If you could invite two cartoon characters to dinner, who would they be? 

So far in this series, we've covered the way that the idea of having to meet a standard of approval is not a good way to describe God's vision for things, and that this is shown powerfully in Jesus, especially in what he accomplished by rising from the dead. We also talked about the importance of undoing our approval-based systems and expectations, replacing "merit" with "finding a good fit."

One key question that hasn't been addressed, though, is this: What do we do when things happen that, in the old system, would be seen as inappropriate (that is, unapproved.) How does this non-standards based system of grace handle, for example, situations in which someone harms someone else? Let's think about a different set of rules that don't rely as much on approval as they do on compassion, care, and defending those who cannot defend themselves.

Now that you've answered the Icebreaker, here's another question - this one, about better rules.

Hopefully that makes enough sense to get you started. As you continue into the Worship portion of the Spotlight, pray this prayer together:

Lord,
Approval is passing,
and we are learning to function without needing it.
As we cling to grace, 
let us also bear proudly the responsibility 
of caring the weak, the vulnerable, and the harmed. 
May our practice of grace
lead to everyone knowing that love
is our north star 
as we navigate complicated situations.
Amen.

God presides in the great assembly and renders judgment among the rulers of the earth.
How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the weak and the fatherless.
Uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy.
Deliver them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:1-4)

Learn to do good. Seek justice.
Defend the cause of the fatherless. Plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God is this:
To care for orphans and widows in their distress. (James 1:27)

The Lord watches over the foreigner among us.
He upholds the widow and the fatherless.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows —
This is God, whose dwelling is holy. (Psalm 68:5, 146:9)

Silence to consider all that has been said.

Now. A question.
Who among us has never been the widow?
Who among us has never been the orphan?
Who among us has never been without recourse —
Without a voice, without a defender, without a way through?
We have all been the weak and the needy.
We have all needed rescuing from the hand of something stronger than ourselves.
We have all stood before something that could undo us.
And found that we could not save ourselves.
Into that place, Christ came.
He did not come to the strong. He came to the defenseless.
He did not negotiate from safety.
He gave himself without condition.

I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you. (John 14:18)

He who did not spare his own Son —
How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

We are the widow. We are the orphan. We are the weak and the needy.
And we have a Defender who paid everything to defend us.
This is why we protect the vulnerable.
Because we know what it is to be defended by grace.
This is why we do not use our strength against the weak.
Because our strength was given to us by one who used his for us.

We were the defenseless. Christ is our defender.
Now we go and do likewise.

Matthew 18:1–35 (NIV)
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.


Causing to Stumble
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.


The Parable of the Wandering Sheep
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.  
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

 
Dealing With Sin in the Church
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’  17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

 
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

You can learn a lot more about Gerecke and his work with Nazi offenders in this well constructed and applicable article from Freedom for the Captives.

After World War II, a Lutheran pastor named Henry Gerecke was asked to do something almost no one wanted to do: minister to the Nazi war criminals awaiting trial at Nuremberg. Men responsible for the murder of millions. He wrestled with it. Prayed harder than he ever had. Then said yes.

But Gerecke wasn't naïve. He visited the concentration camps so he could never minimize what these men had done. He reviewed the evidence against them. He refused communion to Hermann Goering, who wanted it as an insurance policy without repentance. He demanded that public forgiveness, where it came, be costly, not cheap.

He held two things at once: 

1. the Gospel is for everyone 
2. and the victims are real and their suffering matters.

Three of those men came to genuine repentance before their executions. After Gerecke died years later (serving as chaplain at a maximum-security prison) 800 of what the Associated Press called "the most dangerous men in the country" filed past his casket to pay their respects. They called him their only friend.

THE TENSION THIS SPOTIGHT HOLDS
We've been making the case that approval-based gatekeeping diminishes both people and communities.

But that raises an honest question:
If anyone is welcome, what do we do about people who have hurt others - or might?

Gerecke's ministry suggests an answer. Welcome and safety are not opposites. They require each other. A community serious about welcoming the broken must also be serious about protecting the vulnerable. One without the other is either naïve or cruel.

Take these one at a time as a group:

1. Gerecke kept the victims of the Nuremberg criminals in front of him at all times. He even visited the camps so he couldn't minimize the evil. What would it look like for your community to keep victims visible and central, even while extending welcome to those who have caused harm?
2. Gerecke drew a distinction between cheap grace and costly grace. Cheap grace is forgiveness without repentance, welcome without accountability. Where have you seen cheap grace do damage in a community? What would costly grace look like in practice?
3. Gerecke stayed within his lane. He didn't try to diagnose, assess risk, or do the work of mental health professionals. He focused on what he was actually equipped to do. What is the church actually equipped to do when it comes to people who have caused harm? What should it leave to others?

You've completed the Spotlight Series Approval is Passing. Thank you!
What worked? What didn't? What will you remember and use? What still feels confusing?