We have been preaching through the book of John. Early in the book we sense the tension between Jesus and the religious leaders that led up to Jesus’ death.
If there was anything that rankled those religious leaders, it was the way Jesus welcomed all kinds of people, especially those regarded as sinners: tax collectors, prostitutes, and adulterers. Jesus reached out and welcomed them all. John 8 helps us to see what we need to do if we are going to be like Jesus.
Billy Graham’s daughter Ruth writes in her new book, “Loving unbelievers the way Jesus did is the most overlooked key to growing a church. Without his passion for the lost, we will be unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to reach them.” (Ruth Graham. A Legacy of Faith: Things I Learned from My Father)
Jesus taught us to love the unlovely, to befriend the unfriendly, and to welcome those who would be unwelcome in other places. That was the work Jesus engaged in. It is our work today. And if we need a reminder, all we need to do is walk around the back of the building and see the motto of our denomination there: Continuing the Work of Jesus. Peacefully. Simply. Together. I hope it can be said that we are doing that, because it is out there for everyone to see.
Unfortunately, a lot of people outside the church have the impression that they are not welcome inside the church. I don’t know how often Sue and I have heard expressions like, “I don’t have the right clothes.” “I’m not good enough.” “I don’t have any money for the offering.” I’m afraid the church has not done a good job of letting people know they are welcome, especially those who are looked down on - jailbirds, thieves, alcoholics, addicts, and prostitutes.
Tony Campolo, professor of sociology and well-known Baptist preacher, tells the story of his visit to Honolulu for a conference. On his first night there, he awoke about three and left the hotel to find a place to get something to eat. He found a tiny coffee shop with one man behind the bar who served him coffee and a doughnut. Tony was the only customer until, quite suddenly, the coffee shop was filled with women. Some sat at tables, others at the counter near Tony. From their conversation he learned a great deal about Honolulu’s night life. These women were prostitutes.
He says: “I overheard the woman sitting beside me say, "Tomorrow’s my birthday. I’m going to be 39."’
Her friend responded in a nasty tone, "So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? Ya want me to get you a cake and sing ’Happy Birthday?’"
"Come on!" said the woman. "Why do you have to be so mean? I was just telling you, that’s all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you it was my birthday. I don’t want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I’ve never had a birthday party in my life. Why should I have one now?"
When Tony heard that, he made a decision. After the women left he called over the fat guy behind the counter and asked, "Do they come here every night?”
"Yeah!" he answered.
"The one right next to me, does she come here every night?"
"Yeah," he said. "That’s Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why d’ya wanta know?"
"Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you say you and I do something about that? What do you think about us throwing a birthday party for her right here tomorrow night?"
A cute smile slowly crossed his chubby cheeks and he answered with delight, "That’s great!..."
"Look." Tony said, "If it’s OK with you, I’ll get back here tomorrow morning about 2:30 and decorate the place. I’ll even get a birthday cake!"
"No way," said Harry. "The birthday cake’s my thing. I’ll make the cake.”
At 2:30 the next morning, Tony was back at the diner. He had picked up some paper decorations at the store and had made a sign out of big pieces of cardboard that read, "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" He decorated the diner from one end to the other. He had that diner looking good.
The woman who did the cooking must have gotten the word out on the street, because by 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. It was wall-to-wall prostitutes...and Tony!
At 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open and in came Agnes and her friend. Tony had everybody ready and when they came in they all screamed, "Happy birthday!" Tony says, “Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted...so stunned. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle. Her friend grabbed her arm to steady her.” As she was led to sit on one of the stools along the counter they all sang Happy Birthday to her. As they came to the end of their singing with "Happy birthday dear Agnes, happy birthday to you," her eyes moistened, and when the birthday cake with all the candles on it was carried out, she lost it, and just openly cried.
Harry gruffly mumbled, "Blow out the candles, Agnes! Come on! Blow out the candles! If you don’t blow out the candles, I’m gonna hafta blow out the candles." And, after an endless few seconds, he did. Then he handed her a knife and told her, "Cut the cake, Agnes. Yo, Agnes, we all want some cake.”
Agnes looked down at the cake. Then without taking her eyes off it, she slowly and softly said, "Look, Harry, is it all right with you if I... I mean is it OK if I kind of. keep the cake a little while? I mean is it all right if we don’t eat it right away?"
Harry shrugged and answered, "Sure! It’s O.K If you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home if you want to."
"Can I?" she asked. Then looking at Tony she said, "I live just down the street a couple of doors. I want to take the cake home, OK? I’ll be right back.
She got off the stool, picked up the cake, and, carrying it like it was the Holy Grail, walked slowly toward the door.
Everyone just stood there motionless. When the door closed there was a stunned silence. Not knowing what else to do, Tony broke the silence by saying, "What do you say we pray?”
