I have preached this message repeatedly through the years but have never actually gotten the words down on paper in any constructive way. This message has taken many forms and has included material from many different parts of my life, and churches I have served, and places I have been. The bulk of this message has drawn inspiration from a favorite author of mine, Ken Gire. He has authored more than 20 books, but his Moments with the Savior series has been my absolute go-to for a look into the scriptural world of the Gospels with some well intention-ed liberties taken on his part to fill in the gaps and paint the background around the stories of Jesus that we know so well. On one such occasion, Gire even steps into the Old Testament, for a moment, to explain one such reference that is made in an illustration used from Luke 17. I have visited this text when I first enter a church. I have come back to it when I am at a place for a few years. And, I have tried to make sure I stop here again one last time before I move on from a pulpit. While I have drawn heavily from the work of Ken Gire in delivering the message, I have only attempted to manuscript this message once (back in 2012 in my Fried Chicken and Burritos blog).
It's time for an update.
A bit of scriptural history is needed before we arrive at the place mentioned by Jesus. The story that our Savior references comes from Genesis 19. If we back up a few chapters, we see Lot and Abraham having a conversation about who is going to settle where. Both of their camps have grown so large that they cannot find ample ground in which to sustain both of their families and servants and animals. So, they choose. Abram headed to more rocky, hilly, desert like country. Lot eyes the lush, green area known as Sodom in the Jezreel Valley. What do we know about the land and area here simply by hearing it's name?
The words Sin and Sodom could easily be exchanged in the course of a sentence. This region sat in the southern most portion of the Jordan Valley. To call a place or area "Sodom", in comparative likeness, is said to have begun around 1594 as people would have called other cities out for being living in similar practices. Sodom was well known for it's location, it's excesses and it's growing population. The ways of making money here brought people from all over. It is exactly what brings Lot. He would raise his family here. He would grow his livestock business and become a leader in the community. They thought well enough of him to make Lot a judge, presiding over the civic affairs of the people.
The scripture in Genesis 19 recalls the two angelic men who come to the city that day. They find Lot "sitting in the gate", an equivalent for "being a judge". In past years I have used the video series "That The World May Know" - a resource funded and produced by Focus On The Family with the help of Dr James Dobson. Bible teacher and historian, Ray van der Laan, led a crew of students through different places of interest in the Holy Land seeing dig sites and places of historical significance. One such video shows the unearthing of a small city that is believed to have been from the time of King Solomon. There were three chambers on each side, a total of six chambers in the gate, leading archeologists to believe that it came from the Solomonic period. It is easy to see here the possibility of someone like Lot "sitting in the gate" of a city. As people are coming and going through the entrance of a city like this they would have need of answers to their questions. They would need advice. They would need someone to provide judgment on matters of business or personal affairs. That is where we find Lot.
In years past, this is where I have stopped and turned the gaze of the scriptures toward the people in whatever church I have served and asked them to put themselves into the pages of history. What does the world around us think of our lives? What do they know about us? Would our towns and villages ask us to "sit in the gate"? (Most of us would probably run from the notion.) Few of us would want to be put in a place of this stature. As a child, I grew tired of being told what to do. I wanted to spread my own wings, make my own mistakes, answer my own questions. I never got to be a leader. I never got to be in charge. As I progressed through my twenties and into my thirties, I finally got my chance to be up front in the church. Now, after 25 years of pastoral ministry, I can tell you that it's not all it's cracked up to be. There are days I don't even want to darken the doorway.
Before I get sidetracked with my own historical perspective, let me say that what we need to focus on here is what the world around us thinks of us. Better yet, what they know about us. I've seen many a thought posted across Facebook and on pages listed under "inspirational quotes" that would suggest that it doesn't matter what others think about us. Just live your life and don't worry about what others think of you seems to be the push these days. That is unless you do something or say something that would leave a bitter taste in the mouth of someone who mentions your name. The focus of this Christian life to to lead other people to Christ. What would people say about you? What do people think of you? As they pass you in the grocery store? As they see you walking your dog down the street? As they shake your hand at a football game or community festival? What is going through their mind when they lay their eyeballs on you? I could project a few unsavory thoughts out there. You should get the point by now. What people think of us does matter. Especially when the matter is trying to help people find their way to Christ and become disciples and followers of Jesus.
As I pen this message, I find myself working in a direction I had not contemplated before. It seems like I have pushed it here before only to say that our reputation is of utmost importance. What people know about us needs to lead the way into a life of evangelism where we share Jesus with other people. But, what do we do when our reputation has been tarnished? How can we fix it and restore it if what people know about us has been polluted? Is there any way to make things right? My affinity for superhero movies did not disappoint as I sought for an illustration. The recent blockbuster Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was an inspiration to the soul and the senses. The idea that there are many different universes across space and time is one that can confuse our minds. The notion that redemption is possible is one that transcends both time and space across any universal format. In the course of the movie we find our hero confronted with several characters that fans would find themselves familiar with from the comics. One of them is Professor Charles Xavier, or Professor X, as fans of the X-Men franchise would call him. Many characters in the world of the X-Men seem to have "lost their way" as the good Professor would say. But, the popular ideal that transcends its way into this newest movie is a line that we have heard the leader of the X-Men say repeatedly through the years. "Just because someone stumbles or loses their way, it doesn't mean they are lost forever." Even the friend and enemy of the Professor, the evil Magneto - Erik Lehnsherr, who swore to bring down the world and tear everything in his path apart with his ability to control all thing made of metal, comes back to his friend at the end of the movie franchise in a redemptive role.
The imaginative world of movies aside, what makes anyone think that someone can change their reputation? Can we really change what people think they know about us? Although it was made into a movie, the real life events surrounding the life of a New Jersey man named Joe Clark come to the forefront. I have referenced him countless times through the years and quite often in this message on reputation. Joe was known as an angry man. Some called him "Crazy Joe". As a teacher at East Side High in Patterson, NJ the hot headed Clark was known for his tirades against the school district and state government. After walking out of the high school during a heated exchange with the teachers union, we find the central character in his latter years serving as principal of one of the elementary schools in the district. His friend and colleague, Frank Naper, who taught with Joe at Eastside, is then the school district suprintendent. Big changes need to happen at the high school and all over the school district or the state is planning to step in and take over the education system. The only person that Napier sees right for the job is his old pal, Joe Clark. The day Napier comes to talk to Joe as school lets out at the elementary is a focal point of the movie. Frank explains to Joe the situation and wonders if this is the chance to turn things around. Get things going in a direction at Eastside and all over the school district. Joe is less than enthused at Frank's idea.