This is the rule of most perfect
Christianity, its most exact definition, its highest point, namely, the seeking
of the common good. For nothing can so make a person an imitator of Christ as
caring for their neighbours.
St.
John Chrysostom
I want to imitate Christ[i].
I don’t always get it right, but I try. I fell in love with Jesus because of
how tenderly and gently he appeals to the broken and the marginalised in the
gospel narratives. Somewhere in my journey I realised I was thoroughly broken
and in need of His tenderness.
Those in the New
Testament accounts that had culturally come to accept that they were outsiders, castaways, shunned and ignored sat and ate with the living
God. His words were warm, full of hope, acceptance and redemption.
Jesus spoke hard words too. Examine for yourself. You
will find however those predominately harsh words spoken out of the Lord’s
mouth were directed at the religious elite of the day. He criticised them for
being stuck in their theological trenches and enslaving the people into rules
and regulations that they themselves could not even keep.
Jesus ate dinner with prostitutes, thieves, con-men, the
sick and the culturally excluded.
We can choose today to be part of the religious elite,
arguing on our blogs and websites, tweets and Facebook about our theological
positions and enslave people into our rules and regulations, or we can sit down and eat with the worlds poor and
broken.
I want to imitate Christ
I don’t always get it right, but I try. I believe that the more we imitate
Christ, the more human - fully human we actually become. That is we reveal more
of the image of God that we were created in when we imitate him. As we bear His
image, reflect His nature maybe others will fall in love with Jesus as they
discover how tenderly and gently he appeals to the broken and the marginalised.
I want to seek the Common Good for our city and our
neighbours. John Chrysostom (347–407AD)
challenged the church to seek the common good and this should not be seen in
competition with ‘making disciples’ but part of it.
All too often our programmes, services and initiatives
are clean, nice and inoffensive, while eating with those the world rejects is
unpleasant and uncomfortable. I
want to imitate Christ I don’t always get it right, but I try.
At this very moment I’m working with several agencies planning our emergency winter night shelter. We’re thrilled to be able to extend this act of love to some of the most vulnerable people in Glasgow this winter. I hope that as we do this we are imitating Christ and caring for our neighbours, and in doing so we are becoming more fully human.
Please pray for the Glasgow Winter Night Shelter, maybe
your church would consider volunteering for this much needed service in the
city. We're also looking for staff that can work over the 12 weeks. Please have a look at our website for details, or email gwns@glasowcitymission.com if you'd like to volunteer.
