Fields United Methodist Church

Celebrate Jesus!

Pastor Tom Joyce

July 11, 2022

“The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Luke 5:27-32

Jesus said, “love your neighbor as yourself.”  This is one of the two great commandments that summarize “all the law and the prophets.”  The interesting thing about Jesus is that in giving us this commandment, he made no accommodation for excluding anyone from the banquet table. Welcoming and loving our neighbor is all about treating all people as children of God with the understanding that we are all in the same boat in the eyes of Jesus; beloved and in need of grace. When we exclude people based on what we think we know about someone, or based on what we know to be true, we miss out on an opportunity to welcome someone in the name of Jesus as a fellow sojourner through life’s twists and turns.  Everyone has a story to share and to want to hear that story, especially around a table is offering the gift of your presence and faith to them.  The calling to loving neighbor is not a suggestion by Jesus, it is an imperative to celebrate the people God has placed along your path. Every summer holiday the neighborhood we lived in put picnic tables together and had we had a party; some have been getting together for a long time and others for the first time. By the end of the evening, we were more than just neighbors, we were friends sharing stories and laughter. Maybe the Kingdom of God is like that; a big old block party sharing the love of Christ with each other, always with room for one more!  Thank you Jesus.