it is pretty much understood that having a meal with someone conveys a general acceptance of them. it doesn’t mean you endorse their every action, but that you see them as valuable. you recognize that they are indeed a human being, just as you are, and that they are just as much a child of God as you are, no matter where they may be in their walk. and the leaders in Jesus day knew this. they knew that eating with someone conveyed more meaning than just having a warm body nearby, and so they forbid anyone who wanted to be a ‘good jew’ form doing just that. good little boys and girls only ate with other little boys and girls who were ‘good’ just like them. those bad kids were to be left alone, ignored, shunned. they were not seen as being equally loved by God. they were not seen as being of any value whatsoever. so that is precisely why Jesus breaks protocol, and treats these tax collectors and other various ‘sinners’ that He comes across in such a different way.

and as we know, being different really got up under the leader’s skin. conformity was the rule for power over others.

so Jesus brings His disciples, who are undoubtedly uncomfortable in this situation, into the home of levi…a traitorous, thieving, half-jew tax collector. this was a ‘no-no’ for good little jews. they should never have entered his home, let alone sat down to eat with him. and so the leaders stand out in the street watching Jesus actually talk to ‘those people’ and treating them like they weren’t who they were…and they knew who they were.

this had to have bugged the living daylights out of them. and that makes me very happy. yes, i have a non-conformist streak in me. nothing crazy, nothing overpowering, but just enough to enjoy seeing accounts like this. i am not perplexed by Jesus’ actions here. having been the guy on the outside before in social situations, i am very pleased with Jesus’ choices here. not just for my sake, because really i have lived a pretty tame life, but for the sake of those who have spent the bulk of their life on the outside.

they must be told, and more importantly shown, that they are valuable. no social barrier is to keep the gospel from being spread. no one should ever feel like they are beyond being loved. no one should ever feel like they are past all hope, relegated to just being a ‘sinner’ for the rest of their lives.

and so Jesus goes to levi’s home, to sit, to eat, to talk, knowing that sometimes a meal changes everything. sometimes just being a friend to someone, a real friend, can break down walls, open and revive hearts that were solid stone and thought to be dead. as long as we each draw breath, there is hope. there is always hope.

churchill’s quote “never give in. never give in. never, never, never, never–in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. never yield to force. never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” applies here as well as in it’s original context. our ‘convictions of honor and good sense’ are the example of Jesus and the leading of the Spirit to live and work and act in the lives of those who have been waylaid by the enemy. satan has done a marvelous job making us think that our primary enemy is other people. but that is not the truth. there may be people who are acting as agents of the enemy, but they are not the enemy himself. they may have been waylaid, ambushed and brainwashed, but they are never beyond hope…never, never, never, never beyond hope. the devil is our primary adversary, and we must realize that sometimes, in the midst of battle, enemy troops can be brought back home through some simple hospitality, loving-kindness, and compassion.

sometimes a meal changes everything. sometimes it’s a simple ‘hello’ that can begin to break down walls. some people just want to be wanted, that’s all they’re looking for…and who are we to withhold that from them?

Father, forgive me when i pronounce judgment on others in my heart. forgive me when i do not treat them the way You do. forgive me when i live as the ungrateful, unmerciful servant. help me to have a heart of true compassion, and the strength to speak out and show Your love, interceding in the life of those who feel like they are on the outside.

forgive me. embolden me.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Spirit, have mercy.

amen.