Mark 2:16-17
‘Why does he eat* with tax-collectors and
sinners?’ 17When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have
no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the
righteous but sinners.’
Jesus is
always doing things to upset the norms of his community. He has a higher
purpose which only he knows and he does what he knows God wants him to do. He eats with the tax-collectors and sinners
because as he says they are the ones who need Him most.
How would my
life change if I worked at being there for people who needed me most? I think
it is easy to be there for family and friends and even neighbors, but harder to
reach out beyond our comfort zone to help people we do not know. It takes courage to work at a relationship
with people who are not like us or who do not believe as we do.
Several
weeks ago, my priest, Paul Pradat, spoke of a relationship just like this in
one of his sermons. Dan Cathy, the
chairman of Chic-Fil-A, and Shane Windermeyer, a writer for the Huffington
Post, came together to start a friendship although they had very different
views of marriage and anti-gay organizations.
This friendship helped both men learn to talk with people with different
beliefs, to respect the dignity of every human being, to find common ground
amid their differences, to not be so serious about everything, and to learn to
compromise. Check out this article about this awesome friendship http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2013/01/31/five-simple-lessons-from-shane-windmeyers-friendship-with-chick-fil-as-dan-cathy/22005
This is exactly what Jesus was modeling for us
when he ate with the tax-collectors and sinners. I am going to try to live my life in such a
way to be more tolerant of others who are different from me because I know we
are all children of God and we all have important things to say.
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