scum

 I don't know how many times I've shared this story of Jesus calling Matthew & then eating a meal Matthews "notorious sinners" friends.

I wish I felt like this passage challenged folks to make an attempt to connect with non-believers, but in reality I don't feel like I see that's happening.

Anyway, here it is again - reach out to people who stand outside of a connection with Jesus. Someone did it for you. 

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other notorious sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”

12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”