Reflection

There are people who have to watch what they eat. Whenever friends invite me to eat out with them and ask what kind of food I like to eat, I always say, “I like seefood. What I see, I eat.” That means if you have sushi or steak, adobo over rice or pasta on the table, I will eat them. Others don’t only have problems with what kind of food they eat but whom they will be eating with.

In my homily last Sunday, I mentioned that one of the things we find Jesus doing many times was eating meals with people. In a way, we can say Jesus loved to eat. But he did so not just for the sake of eating but to convey His message. At times he would teach His message by noticing those who were concerned with seating at places of honor. At other times, he would impart His message just by the kind of people He sat with at table to eat. The gospel today is one of those moments, where, those who Jesus sat with at meal were the message.

Who were at table with Jesus? We have Matthew, a tax collector whom he just called to be his follower. Other tax collectors shared their table. There might have been some handicapped and sick people there as well. There could have been some prostitutes present also. In short, Jesus was eating in the company of sinners. They were people who made a mess of their lives and others as well. In all probability, Jesus invited Himself to Matthew’s house just as He did Zaccheus. It was His choice to have table fellowship with this group of outcasts and unwanted people.

The lessons that need to be learned from Jesus in today’s gospel are twofold. First, the table manners of Jesus with regard to whom he eats with is a picture of what the kingdom of God is like and who will be in the guest list. It’s not like those exclusive places where if you don’t look right or are not a member, you cannot get in. At the table meal of Jesus, the only thing required is you are there at the table, share in the food he gives, and, become the food you eat at the table of Jesus. It is not a social event one goes to so to be seen, but a conversion moment so to be saved. Second, his table etiquette was one of welcome and inclusion, not exclusion. No one was turned away, not even sinners. “Those who are well do not need a physician,” Jesus said, “but the sick do.” By that, he meant that he did not come only for those who are already good, just and faithful, but for those who know they need God more than ever because, they are truly aware of their sinfulness.

Response

As you come to the table of the Eucharist today, pray over these words: “Indeed, justice is good. But mercy and compassion is better for it is the balm that heals the wound of the soul.”