The Lord God looks at us with love, mercy, compassion, patience, and confidence. When we look at people, we see height, color, how they speak, behaviors, mannerisms, weaknesses, etc. Does God see our sinfulness? Yes. However, that is not the only factor that decides how He interacts with us. God sees beyond our weaknesses. Remember, the book of Genesis tells us that we are made in the image and likeness of God (Cf Gen 1:27). God would not abhor His image nor despise His likeness. Sinfulness is the shield between us and God. Our heavenly Father has the elixir to that, Jesus Christ, His beloved Son.
El-Roi (The God who sees)
When the Gospel today says that “many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples” (Matt 9:10), it is an invitation to see how God sees us. He wants us to be gathered around His heavenly table. At a point during the Mass, the priest declares, “Happy are those called to the supper of the Lamb” (Cf Rev 19:9). This is the mission of Christ. He gathers. And He declares that whoever does not gather with Him scatters (Cf Matt 12:30).
Further, when Jesus saw Matthew at the custom’s post, He saw a son in need of redemption. When the Pharisees saw “sinner-Matthew and others”, they saw sinners with no hope of redemption heading to damnation. But God sees differently. One of the names of God is “El-Roi” which means “the God who sees me” (Cf. Gen 16:13ff). In Luke 13:12 we read, “When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” In the same way, God is always on the look to see what we need.
Seeing the Way God Sees
The Pharisees, to some degree, represent all of us. By nature, we are not gifted with seeing beyond the physical. We “judge” by our sensory experiences. We do not have the power to change anyone. And I think this is where many of us get frustrated. We love, care, admonish, sacrifice, accompany, among other things. And yet, it seems we are not getting the desired results.
It is important to be aware of our limitations as humans. Think about this for a moment: human weakness is not just about offending God. It is also about the inability to change a sinner to become righteous. This is why we need the Savior! It is not enough to strive very hard to be successful in life. Other people’s lack of success also points to my lack of completeness. This is why we need the One who sees beyond our limitations.
I might desire to carry every wounded comrade on my shoulder; share my plate of a meal with the hungry; open my doors to the homeless; fight to defend the defenseless. Yet, sooner than later, I will discover my breaking point, that I am not able to redeem all the wounded. This is why we need Christ, the redeemer, the wounded healer! We not only need Jesus for our salvation, but we also need Him for our corporate salvation. This is why we need the Church — “a field hospital” with Jesus as the physician!
[Readings: Gn 23:1-4, 19; Ps 24:1-8, 62-67; 106:1b-2, 3-4a, 4b-5; Mt 9:9-13]
Oddly, this is my interpretation of the Gospel, but somehow it’s hard for me to see the local parish church as Jesus inviting sinners to dine with them. Unless we see ourselves as sinners too. Yet our gathering – the Mass – is very exclusive. When do you see parishioner bring the homeless, the “unrighteous” to our gathering. Somehow, we have become “pharisaic” in the sense that our gatherings socially excludes people who are not ‘like us’. Just a thought. Would like to see our gatherings more inclusive, that is some arrangement made for inviting, welcoming, ‘sinners’.
Thank you Donald for your comment. You are right in your observation. We need to do more in our local parishes. It is easy to “default” into “church-goer” mentality leaving out evangelization– an important component of the Mass. However, personally, I do not think the Mass is “exclusive”. Remember at some point during the Mass the priest says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” First, the text invites everyone to “behold the Lamb.” Primary duty of this Lamb is not to take away the sins of a few or some privileged ones, but the sins of the world. Now, who are those “called to the supper of the Lamb”? The ones who heed the call. Remember in the Gospel of John 1:11-12 the Scripture makes clear that many “rejected” Christ but to those who received Him, He gives power to become children of God. These and many more are the Truth articulated at Mass. The Mass is meant to be an experience of spiritual transformation not a social gathering. When a person goes to Mass without the willingness to be changed by Christ, he/she actually “excludes” himself/herself. Christ rejects and excludes no one. We are the ones who tend to reject Him and exclude ourselves.
Are you related to Martin Amah?