vv 31-32 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
How have you felt about this week’s readings? It would be very easy to say to oneself ‘Well, that’s not me, of course – I’m not really like the Pharisees, am I.’ Hence, you think, no action is required this time round!
Just how wrong that might be.
Take stock of your own character – do you think you are A-OK? Or have you become aware of weaknesses or failings as you reflect on any mismatch between what you hope others think of you and the inner realities that you know only too well?
Jesus’ invitation is to those who recognise their failings and are prepared to repent. Such repentance is a very fundamental step on the pathway to following Jesus. It is not the ‘Sorry – Sorry’ of Chares Dickens’ villain Uriah Heep, but a genuine sadness at letting Jesus down and a desire to put things right. Repentance is a humbling experience – and for many of us a repeated one as we look for God’s forgiveness to cover our sins. It is the ongoing plea of the tax collector in Jesus’ story; (Luke 18:9-14 ) ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
Make that your response too this week.
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