The disease of pride
I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners. (Matthew 9,13)
As Jesus was walking on, he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’ (Matthew 9,9-13)
Jesus chooses to eat with sinners and those considered not reputable which many find scandalous. But the only ones to be scandalised are those who believe they are immune from sin, which leaves one wondering, why they can’t see their own faults. Indeed, this happens when people do not know the extent of their own pride. Yet, Jesus' answer is clear and decisive: He is a doctor, therefore He needs to be with the sick. And you, how much do you think you need the heavenly doctor? Consider how long it is since you last confessed?
