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We're afraid that if we get too close to people whose lives are messy, we'll be contaminated. We're afraid that if we engage with people who are struggling, their problems will become our problems. We're afraid that if we associate with people others consider outsiders, we'll become outsiders too. So we keep our distance.

For Peter's entire life, he'd been taught that there were clean people and unclean people. There were insiders and outsiders. There were people you could associate with and people you couldn't. These categories weren't just social conventions. They were religious requirements. But God was telling Peter that those categories were wrong.

Jesus didn't need to be baptized. Everyone at the Jordan River was there because they were sinners seeking purification. Jesus was without sin, so he had no reason to step into that water. So why did Jesus insist? Because while we try to avoid what's unclean, God moves toward it. The question is: are we willing to do the same?

Jesus didn't get baptized because he needed to be purified. Jesus got baptized because he chose to identify with sinners. He chose to stand with people that everyone else said were unclean. He chose to move toward people instead of avoiding them. This is who God is. While we try to avoid what's unclean, God moves toward it. 

When we welcome outsiders, we're giving people a glimpse of this coming kingdom. When we tear down barriers instead of building them, we're showing the world what God's kingdom actually looks like. When we refuse to treat anyone as less than human, we're proclaiming that there are no outsiders in God's kingdom.

Christ didn't wait for us to get our lives together before welcoming us. Christ didn't require us to have perfect theology before inviting us in. Christ didn't demand that we prove ourselves worthy before offering us grace. Christ welcomed us while we were still sinners, still struggling, still figuring things out.

God doesn't require people to become insiders before inviting them in. God invites outsiders and makes them insiders. And when we refuse to do the same, we're not protecting God's kingdom. We're blocking people from entering it.

God chooses outsiders and makes them insiders. This is who God has always been. This is what God has always done. God doesn't choose people based on their résumés. God doesn't wait for people to clean up their lives before inviting them to be part of the story.

We've all seen the wise men in nativity sets, but we rarely ask who they actually were. They were foreign priests who practiced a different religion and worshiped different gods. They were outsiders in every way. But God chose them to be among the first to worship Jesus while leaving the religious insiders behind. What does that reveal about who belongs in God's kingdom?

If you were throwing a party for the most important event in human history, who would you invite? You'd probably make a guest list of people who matter. People who are respected. People who are influential.  That's exactly what makes the story of the wise men so shocking; they were unexpected guests.