Sitting with Sinners

Scripture Focus: Psalm 26.4-5
4 I do not sit with the deceitful,
     nor do I associate with hypocrites.
 5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers
     and refuse to sit with the wicked.

Reflection: Sitting with Sinners
By Erin Newton

When the Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mark 2.16)

The radical action by Jesus was his casual interaction and friendly relationship with those deemed “bad.” He sat among the deceitful and the hypocrites.

Psalm 26 portrays the actions of an innocent person through a series of proclamations:

  I have led a blameless life.
            I have trusted in the Lord.
            I have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.
            I wash my hands in innocence.

The positive, righteous actions are countered by the ways the psalmist did not act. In the context of this psalm, these negative statements support the claim of righteousness. They reflect how the psalmist heeded the warning in Psalm 1—a crescendo against walking with the wicked, standing with sinners, and finally sitting with mockers.

Have you ever been somewhere and thought about how you might make a quick getaway? Someone calls your name in a coffee shop, and you begrudgingly turn to see who it is. Trapped! You remind yourself, “Don’t sit down. Just stand, and it’ll be easier to slip away.” Sitting with someone makes getting away harder.

The idea of sitting with someone in the ancient world was an expression of close association. It describes familiarity, comfortability, and acceptance of one’s company. The psalmist was trying to delineate a difference from those who did not love God. It is a plea against being viewed as “guilty by association.”

Jesus sat and ate with sinners. He touched lepers and bleeding women. He was comfortable associating with hypocrites. He was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard because of his friendship with the tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 11.19). Despite the judgmental attitudes of those who did not approve of his behavior, Jesus knew his presence among them was needed. Jesus was not afraid to be misunderstood by a bystander who spent more time judging him than listening to what he had to say.

With the starkly different approaches—avoidance or association—the psalmist and Jesus share a common trait. Both trust in God, lead blameless lives (one much less perfect than the other), rely on God’s faithfulness, and find joy in the presence of God.

The Christian life means we follow the narrow path of obedience, but we must also follow the way of love. It is possible to do both. 

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
You are my hiding place…you surround me with shouts of deliverance. — Psalm 32.8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Kings 8 (Listen 10:23)
Psalms 26-27 (Listen 2:39)

Read more about The Undeserved Banquet of the Gospel
We, the undeserving, motley, scandalous louts that we are, find ourselves with our feet under Christ’s table. Christ invites all to the banquet.

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Self-Serving Rhetoric

Scripture Focus: Job 18.16-21
16 His roots dry up below 
and his branches wither above. 
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth; 
he has no name in the land. 
18 He is driven from light into the realm of darkness 
and is banished from the world. 
19 He has no offspring or descendants among his people, 
no survivor where once he lived. 
20 People of the west are appalled at his fate; 
those of the east are seized with horror. 
21 Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; 
such is the place of one who does not know God.”

Psalm 26.1
1 Vindicate me, Lord, 
for I have led a blameless life; 
I have trusted in the Lord 
and have not faltered. 

Reflection: Self-Serving Rhetoric
By John Tillman

Job’s friends grew harsher with him as the conversation continued. Contentious debate spiraled into more personal attacks.

Bildad answers, spouting truisms and generalities about things that will befall wicked people. However, he goes beyond just reciting commonly held beliefs. He personalizes them, using details similar to Job’s recent experiences. 

“He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors…”
“It eats away parts of his skin; death’s firstborn devours his limbs…”
“Sulphur is scattered over his dwelling…”
“Fire resides in his tent…”
“He has no offspring…”
“His roots dry up below and his branches wither above…”


Bildad would not have known this, but Job’s spiritual tent of protection had been removed and he had been given over to Satan, a king of terrors. The other details he did know and he turned them against his friend. Job’s “roots,” the sources of his wealth, and his “branches,” his children and extended family, were dried up and withered. His security had been torn away by foreign kings. His children had been crushed in a collapsing building. His skin was being eaten away by sores and illness.

I am convinced that the hostility of Job’s friends and their judgmentalism came from fear and insecurity. The friends are the appalled “people of the west” and “the east.” They were appalled that similar things might happen to them. Proving that Job’s sin brought this on himself was essential to their worldview. Bildad’s images pointed an accusing finger at Job and, by contrast, implied that he and the others were righteous.

Fire fell on Job’s life. Rather than comfort him, his friends blew on the embers to warm themselves.

Blaming others’ choices for their problems gives us false peace in two flavors. We can believe that bad things can’t happen if we are “good.” We can excuse ourselves from helping the suffering because we think their suffering is justice for their wrongs or correction for their foolishness.

In our lives, we can be quick to say, “consequences of your actions” when bad things happen to others and cry “persecution” when bad things happen to us.

Don’t fall victim to the same self-insulating, self-serving, victim-blaming rhetoric as Bildad and the other friends. No matter why fire falls on others’ lives, may we be found tending to the burns rather than stirring up the embers.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord when he comes, when he comes to judge the earth. — Psalm 96.12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
Job 18 (Listen – 1:54)
Psalm 26-27 (Listen – 3:13)

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Read more about When Help Doesn’t Help
We all reap what we sow, don’t we? Unfortunately, this is a common view of pain and suffering, even in the Church today.