Mercy, not sacrifice

I've said many times that it will be the weirdos and pariahs who will save us from ourselves. The people that proper society would rather do without are the very people that they need.

It's one thing to look at the people Jesus embraced; it's quite another thing to look at the nature of that embracing.

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. (Matthew 9:10)

Jesus not only hung around with rejects. He became one with them in an act of redemptive reclining. That is what's called mercy-- showing love with those everyone else condemned. Being in solidarity with the ones everyone else wanted to string up. If I'm not mistaken, this is also called shalom-- much more than just the absence of war but more the presence of healing, wholeness, and integration.

The Pharisees weren't willing to do this. They had reputations to uphold and laws to follow. Eat with a tax collector? Forget it! There was too much at stake.

Today, many churches feed and clothe the hungry and the homeless, and throw money at charities. That's well and good and many people are given a leg up. But Jesus didn't give people a leg up, nor did he give them a handout. He became one with them and proclaimed that to be the Kingdom of God. That goes far beyond embrace. It was an intimate sharing of life together.

Jesus quoted Hosea (I desire mercy, and not sacrifice) as a parody on what the Pharisees were doing. They thought that by their propriety they were returning to God. But Jesus, in the spirit of Hosea, reminded the Pharisees that mercy rules the day.

What are some ways we Christians can share life and intimate fellowship with those whose company is undesireable? How can we integrate the weirdos and the pariahs into the mainstream, with the understanding that we need them just as much as they need us?