Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
Sermon
Conversations Over Bread And Wine
Meditations For The Lord's Supper
One of the greatest contributions of Jesus, and one of the chief evidences of his uniqueness, was the new dictionary he gave to the world. It can't be found in any bookstore and will never rival Webster's New Collegiate in sales. But he gave it nonetheless. Actually, it is tucked away within the pages of the New Testament - a whole series of words that Jesus defined in an entirely new way.
The word "greatness" is an example. Most people understand "greatness" to mean "eminence, having the characteristic of dominance"; it is to be distinguished, well--known. But for Jesus "greatness" had a totally different meaning. He understood it as the willingness to be the least, to be the servant of all. To be great, according to Jesus, is to be humble and willing to go unnoticed.
Or consider the word "rich." Most dictionaries define "rich" as "having abundant possessions." It means affluence or opulence. But not according to Jesus! For him the rich are not those who possess material things in abundance, but those who possess qualities of the spirit like love and joy and peace and gentleness in abundance.
Another redefined word is "birth." Everyone understands "birth" to be "the physical act or process by which new life emerges from the womb." But Jesus spoke of another kind of birth, a spiritual not a physical birth, one that takes place when a person enters into eternal life, when one is "born from above."
Or, again, consider the word "neighbor." Obviously a neighbor is a person who lives nearby, in the same vicinity as one's place of residence - the same neighborhood. "Not so!" said Jesus. In the parable of the Good Samaritan he advanced the definition that being a neighbor has nothing to do with physical proximity, but rather with need. A neighbor is any person in need.
And so one could go on and on enumerating words which Jesus redefined: righteousness, freedom, truth - the list is long. But unquestionably the most radical of his definitions has to do with the word "family." So jarring, so revolutionary was Jesus' understanding of what comprises family that it was not until months after his death and resurrection that his followers began to comprehend fully what he meant.
The first hint of his unique definition came in what the Gospel of Mark records as Jesus' first sermon, spoken in his hometown of Nazareth, immediately after his temptation in the wilderness and the subsequent calling of the disciples. Invited on the Sabbath to participate in synagogue worship by reading and interpreting the scriptures, Jesus selected a passage from Isaiah which referred to one whom God would send to preach good news to the poor, to bring release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind. Affirming that he was the one to whom the scripture alluded, Jesus went on to describe the seeking love of God and illustrated it with two stories from the scriptures. Both stories had to do not with God's special love for the Jews, but with divine care for Gentiles. And the clear implication of his words was that all people, not just Jews, are loved by God and hence are part of God's family - a message that did not escape the worshipers that day, who immediately became an angry mob threatening to kill Jesus.
Through the months that followed, the disciples watched with amazement as Jesus lived out his wider concept of family by ministering to people of all kinds and conditions, pouring out special care on the poor and the outcast, the rejected, and again on Gentiles. Then came the strange incident involving Jesus' mother and brothers, who, apparently fearing that he was becoming emotionally ill, came to take him home. At the time, Jesus was speaking to a large crowd, and someone told him that his family was outside wanting to see him. Jesus responded: "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then, pointing to the disciples, he said, "These are my mother and brothers. Whoever does the will of my Heavenly Father is my brother, my sister, and my mother."
A new concept of family, you see! He was pointing to a relationship that supersedes blood ties and has nothing to do with genealogy. Family to Jesus meant the fellowship of those who love God and seek to do God's will. There is no record of the disciples' response on that occasion. Jesus' statement just stands there by itself in all three synoptic Gospels. But it is safe to assume that the disciples must have understood his words as an affirmation of the intimate fellowship they were becoming, one that in the days ahead would become even more closely knit as they walked with Jesus through his time of suffering and death, and then experienced his resurrection and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. How desperately they needed each other then, and the common tie of faith in Jesus Christ truly cemented them together, bringing fulfillment to Jesus' definition of family!
Almost! For still they were all Jews. So far as we know, each of the disciples as well as that growing circle in Jerusalem known as followers of the Way were Jews. And they were as unprepared for what was about to happen as were the affluent and proper parents in the well--known movie of a few years ago, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. You remember it, how when their daughter brought home a young man with whom she had fallen in love to meet her parents, the one she had been telling them about - so bright, so good looking, and a doctor! - he turned out to be a black man. The early Christians thought they understood Jesus' definition of family -anyone who was ready to do the will of God who was a Jew.
