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

According to the legends, before Siddhartha became Buddha, he lived a secluded but lavish life within the royal court. His family made sure he lacked nothing and it was their hope that all the luxury and stability of a comfortable life would keep him spiritually shackled within the boundaries of the palace. Obviously, they underestimated Siddhartha’s desire for freedom and knowledge of the Truth. He wanted to know what was held from him beyond the gates of his royal abode. One day he sneaked out and discovered a world of pain and suffering. He saw lepers covered with sores from head to toe, starving families, abandoned children, pain and death lurking at every corner. Understandably, he was overwhelmed by everything he saw. His eyes were opened and he could not return to his previous life. Besides his soul was moved to compassion. He had to discover why such painful suffering existed. He decided to find the cure for it. He rejected the traditional answer to this question because it did not bring healing. In Buddha’s time, the reverent argument was that these people were paying for the sins they committed in their previous existence. He renounced his luxurious existence and decided to live in the midst of the common people. He wanted to be close to their pain and suffering in order to discover the answer. This is how Siddhartha was transformed into Buddha.

I share this story not as an expert in Buddhism. I have my plate full with the mysteries of the Christian faith so that I hardly have time to delve deep into other religions. I learned about Buddha from a very young age. I grew up in a country where the majority were nominal Buddhists or atheists or maybe both. The story of Buddha left a mark in my life. It is the kind of story one finds in different forms in almost all the major religions. A sheltered and privileged individual leaves his secure life behind to live among those whom society has labeled as “sinners” or “outcasts”. They did not do it to do charitable work. They did it in search of answers for deep spiritual questions. In our Christian tradition, we have ample examples of saints who have done this. Unfortunately, we tend to put them on pedestals and pretend that they were some sort of super holy people who were able to fulfill amazing things beyond the capacity of your everyday person. This piety is a facade to mask a fear. We are afraid that we might need to follow in their footsteps to achieve a deeper understanding of our faith. We want our spirituality to be comfortable. The Pharisees also liked things to be comfortable. This is why they confronted Jesus who was messing up everything.

It would be a mistake to think of the Pharisees as people who were void of sympathy or compassion. The Pharisees were known for their charitable works. According to Jesus, they even made a show of it. Jesus was doing something different which disturbed them. In most charitable works then and now, there exists a separation or a divide which still prevails between the giver and the one who receives. Jesus went above and beyond what was considered to be charitable works. He conquered the artificial divide between the “righteous” and the “sinners”. The Pharisees found it disturbing that Jesus dined with the “sinners”.

In Jesus’ time, sharing a meal was an intimate affair which lasted for days. Back then, no one went to a person’s house for a meal for a couple of hours. In fact, it was considered rude to stay for a short time. The host usually was prepared to entertain the guests until they were ready to leave. Consequently people only dined with those with whom they wanted to associate with for days on end. For the Pharisees, these “sinners” had nothing noteworthy to offer to the righteous. Besides, it was an abomination for someone like Jesus to be unequally yoked with these people. Their arguments are still used today perhaps in more sophisticated ways. Jesus answered them that the Son of Man came to seek those who needed healing. The gospel is not a message of condemnation but healing; of course, no one in their right mind would disagree with this. However, the problem lies in how we go about this. There are some who believe that the way to healing is by first reminding people of their condemnation. This is not our Lord’s way. He chose to dine with them instead.

As Christians, we believe that Jesus is God Incarnate. Buddha sought answers but we are convinced that Jesus is the Christ which means He is the universal answer to the deep questions of faith which humanity harbors. This God Incarnate spent His time among those whom society considered to be “sinners”. He welcomed them and loved them. He never once called them “sinners”. It was the religious authorities and those who believed themselves to be righteous who did this. However, Jesus did recognize sin in them but the difference was that He recognized them in order to heal and not condemn.

Some people say that we do not preach enough about sin and hell in the Anglican tradition. Maybe this is true but I think there is enough of this going around making it unnecessary for us to join in the chorus. There is much condemnation spouted out in different forms in both religious and non-religious circles. Everyone wants to point out the problems but few are willing to be agents of healing. Jesus recognized the problems in order to heal. The Pharisees recognized sinners to separate and isolate themselves from them. Jesus the God Incarnate chose to dine with people who were cast aside. This is not an incentive for us to do charity work; instead, He wants us to heal the divide separating us.

God wants to reconcile those who are separated. Therefore He is not actively present among the “righteous” who like to keep things as they are but He is among the so-called sinners. Obviously God is everywhere but in some places people are too busy doing their own thing to notice His presence. The Pharisees and the religious authorities of Jesus’ time were so absorbed in their religious duties that they failed to recognize the Christ. The ‘sinners” on the other hand could not afford to hide their sins anymore which put them in a good place to receive healing.

In the past, saints have to leave everything to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, abandoning their families and wealth to bring healing to the world. They lived in a different time where the social divide was such that people were completely isolated from each other. We live in a different world today. Modern society, despite its problems, has overcome some of the distance between people. I mean we can come in contact a great variety of people in many social places. We do not need to leave our neighborhood or country to meet someone who needs healing. They are present where we are. There is one only thing that is essential and we have to make effort to do it. We need to be available to the Holy Spirit. Being available means deciding to open oneself up to the possibility of being an agent of healing. We do not need special skills or training. We just need to be available. Jesus dined with the sinners. He did not lecture them but He just was with them. They did not belong to his social circle. They were tax collectors. They had a bad reputation and most likely they earned it. However, this did not hinder our Lord from being available to them.

In our ministry, even though we minister to homeless youth, we have created our own comfortable social bubble among the children. We tend to stick with the children and teens whom we like and have a strong affections for. However, the process of becoming an agent of healing requires us to step out of our comfortable circles and reach out to those whom we avoid sometimes. More often than not, the people who need healing can be quite difficult and frustrating. I can name a few we met this week but I am running out space here. I leave the story of Nelson for another time. However, one thing is for sure. When we choose to become agents of healing, we are always the first to be healed. This is why Buddha left everything behind so easily. He knew that his healing would be found in the answer behind all the pain and suffering in this world. In the same manner, Jesus invites to discover the healing for our souls which the gospel promises by becoming agents of healing ourselves.