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February 29, 2020Levi was a tax collector. As such he was automatically identified as a sinner. After all, tax collectors had the reputation of cheating people out of their money – giving to the Roman officials what was levied and keeping the rest for themselves. Of course, that made all tax collectors robbers and sinners. That’s what the Pharisees and their scribes thought of Levi – even though they didn’t name him specifically in Luke’s reading.
What comes to mind when we encounter someone different from ourselves? What about seeing someone covered with tattoos and has the livelihood as a tattoo artist? Maybe you think of a biker, someone of a lower class. Certainly not someone who could be your friend. We find it so easy to put labels on classes of people and therefore on individuals.
I have a niece who has been married three times. Her first two husbands looked “normal” but abused her in different ways. She is now married to a man who is a tattoo artist. He has tattoos over most of his visible body. But he treats my niece with such dignity. He is a gentleman who loves my niece, her children, and her grandson dearly. May we treat every person we meet – however they look on the outside, or whatever their profession – with the dignity he/she deserves because they were created as God’s special children.
