Dining with sinners

From today's reading: 11 "When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?'" and 14 "Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, 'Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?'" Matthew 9:9-17 When we look at today's reading, we see that Jesus and his disciples were being attacked by all sides. When we are doing things the way Jesus would, people are going to complain. One priest of the diocese found a way to get new people in, the parishioners began to complain, "They're not our kind of people." I served at one church where some from the congregation said, "We don't want them to come, they're sinners." My answer to that is, "Treat them like Jesus did, invite them in, have supper with them, not condemning, but fellowshipping with honest and open conversation." Some people just don't seem to get it. Christ's blood will cover all our sins, but we must open the door of our hearts to all so that we might bring some to Christ.