Word to the Wise
Thursday, November 5, 2009 - Thursday in the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
[Romans 14:7-12 and Luke 15:1-10]The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!" [Luke]
One of the occasional duties of a Catholic campus minister is to respond to an invitation from a "non-denominational" Christian group to come and give a "talk." On one such occasion, I spoke to a group on the subject of personal holiness. When the time came for questions, however, the concern was about who could be saved and it was clear that for many of them there was only one criterion: explicit belief in Jesus. I do not think they would have been amused if I had told them they were acting like the scribes and Pharisees. I didn't, of course, but their anxiety to include themselves and exclude others put them in the same position as those scribes and Pharisees. The two parables that are featured in today's gospel scripture are actually part of a "triptych." The third panel of the triptych is the story of the Prodigal Son, but it is not included this time. (One of the mysteries of the lectionary!) All of the panels are concerned with "lost and found." After reading these first two parables, one could easily get the impression that being "lost" is better than being "found" because God actively seeks out the "lost!" Clearly the Pharisees and scribes considered themselves as "found," and the tax collectors and "sinners" as "lost!" This is the irony of the situation! There is no question that some of the Pharisees and scribes were sincere folks who were zealous about their faith. They would not have liked to be called "sinners in need of repentance," like the folks whom Jesus welcomed to his table! We humans must be careful about applying "litmus tests" - even theological ones - to determine who can or cannot be saved. Yes, there are boundaries somewhere in this, but ultimately God is the one who sets them, and the gospel assures us that God is willing to go beyond all boundaries to find the "lost." Those who are "found" simply need to pay attention to helping the Lord in that work. AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
73 ms
4
