Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Rif Raf Nothing But Rif Raf

Luke 5:27-29 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levisitting at the tax boothand he said to himFollow me.” And he got upleft everythingand followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his houseand there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.


We think the world has changed so much, and in some ways we're right, but it is clear that an undesirable element was around even i Jesus day. You have the stories about tax collectors, and others about prostitutes and then we heard about the robbers in the hills along the narrow mountain pass called the Jericho Road.  The world has always had an under element that made the world unsafe. Bad things happen in the world Jesus did not avoid those who did bad things. Part of his trouble was that he spent too much time with the rif raf of life. Jesus spent  significant time and energy not just with the untouchable underclass, but talking about how we should act toward them as well. I have seen how people can act when someone comes to our churches that doesn't look like they fit. I have most often seen them ignored but I have even seen them ushered out.


How much of me would be untouchable without the touch of Jesus. I wasn't unclean because of eating the wrong foods or having open sores on my body, but I was unable to come into God's presence without Jesus personally cleaning me up. Before he changed my life I was rif raf. I know for me I want to hear what Jesus says, see what Jesus did, and then go and do likewise. So let the rif raf come, soon I'd be in good company.

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