hearts, Open Minds, Open doors.”
We also have doorhangers here at Parkview.....of which at least two thousand have been
distributed without the community with this same slogan written on them.
And, basically this is what Paul is talking about in this passage.
Because faith in Christ makes us one, eliminating all distinctions and prejudices.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus.”
This is a startling truth: Jesus Christ is the answer to all the prejudice, bitterness,
hatred, oppression, and inequalities on the earth!
It’s especially startling when we think about the context in which it was written:
It was written nearly two-thousand years ago, when Jews thought that they were the one
chosen race....and looked down upon everyone else....it was written long before the abolition
of slavery, it was written when women were generally thought of as having no rights
whatsoever....they were merely and literally the property of men....who could pretty much
get away with doing with them whatever they wanted.
It went completely against the grain of the way everyone up until this point had ever
thought.....therefore it is an unbelievably radical statement....and it gives us an incredible insight
into the big picture of what Christianity is all about!
And unfortunatley, many of us have not gotten that big picture even today...even two
thousand years later!
Everyone is on equal footing before Jesus Christ.
God makes no distictions....even if we do!
Yes, Jesus Christ excepts us all....through faith in Him. God loves everyone....God looks
at the inside of people rather than the outside....
Jesus Christ reaches out and embraces all people...calling all people to come to faith in
Him....and so should we!
The barriers that get in our way.....color, nationality, sex, social status, or any other
differences mean nothing to God.....For we all have sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory.
Therefore we are not to judge other people...just because they are diferent than we
are.....as a matter of fact....Jesus tells us that we are not to judge anyone!
As Jesus declares in Matthew chapter 7, “Do not judge, or you will be judged. For in the
same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you.”
Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it....and Jesus did
not go around wagging his finger in people’s faces, judging them.....as a matter of fact the only
people that Jesus condemned were the people who were doing the judging.
These people Jesus called “snakes” and “vipers”. And asked them, “How will you escape
being condemned to hell?
He called them hypocrites, and told them that they “shut the kingdom of heaven in men”
and women’s “faces.”
He told them that they were like white-washed tombs, “which look beautiful on the
outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean”.....he said, “on the
outside you appear to peope as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and
wickedness.”
And these were the religious leaders, and these were the people who eventually put Jesus
to death!
Think about it, a guy like Jesus could have had a pretty cushy job within the religious
establishment!
He could have given a tenth of his spices---mint, dill, and cummin---but neglecting the
more important matters of the law---justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
He could of worn luxorious clothting and made the tassels on his garments long for
everyone to see.
And the establishment would have thought that this was just fine....
They’d say, “Boy, that Jesus sure is a neat religious guy, I just love the way he takes the
place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues.
And he’s such a good politician, just look how he loves to be greeted in the marketplaces
and to have people call him rabbi.”
But this is not the way Jesus did things because this is not the way God does things....
Instead, Jesus spent his time eating with the “sinners”.....and the “outcastes”.
He chose twelve men from the working class to be his disciples, and he met people where
they were without judging them!
And let’s face it, Jesus was not liked by the establishment!
The religious leaders did not like it when Jesus stopped them from stoning a prostitute.
He did not join in with them when they were about to kill another human being because
of her sin.
He didn’t join the crowd when they verbally attacked her by naming her sins so that
everyone would know....so that everyone else could feel good about their own
self-righteousness.
He put a stop to it. He shed light on the situation. After all, He is the light of the world.
And the people who were about to stone that prostitute...they saw that they were just as
guilty as she...but that’s no fun....that’s embarassing, that’s humiliating, that is humbling.
Jesus spoke to that woman...whom no one else would speak to....he accepted that woman
whom no one else would accept....He saved that woman whom everyone else wanted to desroy.
And what about the woman at the well?
Do we realize just how radical Jesus’ actions were in that situation?
Not only was it demeaning for a man to talk to a woman in that day and age, but for a
Jew to talk to a Samaritan woman? Unheard of!
She ws out in the middle of the day by herself, not even her own townsfolk wanted to be
seen with her.
She was an untouchable, but Jesus touched her, and the entire city was saved because of
His touch.
And what about the lepers?
Jesus actually hung out with those people. They were His friends. Can you imagine what
the religious rulers must have been saying behind his back?
But we don’t have to imagine, we know...they we saying crucify Him!
Crucify that man whose ministry was created by touching the untouchables.
Crucify that man whose ministry was not formed in the Temple itself, but was formed by
going outside of the Temple and meeting the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the
people.
And why is that? Because Jesus did not discriminate.....
Like the United Methodist logo, Jesus meets people with an open heart saying “Here I
am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in
and eat with him or her and he or she with me.”
Jesus meets people with an open mind, meeting people where they are...not judging
them, but loving them...seeing the potential within them....seeing what good God can do with
their lives once they feel God’s touch.
Jesus meets people with open doors....accepting, and forgiving, and recreating anyone
who comes to Him.
This is the big picture....This is what Christainity is all about....this is what we are all
called to do!
We are called to have open hearts, open minds, and open doors....
It’s up to us to accept people where they are....it’s our job to love everyone who comes
through our doors...it’s our job to meet people with open minds...believing that Jesus Christ
meets people where they are, and that He came not to judge people but to free people.
And we are called to have open doors, believing and trusting that through Jesus Christ all
people are equal in the eyes of God.
We are called to do what Jesus did....we are called to be friends with the outcastes....to
show them Christian love....to offer them living water....to tell them about Jesus without judging
them....to let them know that Jesus loves them...to prove to them that not all church doors have
been shut in their faces...let’s invite them to our homes ad minister to them...let’s do what Jesus
did....let’s offer them a place where they too can worship God.
Let’s find young people who are on drugs, who are feeling all alone, who have green hair,
pink hair, nose rings, baggy jeans, who are angry....who have unhappy faces and tell them about
Christ.
Let’s accept them for who they are and let God take care of the rest.
This world, this society, this city needs the happiness, peace, love and joy that only
comes from knowing Jesus Christ---we are this world’s only hope.
We are Christ’s body.
This is a fantastic assembly of believers....saints of God who have tasted and found that
the Lord is good, who generously give to the causes of the church, and who want everyone to
come inside these doors and find Christ.
What a wonderful blesing Parkview United Methodist Church is!
The people of this place do great things, and we can do even greater things than these!
So let’s go outside the doors of this building.
And spread the love of Christ to people who are hurting, people who feel as if no one
loves them, people who have been marginalized and discriminated against, people who have
been verbally attacked and judged by the very institutions who claim to love them.
We are the light of the world.
We are the salt of the earth.
We are called to do what Jesus did.
We are called to see the big picture....
By truly being the people of the United Methodist Church....people with open hearts,
open minds, and open doors.
