That is why there are no bad people - Mark 2: 13-17
“Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him, and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mk 2:13-17)
One of the basic characteristics of Jesus is that he does not divide people into good and bad. He teaches us that we can never be good if we do not give up dividing people into these two categories. The internal transformation that we all need must begin by stopping such dividing people. As long as we divide people into good and bad, we are incapable of love. For love does not know these two categories of people. Love always wants to help. And love "feels better" when it can help someone. then Love is "at home". And no one needs help as much as someone who is lost and therefore behaves strange or badly. There are no good and bad people. They are only sick (with sin) and healthy.
Our tendency to criticize and condemn others knows no bounds. Even for the Lord Jesus people had much to complain about. "Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" - we heard in Gospel. Let us be clear: probably not all sinners with whom the Lord Jesus sat at the same table converted and started a new life. But some people did convert. It gave everyone a chance to convert. And secondly: were those who criticized the Lord Jesus for not avoiding sinners were less sinners? They were certainly hypocritical people who, by condemning others, built a good opinion of themselves.
Today we hear similar voices: why are those who go to church often worse than those who do not? Well, I would answer this question in several points:
1) Only God knows who of us is better and who is worse.
2) It is certainly possible to go to church without worrying about God's commandments, but it is unlikely that someone like that would become better if they stopped going to church.
3) Many Catholics know from their own experience that prayer, Holy Mass every Sunday, and receiving the sacraments help them immensely in staying faithful to God's commandments.
4) Critical statements about entire groups of people, to which one does not belong, does not serve any good, but rather contributes to the fact that people forming one society begin to divide into hostile tribes.
5) We most often condemn others out of a positive opinion of ourselves, and a little self-criticism is enough for us to conclude that this is ordinary hypocrisy.
But let us go back to this accusation against the Lord Jesus: why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Why does He invite so many egoists, sassy, morally twisted, spiritually banal people to the Sunday Mass? Let us answer this question with the words of Jesus from today's Gospel: " Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
Let us add one more sentence to these words of the Lord Jesus: if you are spiritually ill and consider yourself healthy, your illness is truly dangerous!
Until Tomorrow
fr. george