The Way - Chapter 5 - Sinners, Outcasts and the Poor

Click here if you'd like to watch the sermon that this lesson is based on.  It contains much of the video we watched in class.

My mother always told me that I would be remembered for the company I keep.  It was the same for Jesus, who disrupted the status quo by seeking out those who were outside the bounds of normal society.  This did two things… it set Jesus apart from the other religious leaders and it opened up the Kingdom of God to the whole world, including us.  As first world Christians, we are reluctant to self-identify with the Pharisees, but honest self-examination can help us to be more intentional about living the way that Jesus called us to live, if we will only take that step outside of our comfort zones… again and again and again.  That is the way that we can usher in the Kingdom in our world, as those who also love the least, the last and the lost.

1. The am ha-aretz – the “people of the land” fall into three groups.  What makes them different from those who consider themselves God’s chosen?  Who in today’s society falls into which category?  Sinners?  Outcasts?  Poor?
2. How did the religious people of the day react to Jesus’ willingness to associate with these people?  What was it about Jesus that drew the people from the other side to him?
3. "God loves the sinner but hates the sin.”   How do we use this phrase in today’s society?  What does it sound like if you are the sinner?
4. What role does sin play in our separation from God?  If we have walked away from God, how hard is it to turn back to him?  What keeps us away?  What draws us back?
5. Adam writes that the longer we are Christians, the more likely that all of our friends will be Christian.  Why might it be important to have friendships with those who are not Christian?   How do we “show them Christ” without scaring them away?
6. The poor are often seen as people with significant physical needs.  What’s the difference between “giving charity and actually caring for them”?  How do our preconceived ideas about the poor keep us from meeting them where they are and knowing what they need?
7. Jesus used parables to teach people about what who he was, but he also used them to instruct on how to live.  What are the major lessons from the following parables:
1. The good Samaritan:
2. The story of the sheep and the goats:
3. Lazarus and the rich man: 
8. Adam talks about moving people to self-sufficiency.  How does this challenge our current way of doing things?  How can this change the world?  The church?  What, if anything, do we have to give up in the process?

For me, the whole chapter is summed up in the following quote:

God is like a loving parent who watches as his children walk away from the path he wants us on. He doesn't like to see his children sin because he knows that sin can hurt us and others and can rob us of the joy he wants us to have. He knows that sin can separate us from him, and he grieves over that separation. Still, he doesn't stop loving us. He doesn't tell us how much he hates us or how much he hates what we do. He keeps beckoning and wooing us, reminding us of his love.

It's a simple concept - we love, because God first loved us - but it takes a lifetime to get it right.  Jesus' life is a great example of how to do it... the way he is with people... the way he tells the truth in love.  He gives us instructions and examples through this preaching and parables.  And he does it all knowing that all that he taught us wasn't enough.  He would have to make the difficult journey to the cross... and only then would we really get it.  The road to Calvary was inevitable, but another powerful witness to the love and grace of God.

Closing Prayer:
Lord, grant us simplicity of faith and a generosity of service that gives without counting cost.  Help us to live a life overflowing with Grace poured out from the One who gave everything, that we might show the power of love to a broken world, and share the truth from a living Word.  Lord, grant us simplicity of faith, and a yearning to share it with the least, the last and the lost.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.