Have you ever attended a party without an invitation?

I’m ashamed to admit this, but I have.

A friend from a moms’ group had invited me to her sons’ birthday party.  I bought each a gift and dragged both Kenny and Joshie to this party with the promise of some fun and fellowship.  It wasn’t just any party at a house, it was being held at a children’s gym and we knew Joshie would be excited about the fun activities being offered.  Additionally, we’re self-proclaimed hermits and hardly know other parents with kids around Joshie’s age so any chance we get to go out as a family, we do and try to seize the moment with much gratitude.  As we walked into the gym, I looked around with the hope of recognizing the people inside.  As they all stared back at us, I placed the gift down on what I assumed was the gifts table and proceeded to take off my shoes to get on the padded area where all the fun stuff is.

Kenny kept asking me, “do you know anyone here?,”  but I figured some people that I’m familiar with from my moms’ group might be running late.  As time went by and Joshie started enjoying himself, I finally listened to my gut and read the invitation my friend gave me thoroughly.  To my surprise, we were one week early…

We had just crashed a random party! 

And yes, we were extremely mortified.

Feeling Uninvited

We slowly made our way to the shoes’ rack near the exit. I could feel their eyes chasing our every move.  To make matters way way worse, Joshie definitely didn’t help by throwing a massive tantrum right after we pulled him off the trampoline.

They were definitely watching us now.

As we scrambled to put our shoes back on, Kenny and I debated whether we should take the gift back or not.  Joshie refused to put his shoes on, so quietly, but confidently, I commanded:

“Go, grab the gift, I got Joshie,” and aimed for the door.

And we ran out to the car LOL’ing so hard, I had forgotten to breathe in between as my face turned beet red from lack of oxygen and sheer embarrassment.  The adrenaline had made me forget all about the shame of being in a place where we were obviously not wanted.

(I wish I could share more stories about feeling rejected… I got plenty!  But they weren’t as funny and light-hearted as this one and I needed a dose of humor injected into this post).

Rejection is one of the worst feelings anyone could ever experience.  It screams at us the insecurities we’ve shoved down and forever locked within us.  But some days, they make their way to the surface to throw us off course and make us feel we are not worthy of anyone’s love, not even God’s.  Day to day, we are constantly hearing the whispers of rejection in hopes no one else can, but they continue to get louder and louder until…

What happens when an outsider verbalizes or acts upon those inhibitions we so secretly carry with us creating a heavy mind?

I must admit, in this specific situation, they had every reason to kick us out of their party if they wanted to.  We were strangers and we weren’t invited to their celebration.  I was now wrestling an internal battle, should I go up to someone and say something, or should I hope for someone to ask me if I’m here for _______’s party, so we could laugh about our mistake and gone our way, or perhaps, we could have made new friends in this awkward situation.  BUT PRIDE…

Alas, we left the party like runaway criminals, when our only crime was showing up too early to a party we were, in fact, invited.

But let’s take it a step further, what if you are in a place you feel like home and you know there’s people around you who treat you as if you don’t belong?  You are uninvited with their eyes and their protests, but they don’t just use words, they also use their fists to drive the message home to you.

I’ve been fighting to find the right words to express how the events from last weekend impacted me without sounding divisive and/or ignorant.  Truth is, I’m no expert and I don’t intend to pose as one.  I have more questions than answers and solutions to offer.  I do know this: racism requires rejection for its vile agenda to work.

So what will we need for ours?

I have tasted bitter rejection before, and my friends, it tastes like poison for the soul.  As much as we want to continue to lecture those who have been marginalized for so long to forgive and just let go, can we finally admit that our “words of healing” aren’t working?

We are already over-saturated with news and opinions, and frankly, the last thing I want to do is add more boiling water to the pot.  The issues being discussed are extremely delicate and they have existed since before the birth of our beautiful nation.  These are the times we need to find comfort in the arms of our Savior and each other.  Instead, we have turned to what the so-called experts and the social media know-it-all’s have to say about the issue of racism to justify our own side of wherever we choose to stand.

Nowadays, opinions matter more than people and their direct experiences with this evil of racism.  There is more care to preserve history than protect and defend those who are still being severely affected by its vitriol and violence.  Yes, slavery and racial segregation are no longer the law of the land, but could it be that the damage was already done?  Could it be that we are still living the consequences of the past sins of this nation?  Could it be that our generation is not fully cleansed from what happened in the last few centuries?

Most importantly, does racism still exist?  Can we all agree to this without justification?  Can we agree without pointing fingers and rebuttals?

Our Christian Privilege

Why be consumed with the words of men than what our God Almighty has already breathed into our souls to relieve us from the perils of this world?

We are ALL created in His image and likeness.

I’d like us to read Luke 10 for some perspective.  Before we go into the Good Samaritan parable, Jesus tells the disciples this privately after He spent some time with God alone in prayer,

Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see!  For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.

Luke 10:23-24

Unlike the people that came and went before Him, our Creator blessed us with the privilege to know Him intimately and to serve Him generously.  We have been adopted as His children and with that, we obtain an inheritance we don’t earn with our own merits.

Only by the blood and grace of Jesus Christ.

The Greek word for “Blessed” is makarios, which is also used multiple times in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, and it also means “happy.”  As Christians, we should be happy to be considered one of His disciples and such honor must propel us to share Him with those who have yet to know His love for them.  We share our stories in how He’s captivated our minds and hearts to follow Him even when we’ve been disillusioned with life and the circumstances it brings.

Friends, we have been entrusted with a precious message to give to the world, but in midst of this darkness and crisis, we’ve allowed our message to get tainted with with our own fears and anger towards those we feel are wrong on this issue.

