December 4, 2023 Second Day of Advent

Mark 2: 17

17 … ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

Jesus has just called Matthew to be a disciple. Matthew is a tax collector and so is considered a collaborator with the Romans.

After Jesus called Matthew, they had dinner with several of Matthew’s fellow tax collectors. The local Jewish scribes saw Jesus eating with these unsavory folk, they asked Jesus why he would eat with them when Jesus was claiming to be a prophet or rabbi.

Jesus words are good news. He eats with the fallen and calls them to be his disciples. As Jesus’ disciples, they learn how to live as God would have us live and be healed of our fallenness. These fallen folks need to be healed of their inability to understand the ways of God. Jesus sees the people who need a savior and simply asks them to follow him. So, should we. There are no prerequisites. There are no demands of repentance or belief in a series of religious tenets (like the sacrificial system in vogue at the time). Only to follow. That is what Jesus does for us as well. He simply asks us to follow.

What does this have to do with Advent? We await the one who comes to heal us and who requires no more than that we follow him into God’s Kingdom. That journey starts with the incarnation. The baby in Bethlehem. Come and follow him.

Prayer:

Dear, God. During the Advent season, I sense a call to follow you, to see my own infirmity and to seek your healing ways. Help me to hear your call to follow and to learn how to be your disciple.