many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
It has been my privilege to belong to several ministerial
associations throughout my career. With the oils of ordination still fresh on
my hands I pondered and discussed the scriptures with Catholic and Protestant
ministers in Carey, Ohio. I attended the meetings of both black and white
ministers in Jennings, Louisiana. (Yes, they met separately.) I met with the
local ministers in Prior Lake, Minnesota although, because I worked in the retreat
center, there was little overlap between my work and theirs. Most importantly, I
have served in two hospitals with Protestant clergy, men and women.
While the interest in ecumenism among Catholic leaders has ebbed
and flowed, I have continued to meet, sup, work and pray with colleagues across denominational lines. The experience has taught me gratitude for my
Catholic tradition and reverence for the faith of Christians. With Saint Paul I
grieve the divisions among us. He asked his people in Corinth, “Has Christ
divided us?” (I Cor 1:13)
Today the Catholic Church joins with many Protestant
churches in a week of prayer for Christian Unity. On this particular Saturday we hear of Jesus’
calling Saint Matthew, his enthusiastic response and the dinner that followed.
Remarkably, the table was crowded with tax collectors and
sinners. I say remarkably because the
Pharisees remarked very loudly about
it. They didn’t like what they were seeing; they could not imagine what it
might mean.
I have seen two kinds of Christian: hobbyists and lifers. Both
enjoy the practice of the religion; both get a kick out of prayer, study and communal
worship. The hobbyists are afraid of hell; the lifers have been there. The lifers are fighting for their life, the hobbyists feel entitled to it. Hobbyists accentuate the purity of their beliefs; lifers welcome everyone who fears damnation. Jesus called the
groups righteous and sinners, and he preferred sinners.
As a very young priest I would sometimes go out on the
playground and play roughhouse with the boys. They could come at me en masse and I would toss them all to
the ground. It was great fun and everybody was having a ball until some wise
guys decided they should be on my side. Then a melee would break out, boys
fighting boys. Inevitably someone would get hurt and it wasn’t fun anymore.
The righteous want to be on Jesus’ team, fighting sinners. That’s
not the way it works. He is in there with us, wrestling us away from our evil
thoughts, words and deeds, naming our sins and calling us to holiness. So long
as we contend with him in this love match, confessing our sins and atoning for
wrongdoing, everybody wins. But when I decide I should fight on the side of
righteousness, that I am better than others, one of the Jesus' special friends, I lose my connection to him.
Has Christ divided us? So long as we confess our sins as
one, without distinction or privilege, he holds us together in love.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.