Dining with Sinners

It is a rather funny thing that, in a world marked by greater interconnectedness on account of the Internet, we are becoming more and more polarized as a society. Everyone nowadays seems to take pleasure in making enemies of one another—whether it be because of race, sexuality, political ideology or religion. It is all too easy to antagonize groups of people and to breed animosity in the name of conquering the debate.

But what does our Lord have to say about this?

Christ says: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Mt 7,1-2). Judging others tends to be an automatic habit, but it is not proper. It often happens that we Christians find ourselves laughing at liberal, promiscuous, homosexual or transgender people, but fail to see the error in making rash judgments or harboring hatred towards them. The fault of the Pharisees was in exalting themselves as superior to the crowd, when in truth we are all guilty of sin.

Christ says: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (Jn 8,7). Christians should not avoid speaking to non Christians. It is easy to stick with a clique of people who share the same beliefs, but the real mission is to spread the Word to those who do not know it. Nevertheless, it is important to still keep good company and not to let temptation have its way and corrupt one's soul; hence it is said: “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Prov 13,20). But this does not mean that we should avoid encountering other people just because they are different.

Our Lord Jesus Christ dined with sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes; because His mission was to heal the sick. Our Christian identity should not prevent us from reaching out to sinners, because we are all guilty from birth. Let us be open to sharing God’s message with truth and love, while remaining firm in what we believe. Winning souls, not arguments, is the goal.

Ma. Lucia Reyes was the founder and president of the AHVA Youth Committee for 3 years. She is a sophomore in Enderun Colleges where she worked as the events head for the schools Culinary organization, Culinaire and is the current marketing head for the Lux Lucis, the schools scholar organization. She volunteers at Read4Phil, a non profit organization promoting literacy for grade school children in poor urban communities. She is currently running @Chowbella_ph, a home-based bakery. Lucia was raised with a strong religious background, having attended 2 Opus Dei schools. She is passionate about the humanities, particularly literature, playing the piano, and film.