Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB
In our gospel for today we hear of the special love
and concern that Jesus has for those people that may not be in relationship
with God. These tax collectors and sinners are those people who struggled to be
in good relationship with God and felt rejected by Pharisees who look down upon
them. The Pharisees looked at these people that Jesus was hanging out with as
people not worthy of any attention. To the Pharisees, these are the dregs of
society and were considered unclean according to Jewish law. They just couldn’t
understand why Jesus would pay any attention to these types of people.
Jesus very clearly points out that these sinners are
the ones that he came to bring repentance and salvation to. Jesus said of them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.” Jesus saw in
each of the tax collectors and sinners people made in the image of God who were
in need of healing. He saw people with a possibility of becoming better in the
eyes of God. Instead of judging them for their sinfulness, Jesus was looking to
bring healing and reconciliation to these people who felt isolated from the
mainstream Jewish society.
Central to the ministry of Jesus is that of mercy. The
Pharisees had no mercy towards these people that they felt were rejected by
God. But Jesus was teaching the tax collectors and sinners that God is an all-loving
God and is ready to forgive each one their sins. All they needed to do was to
turn to God and ask for the forgiveness and healing that can only come from God
himself.
We ourselves, like the tax collectors and sinners in
today’s Gospel, are called to turn to God and seek forgiveness of our sins. We
are never to be like the Pharisees in our judgement of other people of how they
are or are not in relationship with God. We need to focus on our own sinfulness
and be like those tax collectors and sinners and realize that we need the love
and forgiveness that can come to us only from God through Jesus Christ. None of
us are perfect. We are all sinners and need the love and mercy of God. We are
also called to bring others into relationship with God by sharing our faith
with them. Not in a judgmental way like the Pharisees, but in a way that shows
that Jesus loves all people and wants everyone to turn to Him in a spirit of
repentance.
Pope St. John Paul II said, “Only in Christ do we find real love, and the fullness of
life. And so I invite you today to look to Christ. When you wonder about the
mystery of yourself, look to Christ who gives you the meaning of life.”
Let us continue to grow in our relationship with God
by constantly turning to him with love and repentance. It is then that we, too,
like the tax collectors and sinners, can know the mercy and love of God.
The people who were Pharisees did not start out as "the bad guys". They started out as a group of people so devoted to the LORD & to obeying all the provisions of the very extensive Jewish Law & so fastidious that they added more stringent rules to obey to ensure that they would never disobey GOD'S Law. I would think that when asked why they did all these things they would respond "GOD'S watching & I want to get an "A"! I suspect that above everything else they wanted to earn GOD'S approval & to be "blessed & highly favored"! So I think that it's not hard to imagine their shock when He Who could be the Messiah sent by GOD did not choose to hang out with them but to hang out with people who betrayed the Jewish people by working for the oppressive Roman government & added an extra burden of their commission to their tax & to women of ill repute. The Pharisees saw a clear distinction between the "good people" vs the "bad people" & assumed that a representative of GOD would only hang out with the "good people". During the previous centuries of Jewish history, the Jewish people repeatedly got themselves in trouble by assimilating with pagan people who engaged in idolatry & sexual immorality until they finally learned their lesson after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. So the Pharisees were determined to make sure that this would not happen to their people ever again!
ReplyDeleteThe faults of the Pharisees were their pride & self-righteous to which good, conscientious & obedient people who long for GOD'S approval & human approval can easily fall prey. And they were so focused on what they were performing externally that they failed to look inward & recognize their own sins & faults. Some became so blind that they became hypocritical. They also became very "cut & dry", falling into a practice of stereotyping people instead of seeing people as unique individuals with good points & bad points. It probably never dawned on the Pharisees that people entrenched in lifestyles of sin could ever change or even desire to change.
When Our LORD looked at Matthew & other tax collectors & the women of ill repute He didn't stereotype them but saw each one as a unique human person with not only sins & faults but hurts & virtues & longings & potential for conversion. Because JESUS is GOD He saw past the externals to their hearts & He could see the hearts of the Pharisees, including their faults. He could see that many desired to live a better life but needed an invitation to do so. JESUS showed love & mercy toward them & they responded. And Our LORD was just as willing to extend love, mercy & an invitation to conversion to the Pharisees if they would only recognize this. According the the Book of Acts, some of the Pharisees DID convert after Pentecost.
In some ways I can relate to those Pharisees, but I need to remember that GOD'S love, mercy & welcoming Invitation are for ALL & that people CAN change & should not be stereotyped, & that my job is to join with the LORD & His Church in sharing the joy of living for GOD with EVERYONE & to join happily in the welcoming committee when they repent!