You Belong Here: Who You Are

Story: Airport Lounge

Have you ever been in an airport lounge?

Years ago when I first started to travel for the Unstuck Group (a group of ministry consultants that travel to serve pastors and churches across the country), I was traveling to shadow one of the “full-timers.” I was coming from Iowa; she was coming from the Twin Cities. And I don’t even remember where the church was that we served.

But after we served this particular church, both of us had some waiting to do at the airport before our flights took us back to our respective homes.

She was an experienced traveler, of course—as she was consulting full time. And I was… not an experienced traveler. I live in “fly over” country, not “fly from” country.

And so after we got through security, she was like: “just hang out in the Delta Lounge until your flight. I’ve got guest passes.”

And I don’t know if you’ve ever been in one of these lounges before; I hadn’t before she offered.

And so I remember walking through the terminal with all of the other “normies” like me, and then walking through the frosted sliding glass doors of the Delta lounge, then past the reception counter, and into the lounge for the first time—and feeling…

Like, “I do not belong here.”

I was absolutely sure that everyone was looking at me (first of all).

And second:

That they saw right through me. “Look at that dumb Iowan. All bright-eyed. Doesn’t know where anything is. Obviously here only because his rich friend got him in.”

It’s embarrassing to admit that, but it’s true: that’s exactly what I was thinking that first time.

And so I made it my mission to pretend:

Pretend like I did belong; like I knew where everything was; like all of this was normal for me.

I’ll tell you what I didn’t do:

I didn’t get (3) of those tiny plates and load up on all of the free food my first time through the line. ;)

And I definitely didn’t walk up to the bar and ask what drinks were free and what you had to pay for. ;)

(Pause.)

It’s funny, I think—and universally human to:

Want to belong;

Feel like you don’t belong;

Pretend like you do belong so that you don’t get “found out.”

Welcome/Series Intro

Hey: welcome to Prairie Lakes. Glad you’re here—especially in what is a season of transition for most of us: summer winding down; school shopping and schedules getting lined up and creeping in; days getting a bit shorter; football on the horizon… maybe even your last summer vacation still ahead of you. Glad that you’re here this weekend. Good job. God’s got something for us.

This weekend, we’re starting a 4-week series called “You Belong Here.”

SHOW SERMON SERIES GRAPHIC/WEEKLY DIVISIONS

And each of these four weekends are built around something we say every weekend at all of our campuses:

No matter who you are…

Where you’ve been…

What you’ve done…

Or what’s been done to you—

God loves you, and you can look for him here.

Here’s another way that we like to say it:

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You can belong here—

Even before you believe.

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(Explain.)

Which…

Is a lot easier to say as a church than to actually be.

Because if you remember what it was like for you to walk into our doors for the very first time—

And for some of you, that’s this weekend—

It can feel a little bit like you’re walking into an airport lounge for the very first time…

So conscious of all the reasons why you don’t belong

That it’s tough to hear—

Much less, believe

That you do.

Jesus Anointed By A Sinful Woman: Luke 7:36-39

Turn in your Bibles with me to Luke 7:36-39.

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Luke 7:36-39

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We’ll have the verses on the screen here as well—as well as in the PLC app. Just find the “Weekend Companion” there. All the Scripture, slides, place to take notes… just tap your phone on the plate on the seat back in front of you to get that.

But this story in Luke is one of those that I bet we go back to maybe 3-4 times a year, every year. And there’s a reason for that—because it captures so beautifully this “No Matter” idea—but also why it’s so hard for so many of us to feel like we can belong to a church like that.

Read with me:

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Luke 7:36–38 “When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.”

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One thing you may not know about having people over for dinner back then was that there was a table - but no chairs.

The table would’ve been low to the ground, and there would have been pillows or mats on the ground around the table that everyone would have been leaning on, propped up on an elbow with their feet pointed away. This is why the Luke says that this woman was “standing behind him at his feet.” And as she’s crying, likely with her head bowed, her tears streaming down her face, they fell onto his feet.

