Celebration. Luke 5.

There are 4 episodes within this chapter of Luke. I'd like to look at the last one -- the calling of Levi. Originally, I was thinking of calling this post, "Grumpy Bear," but when looking for a picture of a grumpy bear, I found out that this phrase has been pretty much captured by the American Greetings card company, and their Care Bears. Also, it's probably not enough to refer to the religious leaders of Jesus' time as simply grumpy -- they were angrier and more hostile than grumpy, even if in this episode they seem more like party poops.

And I really don't have much to say about what takes place here. (Well, I'll make a brief comment about Jesus' cryptic comment at the end of the chapter.) There's nothing complex about what happens. Levi, a tax collector, is called by Jesus to follow Him, and he quits his despised, although lucrative, occupation, and does just that. And then he throws a party. This is way cool.

There will be time for Levi to take up his cross. There will be hard days ahead. Jesus even tells the grumpy bear Pharisees, that this will happen (when the bridegroom is gone). But right at that moment, when Jesus enters Levi's life and gives new meaning to it, Levi is ready to drop everything in response to Jesus, and celebrate what's taken place. And he wants to share what has happened with all his friends, and Jesus, too. Could there ever be a more natural reaction than what we see taking place here? Did it happen in your life? Does it happen in your life?

We have a close friend who sat on the fence for six months or so after hearing about Jesus, and really having an understanding of Who He is, and what He did. My wife finally asked her, "So, what's keeping you from becoming a Christian?" Two answers, as I recall. One was a reluctance to the label Christian, which for many in our culture has a bad reputation, sometimes deserved, sometimes not. The second answer was a reluctance to give up her old life. The fun stuff. When pressed about her understanding of Jesus, she/they realized, it was too late. She already was a Christian. And in reality, the fun stuff just began.

Yes, old things go away in our life when we decide to follow Jesus. And the path we walk is often difficult. But what could possibly compare to the incomparable joy we have in following Him. Levi knew that. He wanted his friends to know that. And so, "Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them." (v.5:29).

One quick comment, and then let's go celebrate this day the Lord has made. Jesus says at the end of His parable about the new teaching replacing the old. "No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’" (v.5:39) In the NIV, it says the old is "better." Out of context, this phrase can be easily misused. What Jesus is really talking about here, is the reluctance that He's already seeing to His message. He's describing the human tendency to resist change, after telling everyone that the change must happen. So He isn't actually prescribing a good behavior, He's describing an existing behavior. (I suspect Jesus has taken an existing saying of the time, and turned it to His own use, but I can't confirm that.)

Now go celebrate.