Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, March 17, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Those are some harsh words. Jesus names the people who were seen as the lowest of the low in the eyes of the Pharisees and the scribes as a way to make it plain just how far from God’s ways they have strayed. He doesn’t even say that the tax collectors have left their booths or the prostitutes their couches. They’re still tax collectors and prostitutes. But they believe in this new teaching of Jesus, and are therefore redeemed. It makes me think that for Jesus, the practice of tax collecting (honest tax collecting) and prostitution weren’t sinful. After all, both were legal practices at the time. Which makes me think about all the ways religious authorities throughout history and to this day try to dictate who is and isn’t a “worthy” person based on their own comfort level with that persons profession or gender identity or race or immigration status. I realize I’m plucking Jesus right out of his context, but I have to believe he wouldn’t put up with it now any more than he did then.
Who do I see myself as better than? What would Jesus say to me about my judgment?
