PHOTO: MARY VAN BALEN
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. he said to him, “follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, ad a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. Luke 5, 27-29
Yesterday’s reading spoke of fasting. Today’s gospel tells of the tax collector, Levi, leaving everything behind to respond to Jesus’ call, and the first thing Levi did was throw a party and invite all his friends to meet and hear Jesus. To the Pharisee’s consternation, Jesus attended. I imagine he enjoyed himself. He was not one to avoid celebrations. As recounted in Scripture, his public ministry began with a miracle providing wine when the bridal couple’s store was running low.
The image that comes alive in my mind as I read this gospel is that of Jesus sitting with what we might call “riff-raff.” Tax collectors often came from questionable populations because no self-respecting Jew would work for the occupying Romans. Who were Levi’s friends? What did they do for a living? According the the Pharisees who happened by, the group was made up of sinners.
I picture a few well-dressed, proper religious leaders, uncomfortable with their proximity to the unclean and undesirable, thinking they had Jesus bested this time. What would a true teacher or rabbi be doing eating in such a place where dietary purity laws were surely ignored?
As stiff and self-righteous as they were, Jesus, I think, would be relaxed, smiling, and enjoying the meal and conversation which he would steer artfully into a discussion of his passion: the kingdom of God, present and available to all.
Jesus loved people and he loved the world. He ate and drank and enjoyed the wonder of creation. Lenten fasting is not meant to be a sign of disdain for the fruits of the earth. It provides us with a time to reflect on proper use and enjoyment of what God has given.
We can look to material things, good in themselves, to fill us up. We can indulge to excess, mindlessly consuming food and everything else. Or, we can enter fully into life and its goodness, finding in it a way to encounter the One Who Created All. The variety of people who attended Levi’s banquet enjoyed food and drink, but they did not come to be gluttonous. They came to share a meal with an amazing teacher who changed the heart of their friend. They came to meet Jesus and listen to what he had to say.
The sinners’ hearts were likely more open to receive than those of the judgmental Pharisees.
© 2010 Mary van Balen
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