Friends,
Yesterday we saw Jesus trying to help his Jewish disciples get over their prejudice toward Gentiles (anyone not Jewish).
Something to Ponder: Who are your Gentiles? Is there a group of people or a type of person you hope you never have to sit next to in church? Imagine yourself explaining that to Jesus. Imagine his response, the look on his face.
Something to Pray About: Ask Jesus to help you face any prejudices you have and to see them for the ugliness that they are. Also, ask Jesus to help you understand what it means that the first group of people the early church had to comes to grips with letting in was...us! You and Me. We're the Gentiles. They called us dogs. They didn't want us. But Jesus insisted.
Something to Put into Action: Put your prejudice -- if you have one -- to the test. Do you have something against black people? Do some volunteer work in a black neighborhood. Politically do you lean to the right or the left? Do some volunteer work for a congressman in the party you don't vote for. Is it the gay community what triggers you? Have dinner at a gay bar. The point of this exercise is to spend time with the kinds of people you don't like so you can test your stereotypes and find out if they hold up. Hint: I think you'll find that the real world and real people are more complex than the stereotypes.
In Christ,
Pastor Marty