The Friend of Sinners

Mark 2:13-17

St Paul’s Church – 29 January 2017

You will have seen in the news sheet that the title for today’s sermon is ‘Jesus the friend of sinners’.

But haven written the sermon, I think a better title is “Jesus, the drunk and glutton”.

So let us pray…

Heavenly Father, as we think this morning about your Son, …the things he did and the people he mixed with, we pray that you will help us to be more like him.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Matthew 11.17

It’s hard to over-emphasis how deeply shocked people were by Jesus’ behaviour …and why I said that a better title for this sermon would be, “Jesus the drunk and glutton”.

It better captures the outrage and contempt that lie behind the words “he is a friend of sinners”.

(Pause)

So where does this outrage and contempt come from?

To answer this question we need to take a brief wander through the Old Testament.

What sort of picture of God does the Old Testament paint?

A loving God, yes …but also a holy God and a very powerful God.

And it was out of respect and fear of their holy and powerful God, that most people in the Old Testament felt that they should keep their distance.

Remember when the people of Israel were in the wildness. It was only Moses who went up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments …the rest of the people were told to kept their distance.

Remember when Elijah was fleeing for his life after the events on Mount Carmel, and God said to him “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” …and Elijah pulled his cloak over his face, because for no one may see me God’s face and live. (1Ki 19.13 and Ex 33.20)

Remember how the book of Proverbs says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”

(Pause)

So, how do you live with that reality of a holy and powerful God who requires a holy people? …well, the Old Testament response was to build walls.

They build physical walls.

The Temple in Jerusalem was full of walls. At its very heart was the ‘Holy of Holies’, the place where they believed God literally dwelt.

Outside that, separated by a curtain, was the Holy Place.

Outside that, separated by a wall, was the Court of Priests, which in turn was separated from the Court of Israel, and then from the Court of Women. A further wall separated that from the Court of Gentiles, and a final wall separated it from rest of the city.

(Pause)

And then they constructed rules about these physical walls.

If you were a gentile, you could pass through the outer wall, but no further.

If you are an Israelite, you can pass through the second wall.

Only if you were a priest could you pass through the next wall …and only the High Priest could go past the curtain.

The purpose of each wall was to keep the people inside the wall from being corrupted from those outside. In that way, everyone knew their place, and most people kept their distance from their holy and powerful God.

(Pause)

But that’s not all. The people of Israel also built a multitude of metaphorical walls.

The whole of society was structured around rules and conventions that kept ‘holy’ people separate from ‘unholy’ people. Rules about who you could socialise with; and in particular, who you could eat and drink with.

And so, what did Jesus do? …He started to tear down these walls.

He started to socialise with prostitutes and the wrong kind of people.

And, as we heard in today’s Bible reading,

“…many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him” (Mark 2.15)

Of course, tax collectors were hated because some were dishonest and all were collaborating with the hated Roman army.

(Pause)

Respectable people were horrified. An the religious and political leaders recognised that his teaching and behaviour was a threat to the very fabric of society.

That’s why they called him “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors”, and worst of all, “a friend of sinners.“

(Pause)

I wonder how Jesus’ disciples reacted to this outrageous behaviour?

It couldn’t have been easy for them. But after Jesus’ death and resurrection, we see them too tearing down walls.

The Book of Acts describes how the first disciples ripped up the rule book and took the Christian faith beyond their own culture to the Gentiles.

And Peter and Paul were heavily criticised by some of the early Christians doing this. Some believers saw this act of reconciliation, this breaking down of walls, as corrupting the true faith.

But if you are a follower of Jesus, then you need to be in the demolition business, because that’s the business that Jesus is in.

(Pause)

2000 years later, the world has changed enormously ….but people are still people, and walls are still being built.

Today, walls are being built not to keep people holy, but to help them feel safe and secure.

We have an American president who has pledged to build a huge physical wall, and who has already started to secure borders by banning the entry of Syrian refugees to the US.

Relatively few people thought Donald Trump would be elected. There were many reasons why people voted for him, and some of them were probably good ones. However, his election campaign played on people’s fears and anxieties about their safety and economic security.

And his clear message was that outsiders were to blame, and that walls need to be built.

(Pause)

In our own country, few people thought we would have voted to leave the European Union.

Again, there were many reasons why people voted to leave, and some of them were good ones. However, the Brexit campaign also played on people’s fears and anxieties about their safety and economic security, and that borders need to be strengthened.

(Pause)

In both countries, the campaigns and votes have been hugely divisive; setting republicans against democrats and remainers against leavers.

(Pause)

In his New Year message, the Archbishop of Canterbury retold the story of the destruction of Coventry Cathedral, and the ministry of reconciliation that grew from that. (If you’ve not seen it, please do so. You can find it on youtube, and it’s only 4 minutes).

He then went on to say:

“Last year we made a decision that will profoundly affect the future of our country – a decision made democratically by the people. The EU referendum was a tough campaign and it has left divisions. But I know that if we look at our roots, our culture and our history in the Christian tradition, if we reach back into what is best in this country, we will find a path towards reconciling the differences that have divided us.

If we’re welcoming to those in need, if we’re generous in giving, if we take hold of our new future with determination and courage, then we will flourish. Living well together despite our differences, offering hospitality to the stranger and those in exile, with unshakable hope for the future – these are the gifts, the commands and the promises of Jesus Christ.”

(Pause)

They are good words, but what Justin Welby is describing here is far from easy.

The work of reconciliation involves tearing down walls and also building bridges. In our nation

…in our local communities

…in our places of work

…in our families.

But, as Jesus discovered, the work of demolishing walls and building bridges is never easy and often unpopular.

But if you are a follower of Jesus, then you need to be in the demolition and construction business, because that’s the business that Jesus is in.

People called Jesus him a drunk, a glutton, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

What might people call you?