But that is not what our Lord meant! Philip the evangelist was the first to begin to grasp Jesus' unique understanding of family when, some months after Pentecost, he went to the region of Samaria. There he shared the Good News of God's love in Christ with the Samaritans, who through the centuries had come to be hated by the Jews, and not only did they listen to the gospel, but also they believed. Next he shared his faith with a man from Ethiopia, likely a proselyte to Judaism, but whose condition (being a eunuch) would never allow him to be accepted as a Jew, and he too believed and was baptized. Then Peter got into the act, though really against his will. His traditional understanding of family as composed only of Jews was challenged by the strange vision recorded in Acts 10, in the aftermath of which he shared the gospel with a Roman centurion who along with his family believed and was baptized. Finally, the floodgates were thrown open through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, who took the gospel throughout the Roman world, and those who responded to their ministry for the most part were not Jews but Gentiles. And so gradually Jesus' definition of family found full expression.
Family! Who finally are included in the family as our Lord understood it? Hear the good news of Jesus' radical definition: Anyone can be included! Everyone is invited! There are no boundaries of race that shut people out; no barriers of language, or color, or sex; no walls of class or status. Every barrier has been broken down by Jesus Christ. We are all on equal ground in his sight, and hence in God's. Whether we are rich or poor, wise or foolish, educated or illiterate, all of us are equal in our need for God. All of us desperately need divine forgiveness and renewal. And no matter what we have done or failed to do, we are also equally loved by God, all of us equally recipients of God's grace. Every human being by the act of one's creation is a child of God. True family status, however, is granted only by our response. It is a relationship freely offered by our Heavenly Father to all, but just as a gift must finally be received, so the relationship must be accepted and acknowledged. To reach out to God in faith and obedience, ready to follow Jesus Christ and walk in his way, is to become family - God's family, and brothers and sisters one of another.
How better to express the reality of our kinship than by sharing together in Christ's meal, Holy Communion! Indeed, the very fact that Christians, wherever they are and whoever they are, will be sharing the Lord's Supper affirms, more eloquently than words ever could, what we dare not forget - that we belong to one another, you and I and everyone else who gives loyalty to Jesus Christ. We are family!
The word "greatness" is an example. Most people understand "greatness" to mean "eminence, having the characteristic of dominance"; it is to be distinguished, well--known. But for Jesus "greatness" had a totally different meaning. He understood it as the willingness to be the least, to be the servant of all. To be great, according to Jesus, is to be humble and willing to go unnoticed.
Or consider the word "rich." Most dictionaries define "rich" as "having abundant possessions." It means affluence or opulence. But not according to Jesus! For him the rich are not those who possess material things in abundance, but those who possess qualities of the spirit like love and joy and peace and gentleness in abundance.
Another redefined word is "birth." Everyone understands "birth" to be "the physical act or process by which new life emerges from the womb." But Jesus spoke of another kind of birth, a spiritual not a physical birth, one that takes place when a person enters into eternal life, when one is "born from above."
Or, again, consider the word "neighbor." Obviously a neighbor is a person who lives nearby, in the same vicinity as one's place of residence - the same neighborhood. "Not so!" said Jesus. In the parable of the Good Samaritan he advanced the definition that being a neighbor has nothing to do with physical proximity, but rather with need. A neighbor is any person in need.
And so one could go on and on enumerating words which Jesus redefined: righteousness, freedom, truth - the list is long. But unquestionably the most radical of his definitions has to do with the word "family." So jarring, so revolutionary was Jesus' understanding of what comprises family that it was not until months after his death and resurrection that his followers began to comprehend fully what he meant.
The first hint of his unique definition came in what the Gospel of Mark records as Jesus' first sermon, spoken in his hometown of Nazareth, immediately after his temptation in the wilderness and the subsequent calling of the disciples. Invited on the Sabbath to participate in synagogue worship by reading and interpreting the scriptures, Jesus selected a passage from Isaiah which referred to one whom God would send to preach good news to the poor, to bring release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind. Affirming that he was the one to whom the scripture alluded, Jesus went on to describe the seeking love of God and illustrated it with two stories from the scriptures. Both stories had to do not with God's special love for the Jews, but with divine care for Gentiles. And the clear implication of his words was that all people, not just Jews, are loved by God and hence are part of God's family - a message that did not escape the worshipers that day, who immediately became an angry mob threatening to kill Jesus.
