#unwelcome everywhere
#hungrier than yesterday
Living life at the edge is, well, edgy. Unpredictable. No safety net. One foot in the world of 'socially unacceptable' most days. On other days it means you have already fallen into the abyss.
Jesus was not afraid of life on the edge...in that territory occupied by the sick, the possessed, foreigners, women, children. In fact, as much as Jesus understood their experience of living on the edge they understood his acceptance of folk no one else thought worthy of their time or effort. A crippled woman unable to stand straight; a servant girl who was dying; a man living among the dead who was possessed by demons; tax collectors; women of the night.....and lepers.Jesus was not afraid of those who others thought unacceptable, who didn't fit the social or religious norms, who were too poor, too ignorant or too worn out by circumstance or illness to pay attention to the finer details of observing the law.
These were the ones for whom Jesus came. When John the Baptist's disciples came to Jesus to ascertain whether Jesus was truly the Messiah, Jesus said, "Go and tell John...the lepers are cleansed" (Lk7.22)
Do I believe this? Do you? Do I believe that Jesus standing in the margins of our world can bring wholeness and new life to those who reside there? On good days, yes. On bad days, I am afraid of the edges of life. Which is unfortunate, because that is where Jesus is most likely to be found.
See Luke 17.11-19
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