We’ve become anything but “happy.”

It pains me when I see fellow Christians post on social media anything but resembling humility or the Word of God to permeate the hearts of those actually seeking refuge and compassion from us.  If your words don’t glorify Him, perhaps they shouldn’t be uttered at all.  God didn’t call us to side with a political party or an ideology group or even the President, we are His disciples first and foremost.  This isn’t about God being on their side or ours, we ought to always stand on His. 

And what does God stand for?

He stands for justice, for mercy, for those who have been rejected and alienated since the beginning of history.  This is why I was compelled to write this observation on Luke 10.

But just like there are experts now, there were also experts then and this is how Jesus handled him.

With a parable.

Say Yes to Questions, No to Accusations

Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying,

“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?”

Luke 10:25:26

Wouldn’t you think being a law expert would mean knowing what is written in the law?  We don’t know whether this specific law expert was attempting to make Jesus stumble in His speech or not.  We do know Pharisees were popular with this strategy and he could have very well belonged to that group as Jesus’ days were already numbered.

However, it could have also come from a pure heart of wanting to know the true answer.

Let’s assume this expert was being sincere in his approach to know what’s right.  I will commend him for coming to Jesus with a question rather than an accusation.  I’d like to believe Jesus welcomes questions; despite our own preconceptions, He doesn’t get offended by our heartfelt pursuit for truth.  We all now inhabit a world of statements.  Very few ask questions anymore, and if they do, they tend to be rhetorical and with a spirit of sarcasm to undermine the other person and elevate their own agenda.  Rarely, questions are being asked in the spirit of education.

What’s the problem with saying “I don’t know, can you help me understand?”

Can we as a society learn from this law expert and open our ears and simply listen without having to immediately offer our opinion?

Keep it Simple

These are the times when we are reminded to repent if we’ve been part of the problem, if we’ve allowed our prejudices rule over the clear commandment Jesus gave us as He shared the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;” and “your neighbor as yourself.”

“You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:27-29

God loves simplicity.

But like the expert, we want to over-complicate a simple commandment.  To love Him first and foremost, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

I often ponder about the multiple issues we encounter in our own individual lives and how they relate to this commandment and affect others.

The issue tends to be one of these three:

1. We don’t know God; therefore, we don’t love Him.
2. We don’t know how to love our neighbors because we lack confidence; therefore, we don’t even know how to love and take care of ourselves.
3. We love ourselves way too much; therefore, we become our own god and we do as we please neglecting others in the process.

Hence, our capacity to love others is hindered by our own inability to fulfill this commandment.  This is why we need Jesus in our hearts NOW more than ever.

Can you blame the expert for asking Jesus to clarify who our neighbor is?  I can sense we can be overtly critical of his approach, even John was while writing this passage.  He implies the expert was “testing” Jesus and “justifying” himself when he asked who his neighbor was.  Before you start criticizing him…

I bet you have struggled to love “your neighbor” at a point in your life too. 

What if your neighbor is a self-proclaimed Neo-Nazi or a passionate member of the political party you vehemently oppose?  What if he’s from a culture you are not familiar with and it makes you uncomfortable to get to know him?

Meet Daryl Davis.

He’s a brave musician who has adopted a very risky mission.

A black man who befriends the KKK.

As he builds relationship with them and eats dinner in their homes, he humbly asks them:

“How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?”

If you have Netflix, I implore you to watch his documentary, Accidental Courtesy.

This is what he says about his approach,

“I appeal to people’s common sense. I don’t seek to convert them but if they spend time with me, they can’t hate me. [The Klansman] sees that I want the same thing for my family as he does for his … if you can work on the things in common, that’s how you build friendship.”

Christians, imagine if we were to approach our neighbors in this manner.  Without the expectation of conversion, but simply building relationships in hopes our lives reflects the humility of our Savior.

When we aggressively desire to learn about others, we are passively teaching them about us.

Which of the Three WILL YOU Choose to BE LIKE?

Jesus took up [the question] and said:

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho

and fell into the hands of robbers.

They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead.

 A priest happened to be going down that road.

When he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place

and saw him, passed by on the other side.

 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him,

and when he saw [the man], he had compassion.

 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds,

pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal,

brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

 The next day he took out two denarii,

gave them to the innkeeper, and said,

‘Take care of him. When I come back

I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’

 “Which of these three do you think proved to

be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.

Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

Luke 10:30-37

Only ONE thing is necessary…

While they were traveling, He entered a village,

and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.

 She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet

and was listening to what He said.

 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks,

and she came up and asked,

“Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone?

So tell her to give me a hand.”

 The Lord answered her,

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,

 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42

I’d like to think what comes after the Good Samaritan parable wasn’t by chance.  We all know Martha was a busy-bee and Mary knew what was best.

I’d like to stick to my theory that Luke wrote this story to drive home the importance of humility.  Jesus didn’t have a problem with Martha working hard to serve Him UNTIL she allowed pride in her heart and decided to rebuke her sister for not helping her.

Jesus isn’t condemning our actions to serve Him and do good.  He doesn’t condemn those who peacefully protest for righteousness and justice.  This story is merely a reminder that spending time with Him will only refuel us to serve Him and others genuinely and generously without a care of how others respond.

Don’t get distracted like Martha.

We tend to look at what others are or aren’t doing in this matter of racism, but let’s remember ONLY ONE thing is necessary according to Jesus…

to sit at His feet and delight in His faithfulness.

Make your pleas known to Him

May He fill you with courage

to stand against evil when given the opportunity.