Already having gained a number of disciples early on in his
public ministry, the Lord attended a dinner in the house of Levi, also known as
St. Matthew, a tax collector. And while at dinner in the house of Levi, some
Pharisees and scribes begin to murmur about Jesus’ unconventional behavior—of dining
with tax collectors and sinners. The word St. Luke uses to describe the
Pharisees’ murmuring is the same word found in the book of Numbers, when the
rebellious Israelites murmur and complain about the leadership of Moses out in
the desert.
Then the Lord, really gave them something to murmur about. When
the Scribes and Pharisees question the Lord’s practice of dining with sinners,
Jesus compares what he is doing in the house of Levi, and in his ministry in
general, to a wedding feast.
The Scribes and Pharisees, who were versed in the scriptures
and traditions of Israel, would no doubt have picked up on the messianic
undertones of the Lord’s explanation. The age of the Messiah, the long-awaited final
stage of human history, when the Messiah would definitively usher in the kingdom
of God—is scripturally linked to the wedding feast.
The Scribes and Pharisees would no doubt have detected that Jesus
was claiming the role of the Messianic Bridegroom who was ushering in the
kingdom of God.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ first miracle takes place at a
wedding, the wedding at Cana, where water is turned into an abundance of wine.
It was there that Jesus revealed that He wasn’t just a teacher, he wasn’t just
a commentator on scriptures: that first miracle at the wedding, signaled
something new in God’s plan of salvation for sinful humanity.
Just as a wedding is
filled with joyful celebration, so too, Jesus’ public ministry is a time of
great joy for sinners. Sinners are invited to repent so that may be join the
wedding feast. The wedding feast is not just for a particular ethnic group. All
people, of all places and time, are invited into God’s presence.
We are poor, wretched sinners—but we are joyful sinners:
sinners whom Christ has invited to cast off the old garments of sin and to take
up a new life of friendship with God. And that is great cause for rejoicing.
That is why the Church is never merely a society of the
self-satisfied, of those who gather to congratulate themselves on their virtue,
their knowledge, or their respectability. The Church is the gathering of those
who know they need a Savior.
Nor are we to distance ourselves from sinners and
unbelievers out of fear that they might somehow infect us. We have a mission to
them: to invite them to the Lord, to conversion, to the joy of the wedding
feast. And that mission requires patience, prudence, humility, gentleness, and
perseverance. If one approach does not work, we try another. We appeal to
truth, yes; to beauty, yes; but also to goodness.
We witness to Christ through charity: charity that is
patient and kind, generous and self-sacrificial. We show by our lives that
friendship with Christ is not a burden, but a joy; not a restriction of life,
but the beginning of life in abundance.
So that is our task. Let us take it up with courage and with
joy, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
- - - -
That Christians may take up the task of evangelization
with renewed conviction, with generosity and creativity, to spread the saving
Gospel of Christ.
For an end to indifference to God and human dignity in
our communities, institutions, businesses, and personal attitudes.
During this month of September, dedicated to Our Lady of
Sorrows, we pray for all those who grieve, and that we may grieve sufficiently
for our sins.
That the
love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort
to all the suffering.
For the
deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls
in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought
and died for our freedom. We pray.
O God, who
know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear
the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who
believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.
That Christians may take up the task of evangelization
with renewed conviction, with generosity and creativity, to spread the saving
Gospel of Christ.
For an end to indifference to God and human dignity in
our communities, institutions, businesses, and personal attitudes.
During this month of September, dedicated to Our Lady of
Sorrows, we pray for all those who grieve, and that we may grieve sufficiently
for our sins.
That the
love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort
to all the suffering.
For the
deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls
in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought
and died for our freedom. We pray.
O God, who
know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear
the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who
believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment