Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
In conversation about spiritual matters, I asked two of my Veteran friends a trick question, "If you came to the Judgement Day and saw two groups of people, sinners and righteous, which would you join?"
Both men insisted they would join the righteous.
"But," I said, "the Lord has not come to save the righteous but sinners."
It was a trick question on several levels. First, the scriptures assure us, the Lord will be the shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. We don't get to choose at that point.
Secondly, it is confusing because this paradox is built into our Christian tradition. We tell our children not to associate with bad company. Saint Paul warns us, "Do not be led astray: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” In his letter to the Galatians, Paul suspects someone has been giving his people heretical ideas about the gospel. He warns them, "a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough." We have a similar saying, "One bad apples spoils the barrel."
There are some bad people out there and we should avoid their company, their entertainments and their vices. But, try as we will, we cannot seem to separate ourselves from them or them from ourselves. They infest our best schools and nicest neighborhoods. We find them among our children and loved ones. They might even be us. There is no inoculation from evil.
On the other hand, we want to draw bad people to us by our good example and save them from evil. Especially when they are members of our own family it is very hard to abandon or disown them.
Besides all that, we know the effort to separate ourselves from sinners often leads to worse behavior among us. We may become very judgmental and self-righteous. Having purged the house of one devil we leave ourselves open to seven demons even worse.
This is all very troubling.
Lent is when we purify the house of demons and old leaven; we start anew with fresh unleavened bread. The housekeeper who strives to keep an immaculate house but cannot discover any dust in any room will not do much of a job of it. If we want the Lord to save us we have to see our own sins. A little polite touch-up here and there -- what they used to call "a lick and a promise" -- won't do. Believe it or not, some people approach the Sacrament of Penance without any sense of guilt, shame or remorse. They confess nonsense and expect reassurances of salvation.
We might pray as the poet T.S. Eliot prayed,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood...
Suffer me not to be separated / And let my cry come unto Thee. (Ash Wednesday)
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.