Luke 7:31-35 (NIV)

[Jesus said,] "To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation?  What are they like?  They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

"'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'"

"For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."'  But wisdom is proved right by all her children."

Do you ever find yourself desperate for acceptance in the church, only to be frustrated over and over again?  I often feel that no matter what I do, someone isn't happy with me.  I'm too conservative or I'm too liberal; someone says I take a Bible text too literally, and someone else says I take it not literally enough.

As gay Christians, many of us wonder if we can ever be accepted in the mainstream church.  Those of us who are in relationships are accused of deliberately sinning by engaging in "homosexual behavior," while those of us who are celibate are still ostracized for "being gay," just for being honest about what we really feel.  No matter which way you go, it seems that others aren't pleased.

Lest we think that this is a new phenomenon, this week's passage proves that even Jesus experienced the same difficulties.  His ministry approach was drastically different from John the Baptist's, and yet both of them were rejected - one for eating and drinking too much; the other for eating and drinking too little.

It seems bizarre to me to think that Jesus might ever have been accused of being "a glutton and a drunkard."  Of all the images I have of Jesus, that's certainly not one of them!  But the religious leaders of Jesus' day considered him overindulgent, too closely connected to sinful people, and even demon-possessed (Mark 3:22).  Can you imagine?  They said these things about Jesus!

Next time a fellow Christian accuses you of being "not Christian enough," consider yourself in good company.  When Jesus said we would be hated just as he was, remember that he wasn't only hated for being a "goody two-shoes."  He was called sinful by the men who were supposed to speak for God.  Certainly, we can expect no less.