Excerpt from Matthew9:9-13, 18-26

"Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."

Reflection by Christina Villa

The woman on the phone asked me, "Are you saved?"  She read something I'd written and determined from it that I probably was not.  So she started talking to me about Jesus, about what he'd done for me and what I owed him. 

Listening to her was like being interrogated by a bill collector.  "Well, just when WILL you be able to remit the full amount?"

I will never be able to remit the full amount, and neither will she.  But we both keep trying, and when we fail, God grants us mercy.  If we take God's forgiveness to heart, sometimes it really works and lets us skip finding fault with others and looking for someone to blame.  Instead, we can follow God's example and give people a break. 

Don't point fingers and place blame; don't offer that sacrifice to God.  Jesus came "to call not the righteous but sinners."  I do not think God is up in Heaven sending down confidential messages to the righteous about the sinners in their midst, or advising them to call people up and ask if they're saved.  God is much too busy showing mercy for the sins, failures, lapses, transgressions—whatever you want to call them—of absolutely everyone.     

Prayer

God, thank you for the eternal and infinite mercy you show us all.  Amen.

About the Author Christina Villa is on the staff of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio.

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