You don’t need to be a computer geek to answer today’s question. But it would be helpful if you know something about word processing on a computer. So, first of all, how many of you can type a letter on a computer? Do any of you use a typewriter, you know, that old machine where the input and output are done at the same time? Ok, so my real question is: On a computer, or even a typewriter, what do you mean by the term: “justification?” Yes, it relates to how the sentences are lined up.
With left justification, every line begins on the left side of the page. With right justification, the lines appear to be staggered, with the right-end of the line touching the right margin of the page rather than the left margin. And if you’re using a computer, even an old IBM Selectric, you can set it for “full justification” where the line is spread out and it goes all the way from the left margin to the right margin. So, “justification” refers to how sentences are aligned on the page, how they are correctly lined up the way you want them. And basically, that’s what we mean when we speak of “justification” and God. “Justification” means we are aligned with God, lined up with God, just as God intends us to be.
In the conclusion for today’s reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans we heard how “ … [Jesus] was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification.” In other words, he was raised so that we could be made “right” with God, be aligned with God as God intends us to be. We also heard how Abraham “… did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was strengthened by faith and gave glory to God and was fully convinced that what [God] had promised he was also able to do. That is why it was credited to [Abraham] as righteousness.”
“Righteousness,” another word for “justification,” for being right with God, being in the condition which God desires us to be, the status in which God has made us to be – aligned with him. All of us hope to be “justified,” to be “righteous” with God. At the same time, each one of us does not want to be “self-righteous,” to appear to be aligned with God externally, but not internally. We do not want to appear to be pious by our outward actions while on the inside we remain hard of heart. We are to avoid external ritual in the form of sacrifices while bearing a stony heart.
In our first reading from the Book of the Prophet Hosea we heard God speak an admonition to the Israelites: “Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away. … for it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than [burnt offerings.]”
In today’s Gospel reading, we heard how Matthew, a despised tax collector for the Roman authority, was called by Jesus. We heard how Jesus went to Matthew’s home and there Jesus sat down to eat with Matthew and other so-called “sinners.” We heard Jesus’ response to his critics when he said to them: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Jesus said he came to call not the righteous, not those who are already aligned with God, but rather he came to call sinners, the sick who are in need of him. And what about us? What about you and me? Did Jesus come to call us? Are we, too, sinners? Consider for a moment, what the Israelites, and Jesus, meant by sin, and sinners. The Jewish concept of sin, we are told, means “to miss the mark.” It’s like an archer who aims at a target but misses the bull’s eye. A sinner is someone who fails to reach the target toward which the arrow was aimed. A sinner is someone who falls short of one’s goal. That includes me. It may also include you.
When we think of sin, we usually think of the “biggies, like murder or killing someone. And yes, taking the life of another person is very much a “biggie.” It’s possibly the biggest of all sins. Yet, what about taking away one’s spiritual life or emotional life? Am I also a sinner when I take away a person’s life through gossip, rumors and innuendos? Is it not a sin to engage in physical abuse, from torture through striking another person? Is it acceptable to participate in verbal or emotional abuse of another adult or of a child, killing a person’s spiritual and emotional life but leaving the wounded one unharmed physically?
And what about “self-abuse?” Can it be sinful to overindulge in alcohol? To take drugs? Or what about smoking, when you know it can lead to cancer, heart attack and stroke? Or what about taking away the family life of others? Is it sinful to enforce a policy which divides families, which can lead to the death of family relationships? Is it sinful to harm the life of society, itself, through my actions, or inactions, when it comes to pollution of the planet or the death of its living resources?
Again: “What is a sin?” A sin is missing the mark, falling short of the goal intended by God. It is living a life not aligned with what God has desired for me. And what does God desire for me?
Recall the words of the prophet Hosea who spoke on behalf of God: “ … it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than [burnt offerings.]” And Jesus, himself, responded: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Love and mercy. Unconditional Love, for that is what mercy really means: to love without the love needing to be earned. Mercy is giving love even if the recipient does not deserve it. Even when we do not deserve it. Yes, Jesus the Christ calls each one of us. In one way or another each one of us is a sinner. Each one of us seeks the love and mercy of God. Each one of us is called to give our love and mercy to all those we encounter on our journey in life, our journey to become aligned with God, our journey to life everlasting.
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time; June 8, 2008
Hos 6:3-6; Rom 4:18-25; Mt 9:9-13