Lent
March 5, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

 So he told them this parable: [The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother] –Luke 15:1-2

Who are the equivalent of the tax-collectors and sinners today? Who is it with whom we do not want to eat? John Dominic Crossan says that the origins of blood sacrifice include the practice of sharing meals together. To eat together is a form of reconciliation. Makes sense. We seem to be at our holiest when we have nothing left but the bread of life.

So who are the ones we do not wish to eat with? It might be easier to describe who we like to eat with. I like to eat with friends who understand me and accept me as I am. I hope that I am gracious enough to reciprocate this attitude. I like to eat with people who enjoy a good laugh as well as those willing to delve into the richer meanings of life. I like to eat with people whom I love in family, in fidelity and in faith.

How do we reconcile our own desired eating companion choices with the people God sends our way who may not fit nicely at our dinner table? It is so easy; it is hard. Christ calls us to be actively engaged in making everyone a part of our family and faith whether they consider themselves to be thus or not. I have discovered when forced to encounter persons with whom I am not comfortable,  I reconnect with my mother’s gift of hospitality by welcoming all to my table and deal with the discomfort. I soon discover that I can at least begin to see the Christ in each of them. That is the first step. God will walk with us as we journey deeper into loving like Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, clean my filters as I try to see more clearly your image in each and every person on this earth. When I an stuck in my prejudices, let your love be my source of welcoming the other. Amen.

*The Challenge of Jesus, study book and DVD see at http://faithandreason.org/index.php/store/product/the-challenge-of-jesus

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.