Am I willing to welcome everyone to the love of God?

Many of you know that Kathy and I just returned from a two-week vacation in Gainesville, Fla. We visited with family — my dad, brothers, sister and other family live in and near Gainesville. We took it easy. We worshiped in the congregation where I was formed in faith in my junior high and high school years, and beyond. We also saw some old friends.

In fact, in visiting with a high school classmate I did something I haven’t done since perhaps 1972. One of my high school classmates invited Kathy and I to a “winter party,” where he and his band, The Dixie Desperados, were playing. His band was actually pretty well known in the area in the late 1970s and early ’80s, and just released a new CD produced by the same man who produced albums for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. (Tom Petty and a number of other musicians graduated from my high school, Gainesville High.)

I actually enjoyed the cowboy rock they played, and Kathy and I enjoyed watching the people. The only one I knew at the party was my friend from high school. But, there were quite a few folks our age who grew up with this band. We even enjoyed meeting the drummer’s parents, who were my dad’s age and did some western dancing. There were also quite a few folks out for a good time, dressed to impress and enjoying the drinks served by the bar. At the beginning I told Kathy, “This is not the crowd I am used to being with.”

Then I got to thinking. Jesus would have been comfortable in this setting. The music was fun. People were enjoying one another’s company. The setting was such that people shared openly and enjoyed God’s gift of life.

The story is told in Luke about Jesus spending time with the local crowd. The first two verses of Luke 15 read, “Now the tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”

Jesus was criticized for spending time with the local folks who weren’t the normal crowd of religious leaders. But it was the religious leaders who didn’t listen to Jesus’ teaching on repentance and faith. That is why Jesus told three parables that share God’s joy at the repentance and faith of those who might be considered sinners.

These common folks loved hearing Jesus’ teaching on God’s love and forgiveness, and they often responded more quickly to Jesus’ teachings on how children of God are to live.

Please don’t get me wrong. Jesus did not encourage the people of his day to live sinful lives. But Jesus came as the Savior, who died to pay for the sins of the whole world and who rose to win eternal life. Jesus loves everyone, and often those who most readily respond to Jesus are those who know they need forgiveness.

I thought to myself, “If this was a crowd where Jesus would have been comfortable, how about me? Am I willing to welcome any and everyone to the love of God?” That question caused me to stop. How about you?

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer. Contact him at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.

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