I am enjoying the 'irresistible wisdom' in Matthew Woodley's Holy Fools, as he explores the nature and ministry of Christ in relation to rugged sinners, his PC term for people who are not as 'together' as the sinners we find in church. I like the term. We are all sinners, some are just outwardly more respectable in what society expects than others.
Woodley argues that we have created our own 'ghetto', our own gated community in the walls of the church where we wait for people to come, clean themselves up before they enter and only if, once 'cleaned up', they seem to then belong in our church culture.
Many of us are not comfortable with the more rugged members of our society, but Jesus himself was someone the people liked, they enjoyed his company and felt at ease in his presence (Woodley). Thinking of the stories that made it to the bible, these 'people' were rugged sinners, society's least liked people. Jesus didn't wait for them to come to him, he went out to meet these people, changing the boundary markers of the church, often creating a scandal with the people he chose to hang out with. He met them on their turf, invited himself to dine with tax collectors and others of ill repute, inviting scorn from the religious hierarchy. He gave himself to these people, spent time with them, with his presence told them that they were worth of his time, effort and energy, and transformed them with his message of hope.
Its not an organisation, or a program or a subscription that will make a difference, it's time effort and energy on our part reaching outside the walls of the church into our rugged (and not so rugged) community that will show Jesus to the people we want to reach.
