SAINT LUCY, VIRGIN AND MARTYR (MEMORIAL)

Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering. . . before you. 

Tax collectors and prostitutes—those were two categories of persons looked down on by many Jews. Yet these, according to Jesus, were finding it easier to enter the kingdom of heaven than many of the religious elite. The contrast between them and the chief priests and elders, who were at the center of religious society, couldn’t have been greater. So why did some at the center reject the message of John the Baptist and then Jesus, while so many at the outer edges flocked to them?

The parable of the two sons, which Jesus tells in today’s Gospel, hints at the answer. A seemingly obedient son says yes but does not actually do his father’s will. The other son, on the contrary, refuses to go, but then turns around and obeys his father.

Like that second son, the tax collectors and prostitutes—and everyone seeking out Jesus—realized that they had sinned. They also knew they were hurting and needed healing. They came to Jesus because they knew how much they needed him. Just think of the friends of the paralyzed man who broke through the roof to get to Jesus (Luke 5:18-19). In contrast, many religious leaders didn’t see their need for the healing and forgiveness that Jesus offered, so they didn’t come to him.

Every Advent, God calls us to respond to Jesus’ offer of grace and mercy. Maybe we think we’re self-sufficient: I have everything under control, thank you very much. But the call of John the Baptist to repent, and the greater call of Jesus to humbly embrace his mercy, best reaches our ears when we recognize our need.

That’s why churches throughout the world offer increased opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Advent. Confession is a sacrament of healing, a place where we can unearth the attitudes that keep us from seeking out Jesus and receive the strength we need to follow him. This Advent, find an opportunity to go to Confession. Join the “tax collectors and prostitutes” falling at the feet of Jesus in repentance and entering his kingdom.

“Jesus, I need you.”

Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13
Psalm 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-19, 23
Matthew 21:28-32