Comments on: Jesus’ Response?

By: lis

lis — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:08:34 +0000

He would just look at her lovingly and welcomingly – no iota of judgement there -making her feel instantly that she belonged there – so that she would want to come back the next day and the day after and find her soul being fed by the sermon and other acts of worship in the church – also talk to her himself about the love of God, our Father – when the opportunity arose

By: Roman

Roman — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:42:48 +0000

Psalm 118:8 I believe states to the effect \"It is better to put trust in GOD than have faith in man\". A song by Todd Agnew called \"My Jesus\" states in perfectly. In one of the lines of the song it refers to church goers being more concerned with Jesus getting blood and stains on their carpet than marvelling in his awesome presence.

Our \"housewife\" would instantly recognizer HER Saviour, fall at his feet and worship. Jesus would take her by the hand, tell her to \"arise\" to go in \"peace\" and her sins are forgiven. She would realize all answers to life\’s questions and perpetual peace lie with the crucified and risen Lord!

She would get power to go through life looking through his loving eyes and seeing the world as HE sees it and now how it appears. She would in effect \"Trust in the Lord always and lean NOT to her own understanding\" and fine total rest in doing just that!

By: Dan Reed

Dan Reed — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:06:07 +0000

I hope I will be able to pull up your obaervations before Friday morning. I am in Italy and will be in a meeting with Italian church leaders where they plan to discuss what we can do t make the church more effective. This is as desparate a need in Italy as it is in the USA.
I think one of our shortcomings is that we tend to preach “The Church of Christ” rather than Christ. Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that the Church of Christ really is Christ’s church, but people like the woman you described are not looking for “a correct church” but answers to the problems of their lives. Jesus started where they were, patiently dealing with their current (sometimes called “felt” needs) and worked to get them to look at what God was offering through him!

By: Kimara

Kimara — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:01:15 +0000

It is interesting that the Gospels generally don’t show us incidents of Jesus touching souls in the temple–”during church” we might say–but there are examples of Jesus setting the self-righteous and the judgmental to right in the temple (Matt. 16, Mark 11, Luke 20, John 10). Not that Jesus didn’t respect the temple, or visit the temple, or worship at the temple–he knew it was the house of God, and he was there every day! (Luke 21:37). But it seems if there were a woman who was struggling mightily, had been turned out or turned off by those like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time–who all spent much time at church–he would not have sent her back in to listen to a reciting of the scrolls. He would have taken her to lunch and conversation, as he did with Matthew (Matt. 9). Or maybe he would’ve asked some telling questions as he did with the Samaritan woman in John 4; he promised her relief from her thirst, as the desperate housewife also thirsted, but he made it clear that she needed to examine how she was living her life as well. Or maybe he would have told her a relevant analogy (i.e. parable!) that would have involved cancers or tornadoes and how those life events relate to the kingdom of God. Perhaps he would have invited her to bring her children to him and shown them the love that even a parent does not come close to understanding (Luke 18). Being prepared to answer someone’s questions about where our hope comes from arises from diligent study of His Word, and our attending worship services is a critical part of that. But the actual answering another’s questions is best done heart to heart, face to face, regardless of where we are. It may be in a home, a cafe, by a campfire. Once that desperate housewife knows where hope comes from, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance she will run to church, and she will be much better able to discern the few Pharisees in every temple from the multitude of hearts just like hers, seeking the Answer while He can be found, in His house.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:20:43 +0000

By the way, I think an edited version of that Desperate Housewives episode should be required viewing by every adult believer here in US! It was such a powerful depiction of someone who earnestly sought genuine answers to her spiritual questions but continued to be disappointed by the people in her life whom she regarded as religious.

I would love to know the experiences of the episode’s writers. Surely they, or someone they knew, had experienced similar frustrations.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:08:07 +0000

Phil, in answer to your question, “What would Jesus have done with our desperate housewife?” I think Jesus may have told her, “Listen, I know what you’re going through. I’ve tried for years to get into that church and they won’t accept me either!”

By: elaine

elaine — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:46:12 +0000

this article reminded me so much of a beautiful song written by Casting Crowns:
“If We Are The Body”

It’s crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls’ teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren’t His arms reaching
Why aren’t His hands healing
Why aren’t His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren’t His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren’t His arms reaching
Why aren’t His hands healing
Why aren’t His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren’t His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way
****************************************************
one of the things i love the best about our Jesus is that He doesn’t wait for us to come to Him.
He has never been stuck on tradition, formalities or ceremonies when it comes to a hurting dying people.
He would meet that precious Desperate Housewife exactly where she was.
Accept her with open arms.
use the words of that day’s sermon to grip her yearning heart.
He’d use the words and emotion of that day’s worship time to open her heart and mind.
and if He was there in body, in person,
He’d look her in the eye and say exactly what she needed to hear, giving her hope for tomorrow and undying love forever…

isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?

By: Aline Edson

Aline Edson — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:24:41 +0000

We look irrelevant to a dark world because we are caught up in ritual and each other so much that we forget the mission of the Body of Christ: to seek and save the lost, and loving them comes first.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:07:39 +0000

I feel Jesus would put his arm around her–ask her to sit with him as he showed her The Way, The Truth and The Life to everlasting, eternal Life.