“… so that when he comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’”
The amount of work that people do trying to impress God and other people is staggering. The amount of fear that we carry worrying about what other people think about us is staggering. We will try to act just so – not because being “just so” is good or serves our neighbor, but because what would “they” say if we didn’t. And we jump onto a never ending hamster wheel of trying to win approval and placate people – and the pressure and anxiety grows and grows, and we become miserable.
Jesus had been at a Sabbath dinner – a giant feast. It should have been a party, but it wasn’t. Tension was high. First, everyone was eyeballing Jesus to see if He’d heal on the Sabbath. After He does, they all start jockeying for position and honor. In other words, Jesus is there at a miserable, anxiety and fear laden party. Instead of enjoying stuff, it’s all fear and worry and getting ready to smack people down.
That’s often how the world works. That’s often how our relationships with others can work. Things can become toxic pretty quickly. However, this is not how God deals with you. God’s attitude towards you is not established by the silly social games sinful human like to play. His attitude towards you is this: Friend, move up higher.
Even knowing your sin (better that you), Christ Jesus came down from heaven and went to the Cross, not so that He would have the authority to nitpick you, but so that with His death and resurrection He would forgive your sin and raise you to ever lasting life. And over and against the folly of the world, He constantly calls you to be with Him. That’s what your baptism is, it’s what the preaching of the Gospel is, it is what His Supper is. It’s all Christ Jesus coming to you to forgive you and be with you, now and forever. And none of this is based upon what you do for Him – it is all His gift to you. He has called you His friend, and so you are.
