You aren’t from around here, are you?

This was a question I heard frequently growing up, as we moved with my father’s job. Most of the time, it was a sincere desire to build community and find shared commonalities disguised as a question/statement. Other times, the statement held a ring of exclusion, the statement that I was “other” or “not us.”

This morning, as I read Luke chapter 15, I was reminded that sometimes we, as the Church, as believers and followers of Christ, act as if some individuals are “other” or “not us.”

Luke chapter 15 begins: Now all the tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were coming near to Jesus to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began muttering and complaining, saying, “This man accepts and welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (verses 1 and 2 Amplified Bible)

Jesus was ministering to all who sought Him. Jesus offered salvation to any who would believe in Him and confess Him as LORD (Romans 10:9). Jesus was doing the will of the Father. The religious leaders, and I suppose even those who considered themselves to be observant and faithful Jews, were offended that Jesus was spending time with and welcoming those they considered “others.”

Jesus then told a series of parables, including The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son.

You remember the parable of the Prodigal Son. The younger son demands his inheritance early. Runs off to a foreign land and lives a wasteful and immoral life, burning through his newly received fortune. When the son finally comes to his senses after starving, he resolves to return home and ask his father to hire him as a servant. He practiced his speech all the way home, accepting responsibility for his actions, repenting of his wrong attitudes and sinful life. But when his father caught sight of him in the distance, the father ran, embraced him, and restored the relationship, welcoming the son home with a large feast. (paraphrase of Luke 15: 11-24)

Then the older son came home. The older brother was offended by how easily the father forgave and restored the relationship, and by the freely offered privilege of being part of the family (Luke 15:25-29). In verse 30, we read: “but when this [other]son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you slaughtered the fatted calf for him.”

The older brother doesn’t refer to the returned son as “my brother.” He doesn’t call him by name; he calls him “this other son of yours.” In context, Jesus was teaching the Pharisees and scribes that He came to redeem and restore all sinners, not just those who were “worthy” of the privilege. (For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16) The Pharisees and scribes took offense at those they considered “other”, “not us”, “less than”, “different”, or even perhaps “not up to our standards”, who were allowed access to and welcomed by Jesus.

I am so very grateful for the response of the father in verses 31-32: “The father said to him,’ Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was [ as good as] dead and has begun to live. He was lost and has been found.” (Amplified Bible).

The father gently reminded the older son, “This IS YOUR brother.” I wonder who God needs to remind us is “Our Brother?” Who have we, as the Church or as individuals, decided is “other”? Who makes us uncomfortable, or who, in our eyes, isn’t worthy? The disenfranchised, those on the outskirts, those of a different political party, those of a different race, the disabled, prisoners or criminals, those facing housing insecurity, those of a different socioeconomic group than ours: who did God bring to mind as you read the scripture? Is the  Holy Spirit nudging you, asking you to remember one who “is your brother”?

I pray that today, we choose to rejoice over our brother who was as good as dead and now has begun to live. I pray we are not offended that God offers the same unconditional love, free grace, and abundant mercy to those we consider “other” or “not us.” I pray that we can joyfully and obediently share the Gospel with everyone and rejoice extravagantly with heaven over the sinner who repents (Luke 15: 7). I pray that we, as Children of God, welcome each one into our family of faith and serve the LORD with gladness together.

Serving alongside you,

Carla