“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfil them. I assure you, until heaven and earth disappear, even the smallest detail of God’s law will remain until its purpose is achieved … I warn you – unless you obey God better than the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees do, you can’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all!”
Matthew 5:17-18, 20
As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sat at his tax-collection booth. “Come, be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
That night, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. The Pharisees were indignant. “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” they asked his disciples.
Matthew 9:9-11
In our quest for holiness, we asked ourselves a question.
Who’s in, and who’s out?
And who decides anyway?
And so we laid down some ground rules.
Set up some boundaries.
Just so that everyone was clear.
You’re in if you pray.
You’re out if you smoke.
Of course, if you pray and you smoke, we all have a problem!
Try to keep this neat and tidy, please.
You’re in if you go to church every week.
You’re out if you shop on a Sunday.
You’re in if you tithe your ten percent.
You’re out if you gamble.
You’re in if you read the Bible.
You’re out if you read Harry Potter.
You’re in if you speak in tongues.
You’re out if you speak in tongues.
What kind of holiness sets itself apart with sinners?
The salt of the earth mixed with its scum?
Who decided it was time to bend the rules?
Most importantly –
Who’s in, and who’s out?
And who decides anyway?
Think about it:
- How do you define who’s in and who’s out?
- Why would Jesus spend time with sinners?
A most thought-provoking piece. I suppose many of us have a tendency to criticise and condemn others for their activities, because it gives us a sense of security and superiority to do so. I suppose also that this must be hypocrisy. I cannot but recall what the Lord Jesus said about hypocrites. Am I one?
Very challenging – but let us take an example of Zacchaeus (and there are other examples). He was accepted as he was, Jesus ate and drank in his house. But then most importantly there was a transformation and for Zacc a very radical one in which he virtually impoverished himself in a practical demonstration of a changed life following an encounter with Jesus. Yes, a thousand times, yes, Jesus accepts and loves us just as we are but then loves us enough not to leave us that way! In short as often said in a prayer at a Mass – Jesus came to share our humanity that we might come to share his divinity. We are thus being changed from one degree of glory to another in the process of divinization of our humanity.