What is it about religious people that can make us so quick to judge others? This week we begin with the news that, “All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus.” This didn’t sit well with the religious leaders: “And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”
Why are “tax collectors” and “sinners” so often grouped together in the Gospels? Well, the tax collectors of Jesus’ time were no mild-mannered IRS accountants. They were Jews who made a living by “collecting” taxes for the Romans from their fellow-Jews. As such, they were collaborators with a hated regime and enforcers of cruel and often capricious extortion. And the Romans didn’t pay them for this – they allowed them to tack on a “fee” or surcharge. The meaner and tougher they were, the higher the “fee” they commanded. Tax collectors were easy to loathe.
Yet Jesus invited one of these, Matthew, to be a disciple. He ate at the home of another, Zaccheus. He seemed to be a magnet for them – and he didn’t just have dinner with them. He invited them to repent and be renewed. Many saw their lives transformed, as did other “sinners” who hung around with Jesus. Who better to hang around with than someone who talks about forgiveness and the love of their heavenly Father? Who better to have dinner with than someone who sees you as a human being despite the despicable way you’ve treated others?
In this 15th chapter of Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells three stories about things that are lost: a sheep, a coin, a son (or two…). Today, let’s look at who he was talking to: the Pharisees and scribes. They weren’t bad people either. Pharisees deeply loved the Law of Moses and sought to live lives of great holiness. In the process, they often became self-righteous, judgmental, and tipped into a compassionless legalism that – Jesus felt – caused them to keep minute laws at the expense of God’s greater command to care for the poor and defenseless. The scribes were temple leaders, and regulated the apparatus of worship and sacrifice. They had limited power under Roman authority, and like many such people, did all they could to make others feel even more powerless.
So we have, on the one hand, notorious sinners and low-lifes, and on the other, hypocritical and arrogant “holy” people. If all the lowlifes were in one room, and all the religious people in another, and you HAD to pick one, which room would you go in? Why?
What would you say to those gathered in each room?
What kind of people do you find yourself judging, even condemning (we all do it… let’s just bring it to the surface so we can look at it…). Think of some examples of individuals or groups. Bring them to mind.
Now bring Jesus into that picture. What does he do? Say? How do you feel?
What kind of people do you feel are hypocritical? How do you suppose they got that way? Think of some examples of individuals or groups. Bring them to mind.
Now bring Jesus into that picture. What does he do? Say? How do you feel?
You know how to respond when people say, “I don’t go to church – it’s full of hypocrites.” -
“There’s always room for one more…”
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