Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have come not to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.
(Luke 5:31-32)
The Pharisees criticized you, Jesus, for eating with sinners and tax collectors. You had just called Levi from his collection stall and he was entertaining his counterparts, people the Pharisees shunned. I can’t help wondering, then, why the Pharisees were there.
Are there people with whom I refuse to associate? Is it because I am afraid they will rub off on me? I don’t think so. Am I, rather, afraid that others will criticize me, as they did you? Should I not be happy when I am treated as you were? You were mocked, scourged and spat upon – for my sins. How can I demand any other treatment? Please, Lord, heal me of “human respect.” I give you thanks that you are calling me to repentance, that you sit with me. You not only eat with me; you give yourself to me in the Eucharist. I will not be ashamed to be with anyone, for that would mean being ashamed of you.