"Hoopla"

I heard a lot of hoopla,

About the holiday,

And if folks came for turkey,

That didn’t vote your way.

The idea was to separate,

And let the kinfolks know,

That if they disagree with you,

Then you refuse to go.

And all that I can say to that,

Is honey, what a shame,

That we can’t love each other,

‘Cause we are all the same.

Profoundly blessed with lots to eat,

A table proudly set,

People to call family,

And that’s not all we get.

The freedom to express our view,

And then to get along,

We need to all get back to that,

And if we don’t we’re wrong.

Jesus ate with sinners,

With whom He disagreed,

And maybe if we tried it,

He’d give us what we need.

Our thankfulness should rule the day,

Give grace to all we know,

The love that God so freely gives,

We should always show.

“The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.’” (Luke 5:30-31, NLT)

Jesus was able to eat with the sick and not get sick Himself. In fact He was a healing presence with those who needed help the most. The religious leaders were critical of Him. They did not understand His strategy and were offended by it. To them, Jesus contaminated Himself. But this was not true. He connected with sinners but never condoned their sin. He didn’t condemn them, but called them to a new life. We can learn a lot from His example, since He told us to make disciples for Him.

Lord, help us put aside our differences and connect with one another, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.