And then she stoops down, and, taking her own hair in her hand, begins to wipe the wet tears off of Jesus’ feet—effectively cleaning them, which was the work of a servant.

Let’s read the next verse together:

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Luke 7:39 “When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

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If you’ve been around here, you’ve heard us talk about this story a lot—but there’s something that you might not be as aware of in this story. And that is:

What did people back then mean when they talked about prophets?

Excursus: What Is A “Prophet?”

If you’re following along in a physical Bible, just keep your place in Luke here, because we’re gonna go back to this story. But turn with me to the Old Testament—1 Samuel 9:9.

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1 Samuel 9:9

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In the story arc of the Bible, Samuel is the last leader of Israel before they anointed their very first king. From Abraham, to Moses, to Joshua and all of the so-called “judges” of Israel, Samuel is the last leader in line before the royal line begins.

But look at what he’s called in 1 Samuel 9:9:

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1 Samuel 9:9 “(Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire of God, they would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)”

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That’s who a prophet is to the Jewish people, from Samuel’s day all the way up to Jesus’:

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A prophet is someone who can see things by God’s power that only God can see.

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Sometimes it was things that hadn’t happened yet.

Sometimes it was someone’s internal motivations.

Sometimes it was a deeper, truer spiritual reality, even.

Take the prophet Elisha, for example:

There’s a story in 2 Kings where an enemy king sends an army to capture him because he’s been revealing his secret military plans to Israel’s king. And when Elisha’s servant sees the soldiers, horses, and chariots at the gate, he panics—

Until Elisha says:

“Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Which, I’m sure sent that servant right over the edge. Oh, no. He can’t even do basic math anymore—because I count 1… 2. Two of us. And there are a lot more than just two of them.

But then Elisha prays:

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2 Kings 6:17 “And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

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Heavenly armies. Just as real as the army at the gates. But hidden from most people’s view.

This is who prophets are, and what prophets do: they see a reality beyond what everyone else sees.

Prophets were “seers.” They were chosen by God, empowered by God to see things that only God can see—

And then were commissioned to declare those things to everyone else.

Now:

As the big story continues, these Jewish kings mostly lead their people astray—and then God’s prophets were charged with confronting and calling the nation to repent and turn back to God. In fact, 17 of the 39 books in the Old Testament are written by or about these prophets—the very last one being Malachi.

(Pause.)

But from Malachi on,

There weren’t any prophets. For a period of 400 years.

It was like God went silent.

And then Greece took over.

Then Rome.

And as the centuries passed—

That’s centuries, plural—

No new messages from God through his prophets to his people.

And so, why is this? Why has God seemingly gone silent?

Well…

It’s because we’re not doing what he told us to do.

That was the prevailing message of the Pharisees—of which Simon was one:

If we get better at following the laws God gave us,

Just like he said:

If we are obedient, God will return to us, heal our land, and put us back in our rightful place in the world.

And so that’s what they got busy doing:

Trying to follow the letter of the law,

Waiting for God to raise up another prophet—

A seer who could tell them that they were on the right path, and that God was about to return to them and make everything right.

And that message, my friends, is still banging around in a lot of our heads, even today:

If I just do my best,

Get a little better,

Be a good person,

Avoid the biggies—

Then it’ll all work out in the end.

Right? I mean, that’s basically how it works, right?

Jesus, The Prophet?

And so now, turn back to Luke with me. Let’s jump back into the story—now that we have a better understanding of what’s going on.

Jesus is in this Pharisee, Simon’s home.

And Jesus is there because it seems like he’s the first prophet sent by God in the last 400 years. And Simon, like any responsible Pharisee, feels like it’s his God-given duty to kind of background check him:

(Pause.)

I mean, the things this guy says

And the things he’s apparently done—

Sure, not everyone is convinced—because it’s been so long, and there’s been so many imposters, and he’s also said some things that don’t seem to match up with what we’ve been telling people, but…

He got up in the synagogue, read from the prophet Isaiah, and claimed to be the fulfillment of his prophecy.

