Matthew 9:10-13 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (NRSV)
This interaction has a distinctly different texture than the typical Jesus-Pharisee interaction of the Gospels, and especially Matthew. Although Jesus does criticize the Pharisees, “Go and learn what this means, … ,” he is also flattering them as well, implying that they are not spiritually ill. I am, of course, aware that many read this implication as ironic, rather than irenic, but it might be better to read it as intending both. Jesus was marvelously adept at disarming his opponents, and he did so not with weapons that cut flesh, but with words that cut to the heart. This is a skill we would do well to emulate.
Peace
4 comments:
you know one of the things luther really despised about catholics of a roman disposition was the ease with which they dined with the filthy rich...he could admire the franciscans until he saw them cavorting with noble ladies and setting up villas as orphanges complete with french cooking...the whole ferocious push of liberation theology was an effort to address the church having too many sunday afternoon festas with the heavily cologned sweaty rich
but i think the pattern to nurture economic philanthropy was pioneered by the church the squeezing of wealthy people with loving embrace and getting them to direct their money to good matters became a social catholic art...even dorothy day did a bit of this...with no nonesense of course
are you suggesting that the tax collector is a symbol for all social bigotry or collective hatred?
who would be the branded evil ones of our day? i mean we're not going to let convicted killers and molesters and rapists into our churches are we?? not abortionists not swindlers not violent stricken outlaws not those spooky guys on motorcycles not recalcitrant drug loonies not the erotically tatooed not the pierced ones too not maniacal over educated selfdestructive artistically thwarted rampaging quiet artist types with no cause whatsoever lost in a generation of distraction excess and dread not these folks too no let them go to their own church...i think jesus would have at least suggested that we bathe before coming to church i know he never braoched personal hygeine per se but he seems to have washed seems to have visted wells...he seems to have walked a lot...he must've known where all the good bathing places were...let's make that the simple basic rule...don't come to church if you aren't into bathing...hey what's more...we have full showers and clean clothes in the basement let us bathe and prepare to worship our god...maybe if that doesn't work we can just have alternatice services for the stinky
or else invest in incense production...there's nothing more capable of inducing great worship than the combination of incense smoke and the scent of burdened humanity...there a sensual doorway to pastoral care
j
i've been distracted with music all weekend
just getting back to cyberspace
....good postage as it were
> are you suggesting that the tax collector is a symbol for all social bigotry or collective hatred?
I hadn't processed things quite that far, but yes, that is where I was heading. Throw in prostitutes too, as we all know who the "other sinners" must have been.
> who would be branded the evil ones today?
I really appreciate the hyperbole in your list. Human society is so good at creating scapegoats. Depending on your political preferences, you might pick one of the following: people who took out mortgages that they couldn't afford, the mortgage brokers who sold them the mortgages, the people who repackaged them into opaque investments, the people who gave these investments AAA ratings, the people who bought them, etc. Or anyone who practices Islam. Or anyone who supported the war in Iraq.
Tomorrow will probably give us the opportunity to chose between the AMA, penurious small business men who exploit their workers, and socialist politicians who want to tax the hard working so that the indigent can receive health care (that they haven't earned and don't deserve). Take your pick.
Gays? People who oppose Gay Marriage? The divorced? Secular Humanists? Priests? Professors? Monks? People not like us!!
> i think jesus would have at least suggested that we bathe before coming to church...
Ah. Social Norms. We must not let let anything happen in Church that makes us uncomfortable. It is, after all, our place, our sanctuary.
Or is it God's? And if so, perhaps it ought to be open to God's people, not just our people. The Kingdom of God isn't of the world, but it is most definitely in the world. And God chose tax collectors, and fishermen. People like us.
I suspect we're in violent agreement.
> i've been distracted with music all weekend
It sounds like a good weekend. I picked up a Taizé album (Laudate Omnes Gentes), and listened to snippets of a few other songs. A quick glance through ELW (the new ELCA hymnal) reveals at least three Taizé hymns, including "Eat this bread," which is a frequently used communion hymn. Unfortunately the copyright section is organized by hymn rather than by copyright holder, which makes a complete search tedious.
We borrow a lot from one another.
i sure as hell don't know what you mean by
violent agreement
sounds sort of interesting
like kick boxing to bach
j
> i sure as hell don't know what you mean by
> violent agreement
It's a favorite phrase of a colleague, meaning the exact opposite of violent disagreement. Think of violent as having an implied meaning of "extreme," or "very strong."
But now that I think about it, it is an inauspicious phrase for a blog named as this one is. So perhaps it is better to form the negative in this case by negating the adjective as well, hence, peaceful agreement?
> like kick boxing to bach
There's a image!
Post a Comment