Hanging out and inviting (Week 6:4)

Topic: Week 6- The new community: the body of Christ
Theme for 6 Weeks- Who is Jesus and what difference does it make?

Read Matthew 9:9-13

Yesterday, our church, The Bridge, hung out in the west side of Denver for four hours. It was a significant event and time for us, another step for our church. (That’s another story, which might work its way here at some point.) Related to the thought today, it was time for this body of Christ, this new community, to be with “outsiders.”

Whether it was helping Delen, the cook, prepare and serve the meal for the seniors at lunch, or chatting with the seniors who come to the Denver Inner City Parish for meals and community, or listening to Allyson tell about the programs and outreach of the center, or going on a neighborhood walk with Jason, Hector and Hector, Jr., or staring at the graffiti art or gang signs, or making a decision to take steps to partner in both an urban garden and with the food bank, it was about “outsiders,” in many ways.

Not outsiders from the viewpoint of God toward humanity (some of you are insiders and some outsiders), but from my/our standpoint. Not “outsiders” as in us and them, and we’re here to help you. But, outsiders with respect to our community, our current make-up of The Bridge.

It’s easy to get comfortable with insiders and those who are in our group. And, Jesus wants us to break the mold and comfort of just being with our group. In that sense, the outsider can be the one who is without a relationship with God or following Jesus. In this story, Jesus calls or invites (v. 13) the “sinner.”

Or, the way of relating to outsiders may be to hang out with them (v. 10)- hang out is my translation of “sat at dinner in the house,” which is the meaning of sharing a meal in the home in that 1st century setting. Jesus hangs out with the “tax collectors and sinners,” clearly outsiders.

Invite and hang out. That’s part of being the body of Christ. Whether that might be rubbing shoulders or relationships at The Irish Rover on Thursdays, or coffee with a friend, or serving a meal to lonely seniors, or handing out food at the food bank to those struggling to make it through the month without being hungry, or planting an urban garden with others in the neighborhood in honor of our Creator God, building relationships, and providing some healthy food for those who need it. Or, you name the ways you might invite or hang out with those on the outside, broken, lost or in need.

These two words stand out to me today in one aspect of being the body of Jesus in the world: invite…hang out. With joy!

Question: Where is a situation(s) where you might hang out or invite (outsiders)?

Prayer: Gracious God, you sit down with me. The most profound way you have done this is by your Incarnation: coming to be with us in Jesus. You also continue to do that today; you continue to “hang out” and “invite” me. My Lord, show me the ways you want me to do that very thing with others as the body of Christ. In your name I pray, Amen.