He compared himself to Elijah and Elisha—two very famous prophets of old.

He seems to know what people around him are thinking.

He teaches with authority that moves people to awe and repentance.

He’s performed signs like healing lethal physical and spiritual diseases. Heck; he just raised a widow’s son from the dead!

I mean, maybe he is the first prophet that we’ve seen in 400 years. Maybe he’s more than that even. Maybe…

Until…

Until he doesn’t see

Who this woman

Crying at his feet

Actually is.

He must not know who she is.

Because if he knew—

If he was really a prophet, and could see who this woman is—

Well…

He wouldn’t want her dirty life getting all over him.

He’d know that she doesn’t belong here, at the very least—

And he’d be courageous enough to tell her so.

Jesus, The Prophet.

Of course, Jesus does know.

He knows exactly who she is.

Because he is a prophet who can see by God’s power.

And more than that, even.

Read with me. Verse 40:

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Luke 7:40 “Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

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Now: it’s been a little bit since we read the first part of this story.

But if you recall:

Simon hasn’t said anything—

Not out loud, at least.

And so when Luke says that Jesus “answered” him—

He’s literally answering an inner monologue that Simon is having with himself. Simon thinks Jesus can’t see what kind of woman she is. Meanwhile, Jesus is seeing what Simon hasn’t even said.

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Luke 7:40 Tell me, teacher,” he said.”

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Not “prophet.”

“Teacher.”

Maybe Simon has already reached his conclusion about who Jesus was—and wasn’t.

But Jesus can see not only into the heart of this woman, but Simon’s as well. And so he continues:

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Luke 7:41–43 ““Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.”

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He saw what was in this woman’s heart—which led her to respond to Jesus like she did.

And he also saw into Simon’s heart—which led him to respond to Jesus like he did.

As Jesus explains:

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Luke 7:44–46 “Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.”

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All of those would have been acts of baseline hospitality—like taking someone’s coat; inviting them in and helping them find a seat; getting them something to drink; none of which Simon had done with Jesus. Apparently Simon didn’t start very high on Jesus to begin with—and as he watches this interaction, Jesus had only lived down to his expectations.

But Jesus isn’t done:

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Luke 7:47–50 “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

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Now, that’s more than what just a prophet can do.

A prophet might be able to see; but only God can forgive.

And the way God forgives is through what the law prescribes: making the right sacrifices, in the right way, in the right place: at the temple, before the priest.

There’s no altar here. No lamb. No priest. Just a man; a teacher—and not even much of one, by the looks of it.

Who is he to forgive sins? And even if he somehow could…

I didn’t hear her ask.

You Belong - No Matter Who You Are

Remember what we said about prophets: they were celebrated for not only their ability to see—but their ability to see a bigger, truer, spiritual reality that remains hidden behind everything else going on.

Like Elisha, Jesus can see a deeper spiritual reality—right down to what’s going on inside of us.

And there’s two ironies in this story, both under the same heading:

Two people can look at exactly the same thing but see something completely different.

For sure true of Simon and Jesus: both looked at what this woman was doing—but were seeing completely different things.

But it’s also true of Simon and this “sinner:”

Both looked at Jesus—and saw completely different realities.

And it’s a question worth diving into:

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What did this woman see that Simon didn’t?

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This story doesn’t simply contrast how Jesus sees this woman vs. how Simon sees her.

What it really contrasts is how this woman saw Jesus—vs. how Simon saw him.

And that’s what matters.

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Sinner Sees Simon Sees

-I am in debt and in need -I don’t need any help

-I don’t need to be invited -I’m already in

-I am unworthy but forgiven -I’m working to make myself worthy

-I belong because of Jesus -I belong because of me

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This is why, my friends, it doesn’t matter who you are—because:

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Nobody belongs to Jesus because of who they are.

We belong to Jesus because of who he is.

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So you don’t have to pretend that you belong here. It’s not like an airport lounge; none of us earned our way in.

The question in this story isn’t whether Jesus can see you. He sees you. He sees everything.

The question is:

Can you see Jesus for who he is?