Jesus chooses you and so does the church

Recently, I found myself in conversation with a fellow Christian. I walked away thinking, “I’m not sure we believe in the same God.”

We’re both church-goers.
We both have high views of the Bible.

And yet, we see God very differently.

It’s a feeling that’s not new to me. Like many, I’m disheartened by news that makes me think, “That doesn’t track with what I know of God; with the Jesus I see in the Bible.”

Because of this discrepancy, I’ve found myself increasingly hungry for Jesus and for the Gospels—the books that tell his good news. When I read the Gospel-accounts of Jesus, I regain my footing and often, my hope. For that reason, over the next few days and weeks, I’m going to offer a few reflections on the Jesus I believe in; the Jesus I see in Scripture.

************************************************

Multiple Gospels tell of how Jesus calls the first disciples. You can think of this as Jesus choosing his team, his co-workers, the group of people with whom he’s gonna change the world.

You’d think he’d want a good team, right?

If you want to win, you’ve got to have the best players.

Yet, Jesus doesn’t choose the A team. He arguably doesn’t even choose the B team.

Jesus chooses Peter—the guy whose courage causes him to do some really dumb stuff. He’s the guy who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. My guess is Jesus spends a fair amount of time rolling back what Peter says.

He also chooses Andrew—a guy whose only real accomplishment seems to be that he’s Peter’s brother.

Jesus chooses James and John—two brothers who are constantly trying to one-up each other. These guys have such bad tempers they’re called the Sons of Thunder; they’re so racist that they suggest smiting a Samaritan village.

Jesus chooses Matthew—a tax collector who the rest of the disciples would have seen as a traitor because his wealth came from cheating the Jews in order to pay their Roman occupiers.

And then Jesus chooses Simon the Zealot—who was part of a group that was trying to overthrow the very occupiers Matthew was serving. Just imagine the conversations (or fights) that Simon the Zealot must have had with Matthew, as they vehemently tried to convince the other that their political viewpoint was right.

Jesus chooses Thomas the realist, who’s better known as Thomas the doubter. He’s the guy who calls it like it is and never minces words. He’s also the one who asks an annoying amount of questions, who’s never satisfied with the first answer and always pushes to understand why something is the way it is.

Jesus chooses Judas, who goes on to betray him, but only after he’s been such a critical part of Team Jesus that the group entrusts him with their finances.

Jesus also chooses women to be part of his disciples (something that’s noteworthy in its own right, both then and now). He chooses Mary, a woman whose demons would have made most respectable people steer clear of her. Yet, she’s who Jesus chooses to tell everyone he’s risen from the dead.

Jesus chooses other named and unnamed women to be part of his team…as well as other men, only some of whom the Gospels mention.

One by one, Jesus builds a diverse team of people who never would have been in the same room together had it not been for Jesus. It’s a team filled with those who others would have labeled troublemakers, rejects, and second-class. Yet, Jesus sees past their labels to their potential. He sees they are made in the image of a good God and are, therefore, good. Jesus teaches them to create, not destroy. He channels their energy in such a way that they become world-changers—people willing to go to their deaths to advance the cause of Christ.

That’s good news…not just for a few but for many, for the marginalized who never fit in with society.

It’s good news for us, too.

***********************************************

Our five year old, Kendall, takes piano lessons. After a rough start last year, she’s grown to mostly like it…except for performance classes. These monthly group classes are when Kendall performs a piece for the rest of her class.

They’re meant to be low-stress, low-anxiety environments that get kids used to playing their instrument in front of others.

Except they're not for Kendall, who's typically in tears the night before them. This week, she sobbed into my arms, self-conscious about her piece.

“I’m the worst in my class, mommy.”
“Everyone else plays better than I do, mom.”
“My piece is shorter than everyone else.”
“I don’t want to do this, Mommy.”

To be clear, Kendall’s teacher has never reinforced any kind of performance hierarchy. She painstakingly finds something to affirm in every kid’s performance.

We do too.

And yet, at the age of 5, Kendall has ranked herself in comparison to everyone else in her class. She’s deemed herself “worse than” and “not enough.”

As a family pastor, I know this is not unique to my kid. Every day, I encounter kids and teenagers who believe they are not enough; that they’re never gonna get picked for the team or get into college. Every day I also interact with grown-ups who feel they, too, are never enough; that they fundamentally don’t belong—at work, at church, at home, or elsewhere.

That’s why Jesus’ team is still such good news. 

If Jesus chose a bunch of ragtag misfits to be his church, then the church is still for everyone.

No matter how often you feel like you’re not enough and you don’t belong, Jesus says otherwise.

You are enough.
You belong.

Black and White and Asian and Hispanic.
Republican and Democrat.
Straight and Gay.
Recent migrants and refugees and those who have only ever lived safe and secure in one home.
Old and Young.
Married and Single.
Rich and Poor.
College-educated and not.

Jesus chooses you.

And like the first disciples, you’re not chosen for your great skill. You’re chosen because you’re a beloved child of God who’s deeply loved...Which means you belong to the body of Christ—to the church—even if you’re not the best at anything; even if you’ve never been chosen first by anyone for anything.

Your presence at church matters more than your competence.

And because God is good and you’re created in God’s image to create, not destroy, God will also use your gifts, however meager they might seem to you.

God even uses the gifts of the very same kids who believe they’re not enough.

I know because the same Kendall who hates playing at performance class used her meager gifts to play a prelude at Christmas Eve.

Lots of other kids did too. 

Because Jesus chooses them and uses their gifts. 

And so does the church.

The same is true of you. 

Jesus chooses you. And so does the church.