Wednesday of the
Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Timothy 3:14-16; Luke 7:31-35)
“You will be known by the company you keep,” our mothers
used to tell us. They were only
repeating a proverb that generally serves listeners well. Not only are people inclined to judge us as
good or bad on the basis of our associates, but also we tend to become like our
friends.
But folk wisdom has its limitations. What do we do, for example, when proverbs
contradict one another? Is “discretion
the better part of valor” or is “the one who hesitates lost”? Obviously, we have to look beneath the
surface to attain the truth in matters like this. Just so, Jesus appeals to his listeners in
the gospel today to look beyond what meets their eyes to the effect that his eating
and drinking with sinners creates. He is
not conforming to their sinful ways, but they are repenting of their sins.
Jesus is telling us not only to stop judging by superficial
criteria but also to step out of our social confines. He wants the young to greet the elderly, blacks
and whites to dialogue, and workers to extend a hand to the unemployed. Whether we talk about Jesus or not when we
reach beyond our typical company, we give testimony to his goodness by
imitating his ways.
