“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” - Luke 15:2
Sounds enticing, doesn't it? If we want to get close to Jesus, all we have to do is be a sinner? Or, is it that we HAVE to be a sinner in order to get close to Jesus? No. But the Pharisees and scribes who were complaining missed the point. As Pope Francis points out in his latest book, "The Name of God is Mercy", we are all sinners in need of God's mercy - even himself. But he also points out that God will always love us and "actually prefers the sinners who repent over self-righteous moralizers who don't." The key: "repents". If we do not accept that we are sinners; if we are quick to judge others and condemn them for their sins without acknowledging our own; then we in effect close the doors to God's mercy. But if we feel ashamed for our sins; if we acknowledge that we need our Father, then like the prodigal son God will welcome us with open arms. He is there to bring us home.
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