Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 17, 2026 - Saturday in the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Sam 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1 and Mark 2:13-17]While he [Jesus] was at table in his [Levi's] house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. 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]
JANUARY 17 ST. ANTONY, abbot
The conflict between Jesus and Jewish religious authorities is gradually taking shape in the Gospel According to Mark. Not only has Jesus healed on the sabbath ("work") but he sits at table with tax collectors and "sinners." One did not have to be immoral to be a "sinner." There were certain occupations [i.e. tanner or mortician] that could cause a person to become "unclean" according to the very strict way the Pharisees interpreted the Mosaic Law. In their eyes, Jesus was violating the law by eating with these kinds of people. His reply is one that we should pay close attention to. "I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
Pope Francis caught attention when asked in a first interview who he considered himself to be and responded "I am a sinner!" And he caused some pious eyebrows to raise when he washed the feet of beggars and non-Christians on Holy Thursday. His document, Amoris laetitiae, which reached out to divorced/remarried Catholics in a pastoral way, caused critical comment in those same pious circles, as well as his open attitude toward others who felt themselves excluded from the church because of their sexual orientation, etc.. Jesus' attitude toward tax collectors and sinners seems to be missing at times not just in strict interpreters of Catholic tradition but in the rest of us as well. Who would we classify as "tax collectors and sinners" and consider unworthy to receive communion or even be "members" of the Church? If Jesus came to call sinners and not the righteous, do we want to be on his list? AMEN
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