The Call to Sinners

Gospel: Luke 5: 27-32

In today's Gospel portion Jesus states that he came to call sinners, not the self-righteous.  He states that sinners are the ones in need of a doctor while the self-righteous do not.  This exhortation takes place in the context of him calling the tax collector Levi to follow him.  There was no pre-condition or set of requirements Levi needed to accomplish before accepting the invitation.  Jesus simply invited him, and Levi left his taxing post to do so.  

The self-righteous Pharisees object.  Jesus had not called them to follow him.  Actually, he had, but they are unable to hear it, for the self-righteous cannot see themselves as sinners.  In their eyes they can do no wrong at all; they have nothing to change, nothing to reform, nothing to repent of.  They are incapable of self-reflection or examination of conscience.  They are only able to judge others.  For them, everyone else is the problem, everyone else has to change and conform to their way of thinking and doing.  

We began Lent by putting on ashes.  We did so in order to acknowledge our sins, to recognize our status at sinners in need of God's mercy.  Some, however, donned ashes as performative art, putting their pictures with ashes on social media for all to see.  To follow Jesus is to acknowledge our need for mercy, and then to be that mercy of God for others in the world, bringing healing to the wounded, liberation to the oppressed, and nourishment to the hungry in humble service. 

The Call of the Fast

Gospel: Matthew 9: 14-15

What are we about when we engage in fasting? For many it is a pursuit of the ego.  Some fast for some stoic pursuit of endurance or discipline.  Others do so in order to show others how much they can sacrifice.  Another set of people fast as a dieting exercise in order to lose weight and look better.  All of these may be perfectly fine in certain contexts, but as a religious practice they are inadequate to the task of authentic spiritual growth.

A fast is undertaken for the sake of others.  We give up things so that we might have more to give to others who are in need.  We who are privileged have way more than we need in terms of food, clothing, and other things.  We rob from the poor when we have these things in excess.  It is necessary for us to fast in order to provide for the poor, to identify with them in some small way, and to work toward lives of greater simplicity so that others may have what the need.  

Authentic religious fasting is directed to the care of others.  It is a work of mercy, not one of self-interest.  Fasting is about healing other people as well as the social stratum.  It is about liberating others from poverty, and ourselves from materialism and consumerism.  It is about nourishing others in body, mind, and spirit.  Let this Lent be for us about this intention, and to put away the motives of the ego that often accompany the fast. 

The Call of the Cross

Gospel: Luke 9: 22-25

In today's Gospel portion Jesus tells us two things. First, that he must suffer and be executed by the political and religious leaders of the day before then rising from the dead.  Second, that we who make the choice to follow Jesus must also take up our cross and suffer at the hands of political and religious leaders.  The same path that Jesus followed we too must traverse if we are to rise and find our way to the reign of God.

It is a religion of the evil one that makes Christianity into a religion of religious and political power that wields violence against untold numbers of people, that creates a false idol of a nation.  It is a sham Christianity that preaches comfort and ease, one where the episcopal mansion, the pastor's private jet, and the vast expanses of church campuses are the hallmarks of the new religion, coming at the expense of those we malign: the poor and marginalized, the immigrant, refugee, and migrant.  

The call of Jesus to follow him is a call to the cross, to a life of self-sacrifice lived in extending mercy and loving-kindness to others by going about healing, liberating, and nourishing people in direct encounter with them.  The religion of Jesus is to live among those in need, not to be in gated communities of privilege.  The call of Jesus leads us to Calvary, not to the spa.  It leads us to minister to the poor and needy, not serve as chaplains to empire and worldly power.