Stickyfeet

Well I'm beginning this back in my apartment. The good news is that it's still a pretty artistic place, eccentric at the very least. I'm watched over by Optimus Prime and Bob Marley, Spiderman and Dr. King. It's the kind of place a genius child would hang out, or at least that's what I like to tell myself when I wake up and adjust the action figures on my desk.

I'm still in the gospels. I can't get enough of it, for real, one of my favorite things about scripture is that the older I get the newer it feels. It's like reading it for the first time and it's really amazing. That being said, let me tell you what I noticed this time through.

Luke tells a story of Jesus eating at a Pharisee's house. I like this image because I picture this like when James Bond eats dinner with Blowfeld right before their big showdown, both of them pretending to be civil, but knowing that this is really about a conflict that's been long coming.

So there sits Jesus, eating what I'm sure was a much nicer meal that he normally got. When I travel I eat a lot of fast food, so I can only imagine the horrors Jesus ate on the road between desert cities. So even if it was just sandwiches, I'm sure Jesus was pretty pleased to be eating something more substantial than a scorpion taco. Anyway, dinner probably goes pretty well, that sort of cold respect emanating everywhere as Jesus and Simon the Pharisee dine together. All of the sudden in comes this sinful woman, and everything changes.

The bible tells us that she was a sinful woman, which I suppose means she was some sort of prostitute because that's what most people think of when they hear sinful woman, but it also points out that she had lived a sinful life in that town. I've wondered a lot over the last few days about her backstory, if she had a happy life as a respectable young lady once in another place. I like to imagine that she was once very happy and liked by the people around her, but I suppose that might not be true.

So anyway, this woman annoints Jesus' feet with both perfume and tears, which strikes me as kind of a messy combo, but it is of course the thought that counts. Simon the Pharisee is clearly upset by this, since he's a respectable guy, and he tries his hardest not to associate with "sinful" people. Ignoring the obvious lessons be learned from Simon's reaction, I find something beautiful in Jesus' response. First, he defends her with a clever story, which I like, then he turns to her, and with nothing but love he says, "Your sins are forgiven."

Now lets consider this; whatever her past, this woman's present is bleak. It's dark, sinful, and painful. For whatever reasons she decides that the best course of action available to her is to literally crawl to Jesus and wash his feet with her hair. But the key here, the very vital point to all of this is that Jesus chose to love her unconditionally.

For those who don't know, I work at a treatment center for kids with behavior disorders. One thing that I've noticed in the last 8 months working there is that the kids who recover the quickest are the ones whose parents are invested in them, loving them regardless and showing up to help them. These kids with the most terrible pasts, and yet because of the love of a parent, they're able to overcome. I think that that's pretty typical of humanity. I can't really speak with any certainty about anyone else, but I know that a lot of what I do is motivated by the need to be loved by someone or something.

It seems to me like a lot of the problem with the human condition is that we are missing the love and/or acceptance of someone. Donald Miller, one of my favorite authors suggests that this is the love of God we're missing, and I've got to say that he's probably right about it. I say all of this to bring us around to a revaltion I've had recently.

Jesus didn't spend time trying to convince people to join his new religion. He never once told people to subscribe to a certain religious belief. Rather than preach at people about a new system of rituals, he simply gave them their heart's deepest desire; love.

It sounds cliche, but truth usually does, since it's really old and we all tend to find it piece by piece over the years. I've got to just say it, for the longest time I've seen evangelism the wrong way. It's not about convincing people of anything, it's not about selling them something, it's not even about eternal life. It's quite simply about offering them the love that they so desperatley crave, the kind of love Jesus would offer people.

It's really no wonder the Pharisees weren't receptive to what Jesus had to say, they thought they already had all the acceptance and love they needed. My challenge to you? Find an unloved person and give 'em some lovin'. There aren't many better ways to connect with Christ than to follow his example.

(jake)