Awakenings

by Father Thomas Keating

Events in Jesus' Ministry

Chapter 16

The Party in Matthew's House

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. 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."
(Matt. 9: 9-13)

    The Gospel presents various responses to the coming of the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus Christ. This text provides another interesting response. Jesus was walking along and saw a man named Matthew at his post where the taxes were collected. Most of these tax collectors in those days were extortioners, and without accusing the eminent evangelist of having been a former crook, the chances are good that he was one. At least, he was fond of handling money, a significant problem for anyone's spiritual life.

    Matthew upon being invited to be a disciple immediately got up and followed Jesus. Notice the reversal of social expectations. The scribes and Pharisees were hanging back and trying to find ways of tripping up Jesus in speech. Matthew responded instantly to the call and seems to be the only disciple who did. The others all spent time with Jesus before they finally made the commitment.

    Matthew was so happy about his conversion that he threw a party in his house and invited all his disreputable friends. So we read, "Many tax collectors and those known as sinners came to join Jesus and his disciples at dinner." This is a strange crowd for the son of God to be joining, but I guess the judgment depends on your attitude and where you are coming from. By sinners are probably meant the local male and female prostitutes. Imagine going into a fast-food place and finding Jesus sitting at a table in the back surrounded by the local prostitutes, gamblers, junkies, bums and extortioners.

    Jesus seems to be quite at home in the house of Matthew, more so than in the house of the Pharisee. Some of the Pharisees observed that Jesus and his disciples were having a bash and started to complain: "What reason can the teacher have for eating with these crooks and others who disregard the Law?"

    Jesus overheard these remarks. He made this statement: "People who are in good health do not need a doctor. Sick people do. Go and learn the meaning of the words: "It is mercy I desire and not sacrifice!"'

    Sacrifice refers to the ritual oblations prescribed by the Law through which one hoped to atone for one's sins. But it is mercy that God is most interested in, according to Jesus, not rituals. He does not mean to infer that sacred rites have no value at all, but to use them as a standard to judge other people is not the right use of them. We never know as we look at certain people, and wonder about how they are earning a living, whether in a few seconds they may be completely changed.

    When Jesus said, "I've come to call not the self righteous, but sinners," this was big news. This statement warns those who pursue the spiritual journey to be aware of the serious disease that afflicts them. Contemplative prayer is a kind of antibiotic for this disease. Notice the heavy irony in Jesus' words. "I have come to call not the self righteous, but sinners." Everybody suffers from the disease of the human condition (original sin) and is therefore a sinner. It is just a matter of degree. People who think they are not sick, who regard themselves as righteous or God's greatest gifts to humanity, are the subject of Jesus' ironic statement: "People in good health do not need a doctor. Sick people do." To paraphrase: "If you are willing to recognize the disease of the false self, I am at your service."

    This juxtaposition of people who know they are sinners and those who do not know they are sinners though they are just as sick occurs in the parables. Take the prodigal son. As soon as the profligate comes home, he is treated to a celebration rather like the celebration that Jesus attended for Matthew. The sacrament of reconciliation is not only the confession of sins, but the celebration that our sins have been forgiven. It is the same kind of event that the prodigal son celebrated and that Matthew is celebrating in this text. Self righteous people can not understand how God can celebrate the return of profligates, crooks and extortionists just because they seem to have turned over a new leaf. The respectability that tends to cling to us when we lead a fairly good life hides our own tendency to prefer ourselves to the rights and needs of others.

    When the prodigal son comes home, there is a celebration. Then we hear about the dutiful son who always stayed home. He turns out to be a bigger sinner than his brother. He judges him harshly and then refuses to celebrate his recovery. He complains bitterly that his father never gave him even a goat to celebrate with his friends. Notice the envy and jealousy that he manifests. This dutiful son, although to all appearances well behaved, was still unredeemed.

    We too, like the elder son, may question why the prodigal was received with open arms and a celebration. The answer is because he needs it, not because he deserves it. The dutiful son is not able to understand the compassion of this father who obviously represents God. We do this all the time in our spiritual journey If we are left unconsoled for awhile, or if a little too much truth about ourselves comes up too fast, we back away instead of plunging into the infinite mercy of God. Obvious sinners seem to be in a better situation. When they hit bottom, where else can they go except into the mercy of God? We could go there without having to hit bottom if we recognized that we too are sinners in need of healing.

This chapter is taken from the book Awakenings by Fr. Thomas Keating. You can obtain a copy from the Bookstore.  See Awakenings