Today's Scripture Reading (June 5, 2024): 1 Timothy 3 & 4
Thirty years ago, I
was invited to speak at a series of revival services. The services were to be
held over a weekend, and I was given a blank slate concerning the subject about
which I would talk. I was expected to speak at three services: one Friday, one
Saturday, and one Sunday morning. Maybe I remember that weekend because I
decided to speak on forgiveness. And on Friday night, my sermon was from Luke
seven, the story of the sinful woman who came into the home of Simon the
Pharisee and anointed Jesus's feet with an expensive perfume. In the tale, Simon
is amused and muses that if Jesus were really a prophet, he wouldn't have let
this woman touch him.
On that first night, I
included the story of a Pastor who had had an affair with the church secretary.
The pastor was caught in his indiscretion, lost his job, separated, and
eventually divorced his wife, and then married the secretary. And in an attempt
to get on with his life, he and his new wife wanted to go back to attending
church.
The pastor started to
attend various churches in the area. But everywhere this family went, there was
a common theme. The pastor and his new family would show up at a church, an
usher, board member, or sometimes even the pastor would meet them at the front
door and tell them they were not welcome at this church. Once in a while, they
even got to sit in the sanctuary before they were asked to leave. Once, the
service had even started before the pastor recognized the man. Then, the pastor
stopped the service to have the ushers remove the former pastor and family from
the building.
The man was broken. Finally,
he decided to phone a pastor of yet another church, this time to ask permission
to come. He promised to sit in the back row with his family, enter as the
service began, and exit as the service ended. But he could not take another
rejection. If the pastor said no, they would stay away.
The pastor of this
church told the former pastor he would be welcome. He could sit anywhere he
wanted. He could come early and leave late because, ultimately, it was not his
church. The church was God's house, and he was not about to stand in the way of
anyone God had invited.
My sermon was not well
received that first night of the revival services. While I did not know it, I
had just told their story. A former pastor had had an affair with the church
secretary. Their pastor had left the church in disgrace, pursued a divorce, and
married his former secretary. The congregation was still angry and could easily
put themselves in the place of the churches that had rejected the pastor. If
that pastor had come here, they would have asked him to leave, too. A man like
this could never be an honored guest of God in his house. They had read Paul's
instructions to Timothy and knew how a person should conduct themselves in God's
household. They would protect the honor of the church by rejecting and removing
the offender.
And yet, in Luke 7,
Jesus teaches about this sinful woman, likely a prostitute, who falls at Jesus's
feet, who wets Jesus's feet with her tears, wipes them dry with her hair, and then
anoints them with her expensive perfume. Simon might not have invited the
woman, but Jesus refused to reject her despite her sin. So, what gives us the
right to reject those God invites into his house?
The church is God's
house, and I believe that every week, God invites people into his house. Often,
the invited don't show up, sometimes because we are unwilling to support the
invitation of God with invitations of our own. Sometimes, they are
uncomfortable with the church because of the way that we act, which violates
their moral code. Often, our lack of love tops the list of reasons why people
outside of the church distrust the fellowship of Jesus. It is our hypocrisy.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1
Timothy 5
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