The stories behind the stories. The grace beyond the page.
Now that Big Buts of the Bible: Where Broken Stories Meet God’s Grace is finally in print, I’ve been thinking about what to do with our Saturday visits. Until now, I’ve been sharing excerpts from the manuscript. But there’s so much more to explore than what made it onto those pages! So beginning today, Saturdays will take us Beyond the BUT—with fresh reflections, personal stories, reader experiences, and occasional behind-the-scenes glimpses of the book. Same little three-letter word. More opportunities to discover God’s grace.
What If Jesus Isn’t Nearly as Disappointed in You as You Think?
An excerpt from Chapter 9 of Big Buts of the Bible: Where Broken Stories Meet God’s Grace
Luke’s Gospel also recalls Matthew’s calling (there, Matthew is referred to as Levi). We read that at Jesus’ invitation, “Follow me,” Levi “got up, left everything and followed him.” But it gets better—the first thing Matthew did was throw a party.
Luke wraps his account of the tax-collector’s calling this way: Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
There’s something about this scene that keeps drawing me back.
Jesus wasn’t merely willing to tolerate the people the religious establishment considered unacceptable. He seemed genuinely comfortable in their company. He ate with them. Listened to them. Shared their tables and entered their stories.
I wonder how many people today believe Jesus would be uncomfortable sitting across the table from them.
Maybe they’ve made choices they regret. Maybe they’ve been told, directly or indirectly, that their struggles make them less welcome in God’s presence. Maybe they’ve spent years trying to become the kind of person they imagine Jesus would want to be around.
But what if they’ve misunderstood the invitation?
Jesus didn’t wait until Matthew had cleaned up his life before calling him. He met Matthew at his tax collector’s booth, right in the middle of the life he was living.
I think that’s something worth remembering, particularly when we’re tempted to believe that our past disqualifies us from God’s future.A question worth considering: If you could sit across the table from Jesus today, what would you be most afraid he’d say? And what if his first words surprised you?
There’s more to this encounter in Chapter 9 of Big Buts of the Bible: Where Broken Stories Meet God’s Grace. The book is available in paperback and Kindle editions. [Explore the book]
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