Lenten Perspective: Separation and Reconciliation

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Separation and Reconciliation

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Colossians 1:19-20 (NRSV)

You invite us in
Doesn't matter who we've been
Your arms are open wide
Pulling us to Your side

From "You Invite Me In" by Meredith Andrews

In the Gospel of Luke, we read that one day, while a crowd has gathered around Jesus to listen to Him teach, a group of religious leaders, specifically Pharisees and religious scholars, start criticizing Him, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."  Jesus overhears them, so He starts telling them parables.¹

First Jesus tells a parable about a shepherd who has one hundred sheep in his care.  One day, one of the sheep goes missing, so the shepherd leaves the other ninety-nine to search for the missing one.  When he finds the sheep, he brings it back home and invites his friends to celebrate.  Jesus explains that "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."  Jesus then tells a parable about a woman who has ten coins.  One day, she notices that one of her coins is missing, so she starts cleaning her house in search of it.  Once she finds her lost coin, she calls her friends over to celebrate with her.  Jesus explains that "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."²

Jesus is trying to drive home the truth that, when people turn from destructive ways, God celebrates.

In Jesus' day, the Pharisees are concerned with separation.  In fact, the word Pharisee means "separated one."  The Pharisees seek holiness through strict adherence to the Law of their religion and separation from anything sinful.³  Naturally, they would never associate with tax collectors, prostitutes, and anyone else they deem "sinners," and they are appalled that someone like Jesus would associate with them.

Jesus, on the other hand, is a "friend of sinners" because He is concerned not with separation but with reconciliation.  While the Pharisees want to separate themselves from people who are seemingly separated from God, Jesus wants to invite such people to be reconciled to God.  Yes, the "sinners" need to change their ways, but they also need to know that God desires reconciliation with them.  This is the truth that Jesus' parables convey.  In the same way that the shepherd was not content to have only ninety-nine of his one hundred sheep, and in the same way that the woman was not content to have only nine of her ten coins, God is not content to have only the upstanding religious folk.  God wants the so-called "sinners" as well.

Jesus goes on to tell a parable about a father who has two sons.  One day, the younger son asks his father for his inheritance, and afterward he leaves home and squanders it all.  Inevitably he finds himself in a state of need, so he decides to go home, apologize to his father, and ask him if he can be hired as a servant.  When he arrives at home, his father runs out to meet him, embraces him, and throws him a welcome home party.  When the older son learns that his brother has returned home and that his father has thrown him a party, he becomes indignant.  The father finds him and begs him to join the party.⁴

While all three parables are about the "sinners" who are turning to Jesus, this third parable is also about the Pharisees, who are evidently represented by the embittered older brother.  Jesus seems to be saying to them, "Your heavenly Father celebrates the return of your wayward brothers and sisters.  Now when are you going to get over your need to set yourselves apart from them and join the party?"

Theologian Paul Tillich suggested that "sin is separation."  In his words, "To be in the state of sin is to be in the state of separation.  And separation is threefold: there is separation among individual lives, separation of a man from himself, and separation of all men from the Ground of Being [God]."⁵  If sin is indeed separation, then the solution to the problem of sin would be reconciliation - reconciliation with one another, reconciliation with oneself, and reconciliaiton with God.  The Pharisees of Jesus' day are not bad for wanting to separate themselves from anything sinful, but, by separating themselves from people who are being reconciled to God, they run the risk of separating themselves from God.  Jesus wants them to celebrate other people's reconciliation with God as much as He does.

An early Christian hymn tells us that "in [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" and that "through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things."⁶  The apostle Paul, a former Pharisee, suggests in one of his letters that he and his associates have been called into a "ministry of reconciliation," and he urges his readers to "be reconciled to God."⁷  This ministry was started by Jesus himself.

The season of Lent is a time for repentance.  Repentance is a change of one's heart and mind that results in a change in the way one lives.  As we repent of the things that come between ourselves and God, may we also repent of the things that come between ourselves and other people, realizing that God wants reconciliation with all of us.


Notes:

1. Luke 15:1-3 (NRSV)
2. Luke 15:4-10 (NRSV)
3. Wikipedia: "Pharisees"
4. Luke 15:11-32
5. https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/quotes/quotations/view/14150/spiritual-quotation
6. Colossians 1:19-20 (NRSV)
7. 2 Corinthians 5:18, 20 (NRSV)

The Return of the Prodigal Son was painted by Pompeo Batoni in 1773.