I have been thinking...dangerous, I know. The fact that Jesus hung out with sinners so much he was put down for it is often mentioned by others to justify having friends that do not share our Faith, but what did that actually look like? I do not think I have ever heard, or read, about what that might have actually looked like; it is just referred to as an example.
While hanging out with these folk, what did Jesus say/do when he was sexually propositioned by someone who was gay or straight? Am I wrong to even think this may have happened? Sitting around listening to others gossip, and drinking too much, and swearing like "sailors," just what did He think/say/do? These are the things that happen when I am around some people, could it have been any different for Jesus?
The temptation seems to be to sanitize these instances with only thinking about how Jesus "loved" these sinners and leave it at that. I find this frustrating, especially when I want to know how to best deal with these situations that expresses my faith. If just the presence of Jesus somehow changed the hearts and actions of these sinners to not sin while He was present with them, then why did this not work with the disciples? They argued over the power seats in the new kingdom and who would sit next to the power throne, didn't they? No, Jesus must have hung out with sinners who sinned. What did pure Love look like in these situations?
These people would not have hung around if Jesus had any ill feelings toward them. I have seen this mass exodus of "sinners" many times with religious Christians who just have that way about them that these "sinners" realize they are being, well, sinners. This type of scorn can be subtle, but it is still powerful. I do not think this type of exodus happened when Jesus was with them. So what did Jesus say/do/think while being in the middle of a group of people who expressed their sin like they did around anyone else?
I guess I am still thinking about it...
While hanging out with these folk, what did Jesus say/do when he was sexually propositioned by someone who was gay or straight? Am I wrong to even think this may have happened? Sitting around listening to others gossip, and drinking too much, and swearing like "sailors," just what did He think/say/do? These are the things that happen when I am around some people, could it have been any different for Jesus?
The temptation seems to be to sanitize these instances with only thinking about how Jesus "loved" these sinners and leave it at that. I find this frustrating, especially when I want to know how to best deal with these situations that expresses my faith. If just the presence of Jesus somehow changed the hearts and actions of these sinners to not sin while He was present with them, then why did this not work with the disciples? They argued over the power seats in the new kingdom and who would sit next to the power throne, didn't they? No, Jesus must have hung out with sinners who sinned. What did pure Love look like in these situations?
These people would not have hung around if Jesus had any ill feelings toward them. I have seen this mass exodus of "sinners" many times with religious Christians who just have that way about them that these "sinners" realize they are being, well, sinners. This type of scorn can be subtle, but it is still powerful. I do not think this type of exodus happened when Jesus was with them. So what did Jesus say/do/think while being in the middle of a group of people who expressed their sin like they did around anyone else?
I guess I am still thinking about it...
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