Full Communion

Gospel: Mark 2: 13-17

The Pharisees are shocked to see Jesus eating with horrid sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and many others.  They are aware of what sharing a meal, eating at table means: communion with another person.  How can a righteous person allow for such a thing!  It is an utter scandal to the Pharisees who are as conscious of ritual purity as priests and Levites of the Temple.  The very idea of eating with sinners was scandalous and unthinkable.  

But Jesus will eat with the Pharisees as well, another table filled with sinners, though they would not think so.  Or, they may see themselves as sinners, but not like those sinners.  They are worse than we are.  Such is our own thinking as we come up with various ways to exclude other people from the communion table while finding reasons to justify our own presence and participation at communion.  We claim all are welcome, as long as all means me and not thee.

Jesus ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, the one who would deny him thrice, the one who would betray him, those who would abandon him, you, and me.  Jesus asserts his communion with the entire human race, with every human person.  He excludes no one.  If this is the posture and action of Jesus, it must be ours as well.  Everyone needs feeding.  Everyone needs communion with the divine.  We are that communion and presence left in the world.  We must provide it to all in need.