God's Broken People

If this seems a little strange at first, bear with me.  I want to begin with one of Shel Silverstein’s humorous poems, but one that leads to a profound concept.  It is titled: Hector the Collector.

Hector the Collector collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin’ guns that wouldn’t shoot,
Leaky boats what wouldn’t float
And stopped up horns that wouldn’t toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.
Worn out belts that had no buckles,
‘Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector loved these things with all his soul–
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin’ gold.
Hector called to all the people,
“Come and share my treasure trunk!”
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked ... and called it junk.    (Where the Sidewalk Ends, 46)

Jesus tended to collect broken people, people who were marred and scarred by failings of all kinds.  Peter the impetuous, Simon the insurgent Zealot, Matthew the despised tax collector, a woman of the street, and many others.  But, like Hector, he “loved them more than shining diamonds, loved them more than glistenin’ gold.”.

Later, when Paul looked at the composition of the church in Corinth he said about them: “not many of you are wise, mighty or noble.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen ...” (1 Cor 2:26-28).

A few chapters later his description of these people was more precise and graphic: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.   Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you (1 Cor 6:9-10.).  He sounds like Hector the Collector.  God gathered a church full of sinners and called them saints and the “silly sightless” world doesn’t understand.

Paul knew this and followed his description with these words: “And such were some of you.  But you were washed ... sanctified ... justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (6:11).  Washed by the blood of Christ and in the waters of baptism, we gather at this table as his broken people made whole by the power of Jesus Christ.  Here we celebrate being cleansed, justified and made whole.  We give thanks that he loves us “more than shining diamonds and more than gilstenin’ gold.”