followers complained to Jesus’ disciples, “How is it that you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” But Jesus spoke up,
“Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to a change of heart.”
Reflection:
“Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but the sick people
do.” Who was Jesus referring to? If the Pharisees thought
Jesus was referring to Levi and his crowd as the sick, perhaps
they were mistaken. I guess Jesus was ironically hinting at
the Pharisees themselves. For, who was sicker in the scene
but the Pharisees themselves? In fact, everyone around Jesus
was sick, only the degree differed; hence, everyone was
invited to a “change of heart.” If some of them were sick by
carrying the yoke, others were sick in imposing them; if some
were wounded by the wicked word, others were sick by
pronouncing them; if some went malnourished by the clenched
fist that refused to share what it had, others were sicker by
reasons of binging. Blessed are those who confess to being
sick and search out for the right doctor of souls, for they shall be
healed from inside out.
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