Righteous

For whom did Jesus come?

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved." - Matthew 9:9-17

Sometimes I wonder.  Why did Jesus spend so much time talking with the Pharisees and Scribes, the ones people might consider the righteous?

If they were being hypocrites, preaching one thing and doing another, wouldn't they make a good target population for him to try to reach?

Here he is telling them they should focus more on what they see than what they were told.  They follow laws without understanding the purpose of them.

What good is it to fast, he says, if they should be celebrating?

Of course the ones who consider themselves righteous would never admit to being sinners, so Jesus has to make it look like he is not here for them.  But I think he is.

His tactics in dealing with them are different than with tax collectors, but they are just as much in need of hearing his words as they.

If we think we are righteous, chances are we may be fooling ourselves, thinking we are above the need for help, while failing to see the truth about ourselves.

A few of the so-called righteous turned toward Jesus, but most didn't.  Most wanted him gone.

Like old wineskins, the righteous burst when they come in contact with the new wine of the Gospel.

So, we should take a lesson from today's reading and rethink our righteousness.  Perhaps, we too are just sinners in need of Christ.

Aren't we all in the same boat?

More to come...