Grace in the GraySample

RADICAL RECONCILIATION

It’s amazing to see how politics never came between Jesus and His friends. Unlike in today’s vitriolic climate, Jesus saw in His relationships an opportunity for reconciliation.

I’m especially perplexed by the friendship between Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot. The Zealots were radical. They believed Israel should never be governed by anyone other than itself. For Simon, Matthew would have been one of the vilest members of society. In the Zealots’ eyes, a Jewish man getting into bed with Rome and collecting unjust taxes from his own people was the epitome of the word traitor. The Zealots would have killed people like Matthew.

Matthew, on the other hand, could have easily loathed some­one like Simon. He may have thought of the Zealots as obtuse and unlearned. Matthew might not have even seen anything wrong with collecting taxes in the first place. He was just doing his civic duty, right?

When I consider just how opposite these two were, I’m left wondering, How on earth did both of these men walk alongside Jesus for three years without killing each other—and how do we learn to do the same?

If you’re like me, you need to constantly remember that we are called to love everyone, even those who have wronged us, even those who have threatened us.

When Jesus was being hammered to the cross, He turned to prayer. I imagine He might have been recalibrating amid that pain to remember that even those centuri­ons were not the real enemy. “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). If Jesus needed to pray in His most desperate moments, how much more should we? I invite you to practice praying a prayer like this one:

Father, remind me of Your love. Protect me from making any person an enemy. You love every centurion swing­ing a hammer. You love every Matthew and Simon. You love every enemy I create and every enemy that comes looking for me. Awaken me, Holy Spirit. Open my eyes to see the real battle. I do not battle against flesh and blood. I pray against the schemes of the devil. May I resist the labels he would have me believe. May I see how You see. Redirect my anger. May we as Christians be known for our love, not for our war-waging. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.