We know from Scripture and from eyewitness accounts that when Jesus walked among us he was a real rebel. There were no limits to whom he spoke, broke bread with or offered the Good News of salvation. He was aware of his heritage, that is, he came to offer salvation to the Jews, he is the Messiah. But it was clear that when he lived and loved he connected with everyone. When he came across someone who we might judge as not fitting for the Good News he apparently looked at them, saw their goodness or recognized their essence as a beloved creation of the Father and said, yeah, why not? Open arms to everyone!
I guess to me the classic example is that of the Roman Centurion ( Matt 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10 ), the visible sign of authority of the occupying army that came to Jesus ( of all people ) to ask him to cure his "pais". Pais, that is not a servant or slave as previously translated by major denominations, it is in fact the same sex junior lover that was very common in Roman and Greek cultures. Maybe if it had been the situation of a prostitute or, maybe if this had been pedophilia, maybe Jesus would have turned this Centurion away with stern warnings or condemnation. That is not how it played out though. After a brief interaction in which the Centurion shows his faith in the power and authority of Jesus, we find the Centurion goes home to find that Jesus did in fact cure the man. This is not how the Westboro Baptist church would act but it is a fine example of how Jesus in fact acted and in turn it shows how we are all called to act. It speaks to the all embracing and all loving arms and heart of Jesus.
We have spent 40 days, if not our entire life, preparing for these last three days. In turn, on this glorious Easter morning, with hearts renewed, celebrating our humanity, the Resurrection of Jesus and celebrating new life, we are anxious and joyous to go out into the world anew. Will we start out as Jesus would have us, with open arms? Will we be open to the humanity of everyone we meet, especially those with whom we would be least expected to socialize or judge equal or worthy? Whether it was a Centurion or Samaritan, adulterer or tax collector, Jesus did not even judge being Jewish or being friendly to reach out and love. A real rebel indeed.
In these times when we seem to be called to dig in our heels and hate the 'other side' , to condemn and deport, can we reach out in love, acceptance and humanity to everyone? I hope we can, this is Easter and we proclaim ourselves Easter people.
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