I have a cartoon in which a woman is in the pastor's office and he is asking her, "What do you do besides criticize the pastor?" On a humorous note this cartoon reminds us that there are those who seem to have nothing better to do than to criticize what others are doing. In this case, a member's criticism of her pastor.

Those who are in positions of leadership are subject to criticism and public scrutiny. Whether or not that criticism is justified can be debated I suppose but we must be very careful when we do the criticizing because Jesus himself says in Matthew 7 
1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

But no one seems to listen even to Jesus. Although he told people not to judge, that is exactly what we find the Pharisees and teachers of the law doing here. They were muttering about Jesus and criticizing something that he was doing. What was Jesus doing that they thought was so wrong?

"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." They didn't like a couple of things here. They despised the sinners-those who openly violated God's laws as well as all the religious laws that the Pharisees and teachers of the law had concocted. They didn't like the immorality of the prostitutes and the dishonesty of the tax collectors. 

We sympathize with their attitude toward such sinners. Doesn't it gall us when people drive recklessly, pull out in front of us, refuse to stop at stop signs? Doesn't it infuriate us when individuals get one DUI after another and finally crash into another vehicle and kill or permanently injure someone else? Do we applaud the immorality of homosexuals? Do we respect men who father children and refuse to support the mother of their child or the children? Would we invite an abortionists to our home? Do we respect drunks and abusive people? Who of us would welcome sinners and invite them to our homes or go to their homes on a social visit?

And since this is our attitude so often, what do we really think of a religious leader who dirties himself by associating with such people? Do we want to see our pastor in the bar or associating with people in jail? Do we want him to bring such folk into our church? Well, if we don't, then we have the same attitude as the Pharisees and Tax Collectors and we believe that we are just in our attitudes and our avoidance actions. We have the same attitude and we are just as wrong as they were.

It is not our job to judge the sinners who live around us as though we are on a higher plane than they are. Our first responsibility is to remove the planks from our own eyes. We need to take an honest look at our own lives and recognize the fact that we are just as vile of sinners as the worst we can think of. God sees through the veneer of our self-righteous actions and cuts through that facade and sees what we are really like by nature. He sees our hidden actions and reads our inmost thoughts. In God's eyes we were just as guilty as anyone else. We didn't deserve to have Jesus save us.

And yet, that is exactly what Jesus did. And the Pharisees didn't like that either. He did not consider associating with us beneath his dignity. His actions during his ministry showed his willingness to associate with society's outcasts. He broke through tradition and the judgmental attitudes of the self-righteous and enjoyed being with sinners. He did not condone their actions. He lead them to repentance and assured them of forgiveness with love and patience. And in the face of criticism, he did not back down but taught what it means to reach out to the lost.

His two parables are quite familiar to us. They touch home because they are shared experiences. Perhaps you never lost a coin or a sheep, but their probably has been a time or two when you lost something important to you. Perhaps it was an address, an assignment for school, a check, a tool. You lost this item and you start to look for it. You look in the familiar places and then in unexpected places. You find yourself searching the same spot over and over again. You may even ask others to help you look for it. You search until you find it and when it is in your hand, you are happy and maybe even announce your find with joy. We have all gone through this.

It is with that same careful searching that Jesus has found you. In the hymn "Amazing Grace", we sing, "I once was lost, but now am found." You are found not necessarily because you were seeking the Lord, but because he was seeking you. He searched your heart and brought you to true repentance and assurance of forgiveness. He made you his child.

Maybe you thought earlier that other members of the church don't really like you or accept you because as I described sinners you are one who breaks traffic laws, drinks to excess, is judgmental or whatever. And maybe some of our members haven't been willing to associate with you as though they are better than you. Forgive them for their ignorance and rejoice that Jesus has found you and that he is willing to associate with you as you come to him in worship and as he comes to you in the word and sacraments.

But what about those others who are sinners who aren't here in church? What about those who by their lifestyle and their comments don't seem to be our kind of people? What should we do about them? Jesus reached out to people like us and them in spite of criticism. Maybe God is calling you to be like Jesus and to be willing to associate with them and share with them that God is seeking them. Maybe you aren't ready yet to make that commitment. Well, at least don't criticize those who are. Support your fellow Christians who are willing to get their hands dirty and to be with the "undesirables". Put aside your prejudice or your fears and promote the efforts of those who do seek the lost. And when God moves the "lost" to visit our church, don't just stand in the corner and wonder who they are. Step forward and introduce yourself and show that you aren't like the Pharisees but like the angels in heaven. The Pharisees muttered when the lost were with Jesus. The angels in heaven rejoiced when Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. I think God wants us to rejoice as well. Amen.