Thought of the Day !!

And as (Jesus) sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
Mark 2:15-17 (NRSV)

What if I were to say many of us might not like to have Jesus over as our dinner guest? Would you think me insane? Would you say, "Of course Jesus would be welcome in my house and at my table anytime!"

And hopefully that would be true. But the underlying assumption that lies beneath the question of whether or not Jesus is wanted at our table is that he wouldn't be alone. Wherever he went, he drew a crowd. And in this crowd could be found everything from high falootin' folks with PhD's to lepers who barely knew who Moses was. There would be politicians and widows; old men and children; honest dealers and thieves.

Can we believe it would be any different today? Doesn't Jesus still attract a whole host of folks including the ones who are sick and in need? The NLT translation uses these words to describe the Pharisees remarks about Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, "Why does he eat with such scum?" And if he were to come into your home, don't you think he would ask if they were welcome as well?

Would you say no to the Savior? Of course not. So what would you say to them if they showed up alone? Would we eat with, be considerate to, put up with, share part of our time with, even clean up after what the Pharisees deemed as "scum".

Do we really want Jesus coming over to dinner tonight?

In the love of Christ,
greg