Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do” is Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees in their judgment of him and his disciples eating “with tax collectors and sinners” in today’s gospel (Matthew 9:9-13). I hear an echo of these words in Pope Francis’ now famous quote about the Church needing to be “a field hospital” that cares for the sick and wounded after battle. How often I’ve heard people outside of church doors say they don’t attend because they feel judged and not welcome. Today’s gospel also reminds us that Jesus “did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” And aren’t we all sinners?
Jesus further responds to the Pharisees’ questioning with, “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” That sounds like quite the retort; Jesus is challenging them by quoting a verse from Hosea (6:6) that they surely would have been familiar with. The verse Jesus chose, which I also found translated as “I desire love, not sacrifice,” was likely addressing the understanding that being “at table” with tax collectors and sinners would result in ritual impurity (based on Jewish law), which apparently was not Jesus’ primary concern.
I wonder how often our judgement of others keeps us at a “safe” distance from them? What is Jesus calling us to? He called Matthew (a tax collector) to “follow me” and shortly after we hear about Jesus and his disciples dining with the outcast, those on the margins. To where and to whom is Jesus asking us to follow him today? This week? This year? Are we willing to get up and go as Matthew did? Or are we more likely to stay on the sidelines and question and judge?
We are all sinners; we are all being called. What might happen if we, too, learn the meaning of the words, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”?
—Eileen Miller