Home is a special place. In our homes we decide the norms. In our homes we eat the foods we want prepared in the ways that we want. Our friends and family are the ones who stop by. We decide if we take our shoes off when we walk in the door and whether or not we are going to use coasters under our drinks. And there are a thousand more idiosyncrasies that make our homes a reflection of who we really are.
When we go out and about we can put on a good show and clean up just right, but home is home, and that's on us.
In the Bible, Matthew was a tax collector. Which meant he was a traitor and a thief and associated with others who were outside of the Jewish inner circle. Matthew had a lot of money and could have put on quite the air of respectability. He would have the finest clothes and could look on the surface like he had it all together, but below was another story.
Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple. Matthew. The tax collector. Yes, that Matthew.
And immediately Jesus went to Matthew's home. There was a gathering of other tax collectors and prostitutes and Jesus went. They shared a meal. He said that they were all welcome in the kingdom of God. He let them know that salvation was open to them all. He also let Matthew know that the transformation to being a disciple was to go all the way.
Matthew became a disciple. This didn't mean that he played at it around the edges or just spoke up in the synagogues or gave money to the right charities. To be a disciple is to be all in. And that was the call that Matthew was answering.
Jesus ate with sinners. Jesus ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. He let them know that the love of God was there for them as well. And that message is true today. It is an invitation of hope for sinners like you and me.
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