Dinner With Sinners - Recipe For Reflection

Gospel	Mark 2:13-17

Your light must shine in the sight of men

Jesus went out to the shore of the lake, and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

  When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’

I think it is human nature for us to assume a part in any story that we are reading and to inject ourselves into it. This makes it more exciting and more memorable.  In our Gospel reading today we have a couple of points of view we can assume. 

 First of all, we can assume the character of Levi, soon to become Matthew, and we can be amazed that this man, this Jesus, a holy man, is in my house!  He has called me to be one of His followers.  But, how can this be?  I am a tax collector and all my friends are on the fringe of society, surely He must know this! 

We can take as our character the Pharisee.  We look on with wonder. We shake our heads and wonder how this man, this so-called Messiah sit with these people?  Sinners, every one of them!  If He were holy, then He would know what kind of people He was associating with and turn His back on them. 

In real life the rest of us, I dare say, will pick the part of Levi who accepts the ministry offered to him, gives up his job, which paid quite well, and chose to follow Jesus.  But, look at how our life really is.  It is much more likely that we would be on the side of the Scribes and Pharisees and we would have joined in the gossip-like critical review of the host, guests, and of Jesus.  

We and by we I include me, have to take stock of ourselves and remember that this passage as written applies to our lives here in the twenty-first century.  We have to take seriously our role as sinners at the table. The funny thing is, the Scribes and Pharisees that were criticizing  Jesus' choice of dining companions, would have fit very well and would be comfortable at the table with Levi and his sinful friends.  For it may be surprising to some, but sin is still in the world, it has not departed from our modern life, it just wears different disguises and uses a charming and soft calming voice that says, "you are the exception" or "surely that does not apply to me" or "just once won't hurt."  

Come join Jesus, Levi, his friends and me at the table.  There is a seat with your name on it. 

In your busy life remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory.