While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." (Mt 9:9-13)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070425.cfm
In a world where mercy and compassion are ridiculed and cruelty is being celebrated, that Jesus sits at table with those everyone else would reject calls us to accountability. The Declaration of Independence (1776) makes the daring statement that all men (and women) “are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” As the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor proudly proclaims: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Perhaps, we’ve lost something.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Friday, Week XIII, Ordinary Time, Independence Day, July 4
