scum

This year at Golden Bay Baptist, we are spending some time working through a 12 step program of following Jesus. Each month, we’ll consider one of the 12 steps made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous, and how it relates to following Jesus.

This month, we’re looking at step 1: admitting that we are powerless.

One of my favourite TV shows from when I was growing up is the British sitcom, Keeping up Appearances. The show is about a lady born into a lower-class family who marries a middle-class man, and who is desperate to be seen to be a lady of refinement and good taste. Mrs Bucket, pronounced by her as Bouquet, is dreadfully embarrassed by her slovenly sisters and brother in law. She assumes the worst of them, and often pretends that they are no relations of her. The funny bit, of course, is how obvious it is that Mrs Bucket is nothing like the “good” person she wants to be known as.

In Matthew 9:9-13, we read of Jesus calling a tax collector called Matthew to be His apprentice. Tax collectors in ancient Israel were a despised group. The Roman occupiers allowed them to extort the populace, as long as Rome got the money that they demanded. Tax collectors got rich on the suffering of others. So, when Matthew invited Jesus and his apprentices to be his dinner guests, together with many tax collectors and “other disreputable sinners”, the “good” people in the crowd were far from impressed. As far as they were concerned, Jesus was eating with scumbags. He was associating with the lowest dregs of society.

But look at how Jesus responded: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor — sick people do.” Jesus didn’t come to pat those who think themselves “good” on the back. He came to rescue the down and outs. He came to rescue the scum of the earth. He came “to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

So often, I play the role of Mrs Bucket, pretending to be someone I’m not. But in truth, I’m not righteous. I fall short of the glory of God. I am a sinner. I need Jesus. What about you?

Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”

When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”