I’m going to start with a quote from the Pharisees, and quite honestly, I could also end with the same quote, as well as use the same quote as the entire gospel reflection for today: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus Christ welcomes those that have done bad things and he eats with them. Why? To love them back into wellness and relationship with him. Why? A relationship with Jesus, in and through love, is the only way for “sinners” to get right. The gospel opens with “the tax collectors and sinners were ALL drawing near to listen to Jesus.” I wonder if all the tax collectors and sinners had like identifying t-shirts or something, “Got Taxes?” or “Keep Calm and Sin”, or did they look like those villains in the old movies with slimy slicked back hair and pencil-thin mustaches, or perhaps they looked just like you and me. The tax collectors and sinners were able to recognize something in Jesus that was life giving. The first step to their wellness was drawing near and listening. Our first step to conversion is also drawing near and listening.
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus uses a common scenario to demonstrate the relentless love of the Father. He asks, “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?” This always makes me chuckle because Jesus just did that thing where he includes the obvious right answer in the question itself (I do this often when I am trying to get people to agree with my opinion, just sayin’). The other funny thing is that in the Middle Eastern shepherd culture, the answer to this question is, “hell no!” They would never put the ninety-nine sheep at risk of wolves, or being without a shepherd for the one lost sheep, and they certainly would NOT have a party with all their friends and family when one silly lost sheep was found. This outrageous example is exactly what Jesus needed to get their attention. I can just picture all the tax collectors and sinners leaning in because this guy was talking crazy and they liked it. Suddenly their identifying t-shirts started saying things like, “Lost Sheep”, “The One”, “#leftthe99forme”, “Found”, “Chosen”, “I Repented”. Jesus takes the ordinary and adds the extraordinariness of the Father’s reckless love to teach us that we are his beloved ones and he will do anything to bring us into his fold. This makes the “religious” people crazy because it isn’t orderly, nor does it follow protocol. It is wild and whimsical and unpredictable.
Guess what? God’s love is wild and whimsical and unpredictable. He is constantly going outside the box to get our attention, to draw us near so that we can listen to that still small voice that tells us, “You’re the one that I have come after, and YOU are my favorite.” He lifts us up onto His shoulders and He carries us to the banquet that He has been preparing for us because our t-shirt now says, “I’m His Favorite”. “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them”, and it is well with my soul.
Reading 1 PHIL 3:3-8A
Brothers and sisters:
We are the circumcision,
we who worship through the Spirit of God,
who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,
although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.
If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I.
Circumcised on the eighth day,
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage,
in observance of the law a Pharisee,
in zeal I persecuted the Church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.
But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
We are the circumcision,
we who worship through the Spirit of God,
who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,
although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.
If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I.
Circumcised on the eighth day,
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage,
in observance of the law a Pharisee,
in zeal I persecuted the Church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.
But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Responsorial Psalm PS 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (3b) Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia MT 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 15:1-10
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.
"Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.'
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents."
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.
"Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.'
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents."
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