Crazy People

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
"But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds." At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

I guess it's not possible to be in and with the Father and also be affirmed by the world.

Think about it....throughout the bible, the people following the Lord most openly were doing all sorts of outlandish things. They went places that were off limits...they associated with people who were society's outcasts...they behaved with fervor and enthusiasm when the religious authorities were commanding temperance or somber inaction.

This week's gospel lesson reminds us that folks looked askance with fear and disapproval at the behavior of John and Jesus. These two men differed in their demeanor and the social relationships they experienced....but they were like minded and of one heart in that they walked through the world with a passionate willingness to trust, follow and proclaim the abiding presence of God the Father.

If your behavior was held up to the accepted standards and expectations of the world, would you be seen as one of the established "normal" ones?

Or are there times and places that you can recall when for some odd reason you did something just a bit crazy as a result of a nudge from the Holy Spirit?

Are there times when you give to a cause that stretches the limits of what is possible? Are there people for whom you care that others deem of little or no account? Does your heart swell with a tender appreciative love in the presence of sights that the world ignores or sees as trivial? Do you find yourself speaking of certain hope, trust, faith and joy in situations that the world sees as a dead end? Do you get glimmers of marvelous visions? Do you dream impossible dreams?

What are you, crazy?

Yep....me too!

We are in this together.

The children of God gather together to worship the unseen, proclaim hope in the impossible, and to feast upon the mystical and marvelous food and water that fills all hunger and quenches all thirst. We go out to unknown places to be with everyone and everything that the world would reject or ignore. Although we may be tempted by what the world says is desirable or successful, we remind each other that Jesus asked us to give everything away including our lives so that we could receive the riches of the Father's Kingdom.

We ARE the crazy faithful, following the all crazy ones who have gone before us who dwell in and with the amazing beloved and loving one who was crazy enough to see us as His precious, chosen friends!