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Wisdom Story~Jesus and the Coat Sleeves
Jesus decided to come to earth to visit a church. The church was having a nice banquet. He stepped inside the banquet hall. Jesus was dressed rather shabbily. He appeared to need a bath and shave, also. A host met him at the door. The host told him he would have to leave.
Jesus went back to his hotel room. He shaved, bathed, and dressed in an expensive suit and tie. He returned to the banquet hall.
The host did not recognize it was the same man he earlier dismissed; so, he seated Jesus at the banquet table. Food was served Jesus, and Jesus stood up. He unbuttoned his coat, took it off, and put the sleeves in his plate, exclaiming loudly, "Okay! Eat sleeves! Eat! Obviously you're among the guests today, not I!"
Scripture: Matthew 9.9-13 (NLT)
As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples. When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor–sick people do."
Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."
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Comments
The person and ministry of Jesus Christ is the model for the life of the Church. From its inception the Church was counter-cultural, a radical social movement.
In cultures in which the Church is wedded with the larger culture, it is easy not to appreciate the radicalness of the Jesus movement.
One matter radical about the Jesus movement is openness to all persons. Jesus confronted the pridefulness of religious leaders in their "holy" arrogance that shut out from Grace the very persons Jesus directed his ministry to.
A mark of contemplatives is radical openness to all persons, including persons of other religious faiths and of no faith. By spiritual insight,developed by letting go of all else but the inner Spirit of Christ, spiritual eyesight comes forth. In this gift of Grace, a contemplative sees in a way fleshly eyesight cannot see. She sees as the Holy Spirit sees, as the Holy Spirit sees through her fleshly eyes from her inner spirit~that is what the purely religious person often refuses, even while claiming to follow Christ.
True Self sees past the carnal, or fleshly, differences making us look separate and contradictory. The inner Holy Spirit has shaped the will of the contemplative by her chosen discipline, or acesis,to have her will put to death~not just mended~, into godly seeing. Through this new will, she sees unlike how she was able to see prior. For one can only see by the eyes she has to see with, whether eyes of unity or eyes of separation.
See next page for conclusion of writing...
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