Hangin' With the "Jesus Crowd"

I’ve listened to the parable of the great banquet taught as a lesson to Christians about the dangers of letting personal possessions and relationships get in the way of our relationship with God. But as I read it today, I see a second lesson in the same passage of scripture. The story is told in Luke 14:15-23:

"…Jesus replied with this illustration: "A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When all was ready, he sent his servant around to notify the guests that it was time for them to come. But they all began making excuses. One said he had just bought a field and wanted to inspect it, so he asked to be excused. Another said he had just bought five pair of oxen and wanted to try them out. Another had just been married, so he said he couldn't come.

"The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was angry and said, 'Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.' After the servant had done this, he reported, 'There is still room for more.' So his master said, 'Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I invited first will get even the smallest taste of what I had prepared for them.'"

I see in the first half of the parable the reasons that people do not respond to God’s call: possessions, work and relationships.

But now, I also see who the servant was sent to gather to the feast, “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” Then he was sent away from the city into the country, and “behind the hedges” to find anyone he could, and urge them to come. The servant in this parable is Jesus, and if we are to truly follow in his footsteps, we should ask ourselves, “When was the last time I invited the poor, crippled, lame or blind to the banquet?” The servant was told to look where no one else would think to look for people to invite to the feast. He was sent to find the country bumpkins and the social rejects. Who hides behind a hedge? Criminals? I have to ask myself, “How comfortable would I be talking to these people, much less sitting next to them at church?”

It’s obvious through reading the gospels that Jesus associated Himself with “that” crowd. The Jews were looking for a new king on a white horse to come charging to their rescue; to release them from Roman oppression. What they got was a rabbi on a donkey. They wanted someone to come and lead a mighty army formed by the best and the brightest among them. What they got was a man that sought out the lame, the crippled, the poor, and the uneducated masses in order to invite them to a feast they would truly appreciate. Instead of a warrior, they got a man that surrendered himself to the authorities. He went so far as to heal one of the soldiers that was injured when they came to arrest Him (Luke 22:51).

I’ve found that if I really want to see God at work, I’ve got to go to the people that need Him most. I’ve recently been praying for God to show me how to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. One step I took last Sunday was to speak with the pastor in our church that is over community outreach. When I asked what I could do to help, he told me he was hosting a meeting in about 10 minutes in one of the church’s classrooms, and I was welcome to join them. I went to the meeting and was astounded to hear the stories of how God was working in our city, creating communities that care, feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. I was amazed as I heard time and again how God had paired up people with needs with those that had solutions. In one 90 minute meeting I heard more meaningful/touching testimonies than I’ve heard in years.

In the meeting, the pastor expressed his desire to set up a communications team that would help them get the word out to others in the church. Immediately after expressing the need, he turned to me and realized he hadn’t introduced me to the people in the room. He introduced me and asked what I could offer. I let him know of my background in communications, and enjoyed the look on his face as we both realized the significance of our meeting on that day, at that time. I look forward to seeing what I can do to help with the community outreach team in our church, and I thank God for working to put people in the right place at the right time.

God is definitely at work in our cities. It is up to us to follow the footsteps of Jesus, and take His love to the people that need Him most. I can’t wait to see how I can pitch in to help in my community.

My prayer is that God uses me to carry out His will here on Earth. God, let your will be done here, as it is in Heaven. Help me lead my family in the footsteps of Jesus. Help others to see your love in the eyes of Christians everywhere. Help us to stand out as a light on a hill. Strengthen us to love others as you have first loved us.