The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Several years ago, I happened to watch a TV drama which described a conversation between a woman and her troubled, adult daughter. The younger woman had just broken up with her umpteenth boyfriend and the mother said, "I raised you to deserve better than this." As the drama unfolded, the daughter took the words to heart and began a new life.
The advice sounded like the gospel to me. You deserve better than that. Jesus said as much to Matthew, his other disciples, the tax collectors, sinners, and critical Pharisees. Some get up and follow him; other remain in their sins.
We've tried sacrifice endlessly, even the human sacrifice of capital punishment and abortion. But the gods of our violence, lust, and rage are not appeased. They want only more. And so we arm ourselves and sacrifice schoolchildren, shoppers, churchgoers, and jogging women. Police, too, are gunned down; while agents of the FBI and clerical workers in the Federal Archives are threatened. Members of Congress and Supreme Court judges are not safe.
I desire mercy, not sacrifice. It's really not so difficult. Pope Francis urges the world, and Catholics in particular, to prefer mercy over justice. Could forgiving and seeking reconciliation with our enemies be worse than our present strategy of justice? As G.K. Chesterson said in his famous essay, "What's Wrong with the World:"
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
The Bible recounts the long sad story of human attempts to please God our way, even as the LORD insisted, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." All our attempts to live righteously failed as we continued to neglect the widow, the orphan, and the alien. Not even the human sacrifice of the Lord could appease the gods of our fear.
Critics of the Church will recount stories of bishops, cardinals, and popes, who used the harshest means of justice; but the Apostles, and Mary our Mother, and the Gospel, which is the soul of the Church, have never stopped saying, "You deserve better than this."
No comments:
Post a Comment
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.