Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 13, 2024 - Saturday in the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Sam 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1 and Mark 2:13-17]Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus heard this and said to them, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." [Mark]
In his inaugural document, Evangelii gaudium [The Joy of the Gospel], Pope Francis referred to the church as a "field hospital for the sick and wounded," and not a club for a spiritual elite. His consistent outreach to those who have, for whatever reason, been excluded from active participation in the Body of Christ, has garnered him criticism from certain elements in the church who feel that any attention given to those whom they regard as "tax collectors and sinners" is wrong and "creates confusion." These critics do not seem acquainted with the consistent example of Jesus, as shown in today's gospel scripture.
Very early on in the Gospel According to Mark, we hear of Jesus' principal critics - the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes were experts in the Law of Moses. As such, they were able to read and write and helped with any endeavor that required a written record. The Pharisees prided themselves on their meticulous observance of the Law of Moses. Jesus was a threat to their positions of social influence and power. Later on, the elders and Sadducees would add their opposition.
This is not merely history. We have equivalents in our own time. The Code of Canon Law and the Catechism can become weapons of criticism in the minds and hearts of those who oppose any outreach to "sinners and tax collectors." I remember, back in the 1970's, a movement among students that had the motto, "What would Jesus do?" That is still a valid question. The gospel scripture for today gives us an answer. AMEN