Sunday 28 September 2008
- Bible Book:
- Matthew
"Jesus said to them, 'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him'." (v.31-32)
Background
Matthew, like Mark, used the debates between Jesus and theJewish chief priests to highlight issues being faced by the earlyChurch. By the time of Matthew (in the late 1st century AD) theformerly Jewish followers of Jesus were developing an identitydistinct from that of their contemporaries and were asserting theauthority of Jesus over the Torah (Jewish Law). As a consequence,they were being denied access to the synagogues (Jewish places ofworship). This was made worse by the inclusive nature of Christiancommunities, which could have included tax collectors andprostitutes who were seen as 'unclean' by the Jewishauthorities.
The followers were developing a new community identity of theirown, living out their faith through their everyday lives (whichcommonly included rejection, neglect and persecution). This is whyTertullian, a later Christian leader, said "The blood of themartyrs is the seed of the church". Those from the margins ofsociety, rather than the religious authorities, were accepting andfollowing the new prophet Jesus and finding their way into God'sreign. In this passage there is a warning to the religiousauthorities that if they continued to reject Jesus then otherswould take their place in the kingdom.
But the early followers' tradition of inviting and welcoming'sinners' (according to the Jewish mind) into their society madethe group vulnerable to persecution by the authorities (just as ithad with Jesus). In response, the Christians turned suchexperiences into faithful witness and used these opportunities tofully live out their gospel and invite non-believers to become partof the fledgling Church.
I like to quote Ghandi: "I like your Christ ... If Christians wouldreally live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in theBible, all of India would be Christian today". Today Christiancommunities are invited to bear witness to the gospel in theirvulnerable situations and through their suffering conditions. Itmeans leaving our comfort zones and thus taking the risk ofwitnessing to people in their places and in their situations whichwould create vulnerable situations for us.
The active witness of the faithful, 2000 years ago and now, showsan acceptance of Jesus' challenge to us not just in words, but inthe way we live our lives.
To Ponder
How far can you bear witness for Christ in yourvulnerable situations?
When we become the gospel (good news) and becomeinclusive and welcoming we also accept a certain level of risk. Howmuch are you willing to risk to accept 'others' into yourcommunity?