Friday, September 25, 2009

Snowflakes & People


Luke 5:1-31

Categories. We love categories. We put everything into them, perhaps because categorizing things gives us some sense of control over life. We categorize experiences, restaurants, cars, books, chairs and chewing gum among millions of other things.

Most of all, though, we categorize people. People fall into categories like friend, enemy, loud, shy, ugly, sexy, smelly, nice, gay, straight, smart, stupid, compassionate, rude, happy, cranky, successful, loser, cool, geek, Christian, lost, this race or that . . . the categories are endless. I'm not sure if our categories are all about trying to control people, or if we're just trying to figure them out. Placing people in a category gives us a sense of, "Well now, I've got that one figured out." And so it's easier to stop worrying about who they really are very much because we already have them placed neatly tucked away into our mental file cabinet. We can almost hear God saying to us, "My oh my. What ever will I do with you?"

When we look at Luke chapter 5 we find Jesus meeting several people for the very first time. Some will become his apostles, some he will heal, others will reject him. Each encounter is surprisingly unique. What does this tell us about God and ourselves? About our relationship with him? That's what we'll explore in this week's message. - Curtis