The hothead and the sneak (2)

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax-collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me”, Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:27-28

When morning came, Jesus called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Luke 6:13-16

Last time we thought about the original twelve apostles of Jesus, and what “ordinary life” (if any such thing existed) might have been like for them. We focussed especially on Levi the tax collector and Simon the Zealot, who I described as “chalk and cheese” (perhaps unfairly I called them “a sneak and a hothead”), given their backgrounds before they followed Jesus, and wondered how they might have got on with one another.

I had in mind three lessons that can challenge us, but I got no further than the first: that conversion involves change. You can’t get much more basic than that. But here are the other two I didn’t have room for.

Second, following Jesus involves learning to love people we don’t like.

I speculated that at first Levi and Simon may have heartily detested one another, but that they both had to change if they wanted to be loyal to Jesus. We certainly see the signs of this in Levi: “he got up, left everything and followed Jesus” and then threw a big party to which he invited many of his tax collector friends. He made a big break from his previous life (he “left everything”) and clearly rejoiced in his new-found life (Luke 5:27-29). I’m sure we can assume a similar change in Simon, though the Gospels don’t tell us.

The point is clear: once you become a Christian you must accept that Jesus chooses your friends for you. Certainly, there may be no reason why you shouldn’t maintain your pre-Christian relationships, but by joining the church you find yourself pitchforked also into a whole new network of relationships – and some of them may be trying and frustrating.

The church is “the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27), and this where our main allegiance lies. But, let’s be realistic, it can be hard… somebody may be (in our opinion) a bit of a busybody, or have a jarring voice, or talk too much, or have opinions we find it hard to stomach, or just be a plain bore. But that doesn’t release us from the obligation to love one another, as Jesus taught us (John 15:12).

Christians, sadly, do sometimes fail to get on with one another. We know from Acts 15:36-41 that Barnabas and Paul – what closer friends could you imagine! - “went their separate ways”, and that “tempers flared” (according to The Message translation). And from Galatians 2, we know that Paul had a major falling out with Simon Peter (Cephas) over sharing meals with gentile Christians – that’s Simon Peter, the leader of the church, appointed by Jesus!

These rifts were later mended, but the very fact that they happened at all reminds us that relationships are fragile, delicate plants. (I remember once seeing a beautiful wall poster in a church: “Be patient with me… God hasn’t finished with me yet!” Amen to that!)

Is it time some of us set about the business of learning to love even people we don’t like? (Always remembering, of course, that perhaps we too sometimes get up other people’s noses…)

The third lesson: the church needs all sorts of people.

Given the pairs of brothers (James and John, and Simon Peter and Andrew), and given also the closeness of the Sea of Galilee with its involvement in the fishing trade, the original twelve were not as varied as we might expect (and, of course, given the culture of the time, they were all men). But that certainly changes when we get beyond Pentecost, Acts 2, and to the mission to both Jews and Gentiles. The Book of Acts, and various of the New Testament letters, make this clear. Many of the first Christians were slaves, many leading figures were women, and there were even some members of the Roman aristocracy.

By the way, it’s worth noticing too that while we saw that Simon the Zealot  and Levi the tax collector both changed radically, there is another sense in which they didn’t in fact change that much: very likely, Simon carried his same zealous and enthusiastic nature into his Christian life and became a passionate evangelist; and perhaps Levi too, with his aptitude for handling money, brought such gifts, cleansed and purified, into the service of the church: churches need treasurers and administrators!

We only have to look at Paul to see how new converts can both change and not change. He was not just a “hothead” but a real firebrand while still adhering to the Jewish law. But we get the impression he retained those characteristics after putting his faith in Jesus - though they were obviously completely re-directed.

It's a happy church that has a fine mix of people in its membership; it’s a dull church which is monochrome! Many churches in the western world are largely middle-class or middle-aged or older; the wide range of ages, backgrounds and interests doesn’t exist. If this is so, we might find that heaven comes as a bit of a shock to us!

Perhaps some of us need to ask the question: has my church become in effect a “comfort zone” for me, a gathering of brothers and sisters in Christ which makes me feel cosy, but which is a turn-off for various different kinds of people?

Remember the wonderful vision of Revelation 7:9-17! – and grant, Lord, that my local church will become nothing less than a foretaste of heaven.

Father, help me to absorb the fact that you love all types of people – rich and poor, educated and simple, funny and sombre, dull and full of life, and that you have a place for just them, not only the people who happen to be like me. Help me to glory in the great mix which is your church. Amen.