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command
1.
Jesus wants all people to come to Him. He says “Come to me, all you”(emphasis added).
That includes—especially includes—those in sin. He really wants relationship with them (who are actually all of us).
2. We ought not
interfere with that by being judgmental or condescending. Those attitudes repel
folks Jesus wants to attract. Further, think how uncomfortable and frustrated
that must make the Holy Spirit who is, after all, inside us at all times.
3. By the same
token, the psalm makes it clear that we can come to God, take refuge in Him,
when others act badly towards us. Indeed, Jesus expressly makes that invitation
when He says “Come to me, all you.”
4. Today’s readings
expand on a theme in the readings from yesterday
and the day before that: Jesus does not want things to come between Him
and us.
Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we
live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then,
whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For this is why Christ died and
came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why
then do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you look down on your
brother or sister? For we shall
all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written: As I live,
says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give
praise to God. So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.
The
LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s
refuge; of whom should I be afraid?
One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, that I may gaze on
the loveliness of the LORD and contemplate his temple.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of
the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
Come to me, all you who labor
and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
The tax
collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to
complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not
leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds
it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and,
upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to
them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one
sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of
repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing
one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she
finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and
neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that
I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
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