Matthew 9:9-13
Do you recall that place from your youth that offers insight into the human experience? It was the cafeteria in middle or high school, a hub of stress and judgment. Remember the mental challenges you faced? Who would sit with whom? Which table was yours? Would you join the jocks, nerds, artists, mean girls, or the “cool kids”?
What was it all about? Image, right? You had to consider how your choices would be perceived. “I can’t be seen with that person.” “What will others think of me?” Selecting the right table meant choosing how you wanted others to see you. Perhaps you’ve found yourself on both sides—once rejecting someone or a group, while at another time feeling unwanted.
God’s Word reveals the roots of pride and fear. Often, our excuses for not being more welcoming can be traced back to these feelings. You likely wouldn’t hesitate to invite the attractive cheer captain or the star quarterback to your table, but you’d be less inclined to include the person who is bullied. It’s naive to think we’ve outgrown this behavior. A little ambition can make a dinner invitation from a boss more appealing than spending time with a clumsy or overly eager coworker. Associating with a well-known community leader often holds more allure than being seen with someone struggling to get by. However, Jesus challenges our views on hospitality.
Consider how Jesus invited Matthew, a despised tax collector, to be with him, choosing to dine with Matthew and his friends—other tax collectors and sinners. In doing so, Matthew demonstrates hospitality by opening his home so that people can meet Jesus.
Living a God-centered life involves hospitality. As it’s noted in scripture, when Jesus saw Matthew at the tax booth, he called out, “Follow me.” Matthew immediately followed him. Later, while at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners shared a meal with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees questioned why Jesus associated with such people, he responded, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Go learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners.”
At first glance, it might seem outrageous for Jesus to eat with sinners, but it was exactly what was needed. He even sought out Matthew, someone universally reviled. Tax collectors were viewed as opportunists working for the oppressive Roman regime, considered dishonest and greedy by their own people. They were excluded from synagogues and social gatherings. Yet, Jesus approached Matthew, recognizing his inherent worth: a person in need of God’s love. With a simple invitation—“Follow me”—he extended grace to this outcast.
Jesus’ call to Matthew was more than mere words. Jesus, welcomed Matthew not out of obligation but out of love, choosing to share meals, a symbol of acceptance, with those society rejected.
The Pharisees took note of this behavior as problematic. They questioned the implications of a rabbi, like Jesus, dining with those viewed as sinners. This wasn’t about endorsing sinful actions; it was an effort to build relationships, allowing sinners to experience God’s love through Jesus. Just as Matthew invited his rejected friends to meet Jesus, we too are called to invite others into our lives.
What would you do to extend hospitality? Remember how Abraham fervently welcomed three visitors, preparing a lavish feast? The Greek term for hospitality, φιλοξενία (philos xenia), means literally “love of strangers.”
Biblical hospitality invites others into your family to connect with your Father. Yet, many of us make excuses—“My home isn’t tidy,” or “I’m too busy.” Are these just masks for pride and fear? We may worry others will judge us for not meeting their standards or feel our time is too valuable to share.
It’s easy to mirror the Pharisees who dismiss hospitality as impractical. Logically, you might think Jesus shouldn’t have reached out to Matthew; he seemed unworthy. Yet, Jesus called Matthew to be part of his life, affirming that even those we view as undeserving receive his grace. Jesus meets us where we are, despite our imperfections. He took on our sins, including pride and unwelcoming attitudes, suffering so that we could be adopted into God’s family, forgiven and freed.
Through Jesus, Matthew was transformed from an outcast into a disciple, an evangelist. Similarly, you become new when you receive forgiveness and become a baptized child of God. Jesus offers a feast with him—in the sacrament, he reshapes our relationship with him, granting us a glimpse of heaven, not based on our status, but because he redefined it for us through his sacrifice, empowering us to live in hospitality.
When confronted for associating with sinners, Jesus quickly countered that it’s not the healthy who need help, but the sick. It would be irrational for a doctor to avoid patients simply because they are ill; helping them is the reason for their existence. Just as a doctor cares for patients, we are to extend our blessings to those God has placed in our lives. Embrace the opportunity to “eat with sinners.”
Jesus exhorted us to learn that he desires mercy over sacrifice. He calls us not merely to adhere to external standards but to genuinely love, including those who are lost. That’s the essence of his mission. He has shared his life with you, urging you to embody his hospitality to draw more into his kingdom.
Hospitality is about inviting people into our life so they can encounter our Father. It’s not through arguments that people find their way to salvation, but through the power of the Gospel, visible in both word and deed. As we live out this God-inspired hospitality, we become a blessing to others. Jesus converts strangers into friends and family, and he has done this for us enabling us to extend the same to others, so they might join him at his eternal banquet table. Amen.