3/8/23

During Lent, we’re looking at several people in the New Testament who are “outsiders.” Last Sunday, we read about the Centurion who came to Jesus about his paralyzed servant. When this man came to Jesus, Jesus didn’t see him as a Roman, a Gentile, a soldier, or a pagan. Jesus saw him as a man in need of God’s grace, and didn’t hesitate to help him.

We hate to be stereotyped and judged, but do we do it? The problem with a stereotype is it never tells the complete story. I personally hate to be labeled. I’m artsy – I enjoy classical music,  but I also like murder/suspense movies and the Marx Brothers. My brother is a man’s man who loves the outdoors and Alabama football, but he cries watching romantic comedies. Is there a label that covers all that? 

When we see certain individuals, do we immediately assume things about them? We look at people whose eyes are different from ours, or their skin is a different shade, and we make certain value judgments about them. Human tendency is to categorize people and then judge them based on that category – and leave the rest of their humanity by the wayside. But in Christ, we are no longer free to do that. 

To look at an individual, a person, not as a person but as a category, is anti-Christian. In II Corinthians 5, Paul writes, “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.” Yes, to be a new creation does mean that our sinful way of life is behind us. But wait! There’s more! Look at that verse in context: 

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view. . . . So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us . . .”

Our old way of looking at people, at judging people, has passed away. We no longer judge people by human standards, or “according to the flesh,” but in Christ there is a new creation. Through Christ, our broken relationship with God is restored – and so are the broken relationships we have with those around us. Those comfortable categories – those familiar stereotypes by which we judge another person’s worth – are out the window. This is an often overlooked part of the gospel, but it’s part of the gospel nonetheless. And you’ll find it all throughout Paul’s writing: it’s the reason he wrote Galatians; it’s one of the major themes of Romans; and, in Colossians 3:9-11, Paul spells it out for us:

“. . . you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!”

Notice how Paul cuts right through several of our favorite categories: Race (Greek/Jew), Religion (Circumcised/uncircumcised), Culture (Barbarian/Scythian), and Social Class (Slave/Free). And in case you’re wondering, in Galatians 3:28, Paul adds another category: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

Gosh. You’d think “there is no longer”! Race. . .  Religion. . .  Culture. . . Social Class. . .  Gender. . . all irrelevant. How is this possible? 

Through Christ, we are reconciled to God. Through Christ, we are reconciled to one another. And now we are ambassadors [official resident representatives] for Christ, because God has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation to the world.  

Well, what is reconciliation? Apokatallasso means to bring something back into harmony. It means to bring amity where there once was enmity, friendship where there was hatred,  leaving nothing that stands in the way of peace and unity.

It doesn’t mean “tolerance.” You know by now how much I hate that word. And why? It doesn’t go far enough (try it out on your spouse and see for yourself the next time he or she says, “I love you,” respond with “I tolerate you.” See where that gets you!). Tolerance is not enough. Don’t just tolerate someone . . . love them. 

In everyday life, we are not to pass judgment, but to bridge all gaps – be they historical, traditional, social class, gender, racial, religious or ________ (you can fill in the gap). We are to approach everyone, no matter the race or gender, whether  rich, poor, middle-class, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian – whether it’s a label they may espouse or a label has been loaded on them – with steadfast, loyal love, unconditional forgiveness and godly reconciliation – just like God showed us. We are compelled by the love of Christ to show love – not just tolerance – to others. 

We’ll  look at what one writer has called “God’s on-site job of reconciliation” this Sunday, when we read the story of the Samaritan woman at the well and see how Jesus demonstrated  reconciliation. 

Blessings, 
Pastor Terry