Atom“WHOEVER believes…Whoever, Whenever, Wherever”
Luke 16:19-31 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered sores…”
We have already been on quite a journey through John 3:16: “For God – the Almighty Creator of all things seen and unseen, unfathomably huge and infinitesimally small – so loved – so tethered Himself with a passionate commitment to the wellbeing of – the world – a stubborn, stiff-necked, prone-to-wander-and-worship-other-things-people – that God gave the Only One and Only Son – the uniquely born of woman and born of God fully human and fully divine Jesus Christ – that whoever believes……
Whoever… Max Lucado, in his book “3:16”, lifts up the truth that with that single word, “whoever,” Jesus flings wide the door of God’s love and God’s eternity to all comers…to Jew or Greek, male or female, rich or poor. There is no human qualification that disqualifies. Again and again Jesus offers himself to “whoever:”
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved… (Mark 16:16)
Whoever believes in the Son of God has eternal life… (John 3:36)
Whoever comes to me I will never drive away… (John 6:37)
Whoever lives and believes in me will never die… (John 11:26)
Whoever is thirsty, let them come; and whoever wishes, let them take
The free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:17)
Whoever…
To anyone who might restrict access to the love and grace of God, Jesus offers this word, again and again…”whoever.”
And then he tells vivid stories to help us understand God’s ways. “There were two men,” Jesus tells us in Luke, “One who lived in the lap of luxury,” – one whom others might see as “blessed” by God…nice home, closet full of nice clothes, all he could eat and drink and more. In Protestant Early America, this would have been a sure sign that he was one of God’s “chosen.” The other man one would not have been seen as “chosen.” He was wretchedly poor, homeless, and starving in the streets. The religious folks of Jesus day would look at him and say, “This one is living out the punishment for sins…his own sins or perhaps his parents’ sins. It is evident to us and surely to him that there is no place for him in God’s kingdom. I mean look at him…surely it shows God despises him.”
But to this sense of life’s inevitable destination, Jesus says, “Whoever…” Whoever believes…rich or poor, healthy or sick…those you deem worthy and those you deem not worthy…”Whoever,” has access to the riches of God’s future. Please believe me when I say to you that such a story would have been shocking to those who first heard it. Perhaps it is even to us…
I can still remember when Marilyn and her family moved into the small town where we lived. Their home was a run-down rental trailer near the railroad tracks. It didn’t take long for the community to make its judgment: they were not like most of us. Both parents were alcoholic. He worked sometimes and was usually away except weekends, and she rarely came out during day-light hours. They lived most of the year on public assistance. The kids were skinny and usually disheveled, their clothes clean, but always well-worn. They weren’t like most in town. But the church knew that Jesus said, “Whoever…” so they tried to welcome. The youngest of the five kids, Janelle and Randy, came to Sunday School and Vacation Bible School sometimes and made their way through confirmation, sort of. They missed a lot of classes. They rarely if ever worshipped. And they didn’t do well on quizzes or memory work. But they came, mostly, and they did learn about Jesus. And yet life continued to be hard for them, and when it came time for confirmation, many wondered if “they had done enough,” and they wondered, too. I remember talking with Marilyn near the back door entrance to the church one morning. She was waiting outside for Randy and Janelle. “Come to worship next Sunday,” I said, “the kids will be singing and we’ll have a picnic afterwards. There will be plenty of food for everyone.” She sadly shook her head, “No…I just can’t. I don’t fit here. We just can’t do it the way everyone else does.”
I can still visualize her standing there with me. Jesus says, “Whoever…,” but not everyone sees or hears “whoever” in our invitation. And I’m not sure that its necessarily because the church doesn’t try. Some have trouble hearing that this word is for them. Maybe even here, today…maybe you, maybe you’re struggling…you know you’ve made mistakes, broken promises and failed at commitments. Your sense of self is that you’d have to do a lot of work to qualify for God’s forever family. Listen again, Jesus says, “Whover…” All are welcome…all are eligible…the door stands wide open…whenever…
Which is a word closely tied to “whoever:” Whenever…whenever you come…whenever you take Jesus at his word of promise. As long as you have breath it is never too late to come. Jesus, of course has other stories to illustrate this truth. Some of them are troubling to those of us who have been around. Like the one where Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who needs workers to bring in the harvest.” He goes looking for day laborers at the market. He goes at daybreak and hires a crew and again at 9:00 a.m. And because there is still more to be done, he hires more at noon and at 3:00 p.m. and finally, an hour before quitting time, he rounds up one more group and sets them out into the fields. At the end of the day, Jesus tell us, he pays them all the full day’s wage. Those who worked the last hour or since noon are overjoyed. Those who began the day in the field feel cheated, even though they got the full days pay they agreed to.
Jesus tells the story because there is a tendency among God’s people to begrudge the death bed or late-in-life turn to Jesus. “It’s not fair,” we want to say. “We who worked longer, who followed longer, who did our best to keep the commandments longer (even though we still blow it) should get a bigger reward.” And yet…if everyone gets eternity and if everyone gets unending, undying love, how do you get more? Can you double eternity? Can you double unending love? Jesus would remind us to rejoice with him even for those who come late, who come…”whenever”…to the fullness of God’s promise…because God rejoices!
Whoever…whenever…even “wherever.” Wherever you find yourself in life – even if you run away from God – you are never too far away to come home. One of the most beloved stories of the Bible is that story of the Prodigal Son who take his inheritance and moves to a far country, away from Father and brother and the community that has loved him. And after he has lost it all, he wonders, “Can I go home? Do I yet have a place in my father’s house?” But having run out of alternatives he goes, head hanging, hoping for a place in the servants quarters, only to discover that his Father has been waiting and watching and runs to embrace him and lead him home, up to the big house where there is a place set with his name on it.
As our Heavenly Father does for you and me…from wherever we may have wandered. Again, Max Lucado speaks so powerfully of God’s grace:
Listen to Max’s invitation: DVD ch. Six, “Heaven’s Whoever Policy”
“We lose so much in life – sobriety, solvency, and sanity. We lose jobs and chances, and we lose at love. We lose youth and its vigor, idealism and its dreams. We lose much, but we never lose our place on God’s ‘whoever’ list.”
No status too low.
No hour too late.
No place too far.
Whoever. Whenever. Wherever.
Whoever includes all of us…forever.
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