Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 19, 2008 - Saturday in the First Week of Ordinary Time
[1 Samuel 9:1-4; 17-19;10:1 and ]SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2008 SATURDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1A and Mark 2:13-17] Those are are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners. Tax collectors and "sinners" were among the first followers of Jesus. "Sinners" is a category that could include people who were in trades that brought them into contact with unclean items. It reminds me of the class consciousness of Victorian England's nobility who disdained anyone in "trade." In Jesus' time, sitting down to eat with such people was enough to make one "unclean." Jesus promptly ignores these "boundaries" and invites anyone. Uh, oh! Creating social boundaries is a common phenomenon but some of these boundaries are healthy and some are not. Jesus puts the burden of proof on those who would maintain the boundary. A "sinner" is not someone who follows a particular ordinary and legitimate trade but someone who fails to love God and neighbor. Jesus would call them all from tax collector to Pharisee. They must simply acknowledge their need for him. Here it is the prejudice caused by human boundaries that blinds the scribes and Pharisees. It might be a good exercise sometime to list the "boundaries" we each have and the boundaries held by groups to which we belong. How many of these would make us a good follower of Jesus? How many are obstacles? Can we be righteous and a sinner at the same time? AMEN
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