Looking back on it, he says, it seems more than strange for a sociologist to be leading a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes in Honolulu at 3:30 in the morning. But it just felt like the right thing to do.
He prayed for Agnes. He prayed for her salvation. He prayed that her life would be changed and that God would be good to her. When he finished, Harry leaned over the counter and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he said "Hay! You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?"
In one of those moments when just the right words came, he answered, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning."
Harry waited a moment and then almost sneered as he answered, "No you don’t. There’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I’d join a church like that!” (Changing on the Inside by Dr. John White, Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, 1991)
Back to the story in John 8. It must have been hard for the woman caught in adultery to understand that she could be forgiven, welcomed, and restored. We could speculate a long time about her circumstances, but we really don’t know how she ended up here in front of Jesus, shamed and threatened by her accusers. All we know is what these men said, that she was caught in the act of adultery. If their accusations were true, she had failed to live up to the standards of sexual morality taught in the scriptures and upheld by the religious leaders. Sex outside of marriage was a serious crime right alongside murder and idolatry. According to their religious law, she deserved death.
But so did her accusers. When Jesus challenged these so-called witnesses to throw the first stone, not one of them hung around to carry out the punishment. Their motives, their behavior, their lives fell short in the sight of God. They melted away from the oldest to the youngest. They too deserved death.
And so do the rest of us. Oh, we may not have committed adultery in the physical sense, but when Jesus published his constitution for the Kingdom of God in Matthew 5, he said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Who of us has not entertained thoughts like that? Who of us has not dwelt on our sexuality in unhealthy ways? By that standard, who of us is not guilty? Who of us could throw the first stone?
All of us need forgiveness. All of us need to be welcomed. All of us need a second chance. The cross up here reminds us that Jesus came to offer a new opportunity. For Jesus to forgive her meant that one day he would die for her sin as he has died for ours. Forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap. (Warren Wiersbe Commentary)
But that is not the end of the story. Jesus didn’t just slough off her behavior as though it didn’t matter. There is a difference between forgiving sin and overlooking it. When Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you,” he not only forgave her, he challenged her to change her life. “From now on do not sin again,” he said. Jesus was interested in what she could become. Forgiveness is not an excuse to sin again. Rather, it is a call to a different way of living. The grace of forgiveness is accompanied by the grace of new life. That is what Christ calls us to.
So now it is your turn. During this time of lent, as we draw closer and closer to the time of the cross, let’s allow the sacrifice of Jesus to have its impact on our lives, to draw us closer to God through forgiveness, spiritual discipline, and welcoming.
First, we not only need to experience forgiveness for our own sins, we need to offer forgiveness to others. It may be tempting to walk around with clenched fists and hard stones to let others know that they have transgressed, that they have done wrong, that they have hurt us. But let’s learn to give it up. We need to ask how we can claim to be a follower of Jesus and still carry a grudge against someone. If we are going to continue the work of Jesus, then we need to learn to forgive. The Lord’s prayer says, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” That means that God will forgive us to the extent we forgive others - a good reminder for Lent.
Second, Lent is a good time to work on spiritual disciplines that draw us closer to Christ. Spiritual disciplines are things we do; things we practice. They are ways we orient our whole selves—our bodies and minds and hearts—toward God. Practicing spiritual disciplines helps align our feelings, our will, and our habits with God’s will. (Lauren F. Winner) Committing ourselves to a discipline of prayer, for example, teaches us how to be a person of prayer. That is why we are opening the church for a few hours on Saturdays during Lent. Committing ourselves to a discipline of fasting helps us realize how much we depend on God for our strength. Committing ourselves to tithing is another discipline, even when it pinches our budget. It turns us into people who understand that everything is a gift, that it all belongs to God. And maybe you have never heard it said this way before, but the way we live out our sexuality can also be a spiritual discipline, whether it is in the discipline of chastity or the discipline of fidelity to a spouse. We all know there are pressures around us to draw us off course. Lent is a good time to focus on our relationship to God.
Third, let’s exercise the gift of welcoming.. Sometimes it is a challenge to reach out to people who are not like ourselves in age or background or status. We may have to sacrifice a pattern or a routine in order to demonstrate a welcoming attitude. Some of you on this side of the sanctuary may not know the names of some on the other side. I’d like to encourage you to ask them. Learn each other’s names and welcome each other. And some of you are going to have an opportunity to reach others by walking on unfamiliar sidewalks this week to welcome people to our Easter services. I hope you find it a rewarding discipline and that God provides opportunities for you to witness in some significant way.
Let’s ask ourselves, what are we willing to give up so that other people can know that God’s love is for them as well? Can we love those around us with the same passion that Jesus loves us? Ruth Graham has said, If we don’t love people, nothing else matters.” Let’s continue the work of Jesus.
