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Providing out of our resources Luke 7:36 – 8:3 Jesus and his little band of twelve really get around, don’t they? They’re constantly in motion, traveling (on foot) from one place to another. You realize, of course, that no matter where they traveled to, they were dependent upon the hospitality and the support of others, people to whom they were strangers. Face it, Jesus had no time for moonlighting as a carpenter in order to bring in a few bucks now and then. Peter and the others had no time to catch many fish either. But on they went, fully confident that somehow they would be provided for. And so it is that in this particular passage they’re welcomed into the home of a Pharisee. Don’t miss that point, now – a Pharisee, one of those whom we like to think were all Jesus’ enemies. So Jesus gets ready to sit down to a good meal (no doubt the disciples were also being fed) as guest of ‘the enemy’. He is in the company of one who’s a sinner, who most definitely has not yet joined those who are followers of Jesus. Then the passage shifts to the story about the sinful woman who bathes Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, then anoints the feet with precious ointment. The Pharisee (who does not see himself as a sinner) easily passes judgment upon the woman, considering her to be low and unworthy. Jesus accepts both the Pharisee and the woman, and winds up forgiving her sins, telling her that she is saved by her faith. After the meal, the little band travels on to other villages, and scripture tells us that no matter where they went, there were those who “provided for them out of their resources”. (8:3) That’s what it says, right there in scripture.  It’s tough, this business of caring for strangers. Their ways are not our ways, and it’s so easy to rush to judgment about those differences. Let’s be honest about this – we’re all guilty of that, from time to time. And so it is that we genuinely struggle with strangers coming to our villages, our cities, our states and nation. There are honest differences which we put on the table regarding the way in which we must deal with those strangers among us. Our politicians do not have an easy task when it comes to solving this “problem”, and the rest of us may not be all that helpful in providing support for the politicians we love to criticize and even ridicule. The question for us Christians is vitally important, and we must ask ourselves what  (if any)  role scripture plays in our response and responsibility to the strangers among us. No matter what the political outcomes may be, are we prepared to love God’s strangers who come into our villages, and provide for them out of our resources? It’s about faith once again, is it not? Like the Pharisee, we may quickly want to dismiss those others as sinners, beggars, persons somehow lower than you and than me. Wish I had easy answers for these thorny problems. What I do know is this: I would like for Jesus to say to me: Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (7:50) What do you think? - Pastor Piet - June 17, 2007