As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." -Matthew 9:9-13

Which crowd do you run with most of the time? It’s no secret that people tend to share the same values as the people they associate with. As human beings, we will tend to reflect, and even adopt, the beliefs, behaviors, and styles of the people that we spend most of our time with.
Think about this for a moment. How true has it been in your life? Think back to when you were a child. Did you ever befriend someone who was popular hoping that it would make you popular, too? Did you ever play a sport? When you were on the junior varsity team, did you hang around the kids who had made varsity hoping to pick up some of their skills and abilities? At your job, have you ever felt pressure to shift your values or beliefs in order to get the job done?

Think now about the people over the course of your life with whom you chose not to associate. Which social circles did you avoid? When you were a teenager was there a “crowd” that your parents warned you about. Did your mom or dad ever wonder about someone being a “bad influence” on you? Were there people over the years who seemed so different from you that you weren’t sure how to relate to them? What did you do when you encountered them? Did you start a conversation to learn more about one another? Did you avoid them altogether?

Sometimes, when we experience people who are different from ourselves, we retreat. We return to the circles of people where we feel most comfortable, and oftentimes we stay there. As a result, these people begin to shape who we are, who we become, and who the world understands us to be.

If you understand this, then you can understand the position that the Pharisees find themselves in. They wander past a crowd of people who have bad reputations. There are tax collectors who take money from people and are dishonest in what they do. Along with them are sinners of every variety. When the Pharisees wander by, this crowd is doing what they do best: causing a scene. They’re eating and drinking, and partying. They’re using all kinds of foul language, and whooping it up. To borrow a word from St. Paul that I’ve grown fond of in recent weeks: they’re doing quite a bit of “carousing”.

It’s hard not to notice, in the middle of this scene, who’s sitting with them, joining in the festivities. Jesus and his disciples are there at the party and this really bothers the Pharisees. You can guess what they might be thinking:

“The nerve of this guy? How can he talk to us about God and the Bible and goodness and truth, and faith? Who does he think he is? How can he claim to be sent from God if this is where he’s spending his time? Look at him sitting there with tax collectors, and prostitutes, and homeless beggars, and criminals!”

You can hear the conclusion they draw even before they say it:

“If he enjoys hanging around in that crowd, then he must be one of them, too!"

It bothers them. By eating with these people, Jesus is sending a clear message that he doesn’t see things the way the Pharisees do. It might bother us, too. In many ways Jesus’ life, and the way he lives it, are a signal that he doesn’t see the world the way we do, either.

Amazingly, Jesus doesn’t seem too worried about the reputations of the people at the party that night rubbing off on him. He doesn’t avoid the criminals, the homeless, the prostitutes, the sick, or the tax collectors. In fact, he goes out of his way not to avoid them. Jesus isn’t worried about what the neighbors will think of him, or what people might say about him.

Jesus, when it comes down to it, meets the people of the world with acceptance. He’s constantly loving the people the world says are unlovable and accepting the people who the world might say are the most unacceptable. He makes it clear that he hasn’t come to call the ones who have made the team, or the ones on the honor roll, or the members of the “in” crowd. Instead, he’s come to call the sinners. In the process, he doesn’t seem overly concerned with figuring out whether they’re worth it, or not.

Jesus is all about inviting everyone: sinners, outcasts, the forgotten, the ones the world has written off completely. He offers each of them his time, his love, and his acceptance before he takes the time to figure out who their friends are, what their GPA might be, or how much money they make. When Jesus stops at Matthew’s tax booth and says “Follow me” he’s reminding us all that there is more than enough room in the “Jesus” crowd for everyone. The high-achiever and the perpetual failure, the captain of the team and the water-boy, the prom queen and the girl who’s never been asked out can all find a place at the table Jesus has set. There’s also a place there for you, and for me.

Which crowd have you been spending most of your time with lately? The crowd that gathers to enjoy this life that God has blessed, no matter how imperfect it is most of the time? Or the crowd that stands on the outside and complains about how anyone could celebrate in a world like ours? Which crowd have you been hanging out with these days? The crowd that loves to spend most of their time pointing out what’s wrong with the rest of the world , or the crowd that’s been trying to reach out to the world? Which flock do you find yourself in?

Jesus embraced people for who they were, then he invited them into the life God gave him to share. “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” He tells the Pharisees. In Jesus, no matter who you are or which crowd you spend most of your time with, Jesus offers you his mercy. Most of the time, it’s all he wants to do. He is so set on this that in the end, when a sacrifice is made, it is his sacrifice. His life in place of the tax collector, the prostitute, the perpetual failure, the criminal…and you. With his death he sacrifices it all so that you and I won’t have to. With the new life God gives him, he lives on to continue to invite us all into relationship with him at a table of forgiveness where all are welcome.