Including All of Us

Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
Luke 11:29-32
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022526.cfm

In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks about those who will be able to hear his message. He refers back to scripture to point out that his audience is the same as shared by other prophets in the past. Their calling goes beyond the likely sources to those outside of the norm, those on the fringe of society. Jonah was called to the Ninevites who were known by the Jewish people as being blood thirsty and wicked people. The Ninevites did not share in the same beliefs as the Jewish people. For Jonah, the Ninevites were undeserving, but God called Jonah to witness to them anyway and they listened and repented for their actions and God had mercy on them. Jesus also mentions the story of how Solomon helped a queen from a foreign land. In this story too, the unlikely person is converted and becomes a believer.

Those least expected are the ones who will hear and receive the message:  the outsider, the outcast, the sinner, the foreigner. This is how it was for the message of Jesus as well. It was the tax collectors, the lepers, the ostracized women, ones recognized as deserving sinners, the poor, the sick, the blind, the foreigner, an occupying military leader, all were receivers of the message and the call. Prophets challenge the accepted norms and those that benefit from it, thus, those that are excluded from it are more likely to hear it. God is challenging us to become more inclusive and recognize that all are deserving of our love and care, especially those who are excluded by others. God wants all of us. Who are the ones that you exclude today? How is God calling you to them?