THIS MAN, TOO, IS A SON OF ABRAHAM
Luke 17, 19 and 5
They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
They were mandated, either by custom or law, to keep their distance from the general population as they may be contagious. If, however, they were fully healed, they must present themselves to the local priest to be certified healed.
These outcasts led barren lives as they could not work and they were fully dependent on the charity of others.
While other outcasts may be better off, it must still be difficult to endure society’s rejection and scorn, and the isolation that society imposes.
Tax collectors were seen as colluding with the Roman authorities and often they themselves abuse their position to gouge those under their jurisdiction. Prostitutes were despised for living off immoral activities, although often their clientele do not suffer similar scorn. These were deemed morally compromised people and the religious community would usually avoid them.
Common folk certainly did not experience such stigma but they would unlikely be invited to move around with the elites—those with impeccable pedigree, the rich and powerful, as well as the religious leaders. In our context, think of hawkers and foreign workers, people working in markets, manual labourers, those involved in “dubious” establishments like casinos, pubs,
It would be wrong to say that Jesus discriminated against the elites; certainly among his followers were people like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. We were also told of an incident where he had dinner at the home of Simon the Pharisee.
But one cannot escape the fact that not only did he surround himself with fishermen, tax collectors and others in the lower ranks of society, his teachings were mostly addressed to the general public and he spent most of his time with them.
The religious elite cared about appearances; Jesus cared about people. Their faith was wrapped up in the rituals of the Temple and their strict adherence to the demands of the Law; the Gospels bear witness to a Jesus who moved freely with the common folk and those who were rejected by society, and spent much time with them rather than in the Temple and in religious debates with rabbis.
He had compassion on “the crowd” and responded to their needs by teaching them, healing them, casting out demons and assuring them that God’s grace is available to them. He cared about what they genuinely needed from him, whether it be freedom from the terrible scourge of leprosy, affirmation of his spiritual renewal, or acceptance that they too are human beings who may sit at the table with him. Indeed, stripped of the pretensions of society, these are the people who saw clearly who Jesus was, and were drawn to him.
As people who have come to Jesus without pretensions and found forgiveness, we too must care about people, not appearances; relationships, not religion; making sure that the witness of our lives and our church express the spirituality of Jesus and not the Pharisees and the religious elite.
“Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”
“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”