Publicans, prostitutes, and lepers--swindlers, tempters, and
the disease ridden. These were the
riffraff with whom Jesus spent time.
The refined, educated people were indignant, even
outraged. They demanded that the rabbi
explain himself.
But Jesus never answers to others. He made them answer to
him. He told them to go back to school
and learn their scripture again. He quoted Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy,
not sacrifice. (Hosea
6:6).
Mercy is more important than any
religious trappings we might display.
How well we understand God depends on how kind we are to
those who don’t deserve it.
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