"While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:10-13)
It seems Jesus was always fighting to bring outsiders inside the Kingdom of God, while his opponents were busy trying to keep people out. Jesus was constantly including those who the authorities thought were un-savable, unworthy, unlovable.
Jesus says a lot when he says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." It's actually a quote from Hosea 6.6. I think what Jesus means is that people are more important than the rules. Relationships are more important than rules. People matter to God and Jesus (the real presence of God in the flesh) was constantly stepping across the standard dividing lines of society to extend God's love and grace to all.
How about us? Are we drawing lines that exclude others from God's love and grace? Do we reject those who are different than us? Or are we freely inviting all into the joy, love, and forgiveness of God's Kingdom?
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