Jesus in Everyday Life

We are reminded that the Word became flesh (John 1:14) and moved into the neighborhood.  Jesus is Immanuel – “God with us” – and he came to this earth as a human being and set up shop in the life of a community.  He didn’t tuck himself away in a castle or temple or government palace.  He hung out in the streets, the marketplace, and the local taverns.  In contemporary terms he was at the local Starbucks, community center, and little league baseball complex.  He met people where they were.  He listened and cared for those in need.  If we are truly his disciples then we are to embody the word, deed, and life of Jesus into every aspect of our lives. We are to live authentically and distinctively in our world so that people can see Jesus and not just religious robots.         

Throughout the Gospel accounts, you see Jesus enter into the lives of people and meet them where they are.  He went out to the sea and recruited local fisherman.  He broke all conventional wisdom and engaged in conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well.  He do the unthinkable and found a tax collector sitting in a tree and invited himself over for dinner .  

See a pattern?  Jesus didn’t shy away from the boundaries that we often put against others instead he initiated conversations with blue-collar workers, scandalous women, and notorious tax collectors. He brought the Good News of the Gospel to people in a real and authentic way.  He wasn’t offering people self--help talk.  It wasn’t 5 steps to a better you.  It is the life-giving, life-saving, life-changing love of God, found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  When we live this way, we also bring the Good News to the places where we live, work, and play.   

Song of the Harlot

Sunday evening was a real treat for me as one of my favorite indie bands showed up in Fresno to play a gig at THE NEIGHBORHOOD THRIFT.  Twenty years I came across the album "Chosen", a release by a Southern California band called the violet burning.  Captivated by their sound and worshipful lyrics that were a combination of traditional song and soulful inspection, I feel in love with this band and especially their charismatic lead, Michael J. Pritzl.  Over the years, the band has changed members multiple times but Pritzl has remained the one constant.  A tortured soul of sorts, Pritzl has been one of a handful of musicians/artists that over the years I have found myself fascinated with and been a loyal fan of.  He has always had the fascinating ability within his lyrics to provide an authentic and deep seeded faith with the honest anguish and heart wrenching reality of our lives.  Like the psalmists of old, Pritzl is a master poet who can uncover the sadness while finding beauty within it.  He understands the chaos of life but sees splendor all around.  He can embrace the light in the middle of deep sorrow.  Sunday was the first opportunity for me to hear the band  play live and it lived up to its billing.  Their newest offering, "The Story of Our Lives" is a powerful testimony to the  unstoppable power of art, of sound, and of words.  Love it.  

Pritzl's songs have always touched my soul but none more than "The Song of the Harlot", written in 1992.  A powerful description of Luke 7 and Jesus encounter with the prostitute who enter the home of the Pharisee and humbly prostrates herself at Jesus feet in worship and adoration.  Scorned by her community, she falls down to her knees and begins to weep before while kissing her master's feet.  Angered by such a sight, the religious leader turns his nose to this woman and condemns her for being a "sinner."  Jesus, never one to miss a moment to expose the religious hypocrisy of others, confronts with the man with a parable.  Comparing the woman to the Pharisee, Jesus asks the simple question: Who is more gracious, the one who has been forgiven more or less?  The religious leader, not making the connection, answers the trap.  "I suppose the one he forgave more" (Luke 7:43).  Jesus then reveals one of the many truths of the kingdom, "Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that's why she loved much"(verse 47).  When we recognize our sinfulness, our response to compassion and forgiveness is so much greater than when we see ourselves as righteous.  

Prtizl finds the exchange powerful,  "because when I read the Bible I find that I relate to the sinners more than I relate to the saints."  By connecting to the sinner, Pritzl allows himself the humility and dependance upon a Sovereign God to save him.  

     If I could be

    Anyone at all

    If I could be

    Anyone at all

    Let me be

    The whore at your feet

I want to be the type of man that is willing to take responsibility for my sin, acknowledge my depravity and cry out to my heavenly Father for mercy.  I don't want to take the posture of the Pharisee, who lived with such a wretched sense of self-righteousness that he was incapable of feeling love or extending grace.  I want to cry out like David, "Then I acknowledged my win to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD and you forgave the guilt of my sin" (Psalm 32:5).  Let me be the harlot that confess one's sin and depend upon a Savior that is faithful and just and capable to forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness (I John 1:9).  Pritzl always has and will continue to speak to me because of his willingness to expose his heart, mind, and soul in honest and authentic ways.