Through the months that followed, the disciples watched with amazement as Jesus lived out his wider concept of family by ministering to people of all kinds and conditions, pouring out special care on the poor and the outcast, the rejected, and again on Gentiles. Then came the strange incident involving Jesus' mother and brothers, who, apparently fearing that he was becoming emotionally ill, came to take him home. At the time, Jesus was speaking to a large crowd, and someone told him that his family was outside wanting to see him. Jesus responded: "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then, pointing to the disciples, he said, "These are my mother and brothers. Whoever does the will of my Heavenly Father is my brother, my sister, and my mother."
A new concept of family, you see! He was pointing to a relationship that supersedes blood ties and has nothing to do with genealogy. Family to Jesus meant the fellowship of those who love God and seek to do God's will. There is no record of the disciples' response on that occasion. Jesus' statement just stands there by itself in all three synoptic Gospels. But it is safe to assume that the disciples must have understood his words as an affirmation of the intimate fellowship they were becoming, one that in the days ahead would become even more closely knit as they walked with Jesus through his time of suffering and death, and then experienced his resurrection and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. How desperately they needed each other then, and the common tie of faith in Jesus Christ truly cemented them together, bringing fulfillment to Jesus' definition of family!
Almost! For still they were all Jews. So far as we know, each of the disciples as well as that growing circle in Jerusalem known as followers of the Way were Jews. And they were as unprepared for what was about to happen as were the affluent and proper parents in the well--known movie of a few years ago, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. You remember it, how when their daughter brought home a young man with whom she had fallen in love to meet her parents, the one she had been telling them about - so bright, so good looking, and a doctor! - he turned out to be a black man. The early Christians thought they understood Jesus' definition of family -anyone who was ready to do the will of God who was a Jew.
But that is not what our Lord meant! Philip the evangelist was the first to begin to grasp Jesus' unique understanding of family when, some months after Pentecost, he went to the region of Samaria. There he shared the Good News of God's love in Christ with the Samaritans, who through the centuries had come to be hated by the Jews, and not only did they listen to the gospel, but also they believed. Next he shared his faith with a man from Ethiopia, likely a proselyte to Judaism, but whose condition (being a eunuch) would never allow him to be accepted as a Jew, and he too believed and was baptized. Then Peter got into the act, though really against his will. His traditional understanding of family as composed only of Jews was challenged by the strange vision recorded in Acts 10, in the aftermath of which he shared the gospel with a Roman centurion who along with his family believed and was baptized. Finally, the floodgates were thrown open through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, who took the gospel throughout the Roman world, and those who responded to their ministry for the most part were not Jews but Gentiles. And so gradually Jesus' definition of family found full expression.
Family! Who finally are included in the family as our Lord understood it? Hear the good news of Jesus' radical definition: Anyone can be included! Everyone is invited! There are no boundaries of race that shut people out; no barriers of language, or color, or sex; no walls of class or status. Every barrier has been broken down by Jesus Christ. We are all on equal ground in his sight, and hence in God's. Whether we are rich or poor, wise or foolish, educated or illiterate, all of us are equal in our need for God. All of us desperately need divine forgiveness and renewal. And no matter what we have done or failed to do, we are also equally loved by God, all of us equally recipients of God's grace. Every human being by the act of one's creation is a child of God. True family status, however, is granted only by our response. It is a relationship freely offered by our Heavenly Father to all, but just as a gift must finally be received, so the relationship must be accepted and acknowledged. To reach out to God in faith and obedience, ready to follow Jesus Christ and walk in his way, is to become family - God's family, and brothers and sisters one of another.
How better to express the reality of our kinship than by sharing together in Christ's meal, Holy Communion! Indeed, the very fact that Christians, wherever they are and whoever they are, will be sharing the Lord's Supper affirms, more eloquently than words ever could, what we dare not forget - that we belong to one another, you and I and everyone else who gives loyalty to Jesus Christ. We are family!
