Word to the Wise
Friday, July 6, 2018 - Friday in the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
[Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 and Matt 9:9-13]"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." [Matthew]
Pope Francis upset some folks by referring to the church as a "field hospital for the sick and wounded." But he is on solid scriptural ground as the quote above attests. It is unfortunately the case that some parishes become a kind of country club for the righteous. Elitism is a pernicious attitude. The story in the Gospel According to Luke (18:9-14) should alert us. There we have a tax collector and a Pharisee. The Pharisee simply recites a list of his righteous deeds. The tax collector simply utters the prayer that has come to be known as the "Jesus Prayer:" "O God, be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus calls the tax collector "justified."
When Jesus called Matthew to be one of the apostles, the Pharisees were scandalized because Matthew was a tax collector. This was not only an unpopular job (as any tax collector can attest), but considered by the Pharisees as an "unclean" job because the currency involved included the image of the emperor who was considered a deity in Roman civil religion. For Jesus, mercy dictated acceptance and accompaniment (a word Pope Francis likes to use).
Anytime we find ourselves wondering, "Why are THEY here?" it might help to remember the choices Jesus made in his apostles. Indeed, we might wonder why Jesus, by virtue of our baptism, has chosen US. AMEN