The Gospel According to Willie Sutton

The Gospel According to Willie Sutton

Mark 2:13-17

            This is how Wikipedia describes Willie Sutton.

            William “Willie” Sutton (1901-1980) was a prolific U. S. bank robber.  During his forty-year criminal career he stole an estimated $2 million, and eventually spent more than half his adult life in prison.  For his talent at executing robberies in disguises, he gained two nicknames:  “Willie the Actor,” and “Slick Willie.”

 There is an urban legend connected with Sutton.  When someone asked him why he robbed banks, he is supposed to have said, “Because that’s where the money is.”  Apparently he never said it, but it has become so attached to his name that he might as well have.  As long as the name Willie Sutton exists in anyone’s memory, he will be associated with that statement.

The incident may not be true, and perhaps neither Sutton nor anyone else ever said it, but it does make sense.  It would be foolish to go to all the trouble of planning and executing a robbery of some place that had no money.  Smart criminals (if there is such a thing) steal from people and places where they know they will make the greatest return on their investment.

So what does this have to do with the gospel?  Sutton’s (supposed) statement is similar to what Jesus said in answer to a question the Pharisees asked his disciples. 

The story begins with Jesus calling Levi (Matthew) to be his disciple.  In Mark’s version, Jesus has called the four fishermen (Simon, Andrew, James and John) but no one else.  Walking by Levi’s tax collecting spot, Jesus turned to him and said, “Follow me.”  Mark tells us, “And he rose and followed him.”  No hesitation, no stopping to think, just an immediate reaction.

Very much like the story of Zacchaeus, Jesus goes to Levi’s house to share a meal.  Remember, eating together is one of the most intimate encounters between people in the Middle East, even today.  One of the obstacles to peace in the region is that enemies will not sit at table with each other.  Remember the words of the twenty-third psalm:  “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”  God feeds the psalmist in the presence of his enemies, but not in their company.  Even God may have trouble pulling that off.

When Jesus shares a meal with “many tax collectors and sinners” (notice how the two groups are linked together), the Pharisees are appalled.  Doesn’t Jesus know with whom he is sharing food?  Is he so blind that he can’t recognize the low moral level of these people?  Has he no scruples, no honor, no common sense—no righteous indignation at the undesirability of his dinner companions?

Not wanting to challenge Jesus himself (they always lost these encounters), the Pharisees ask his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  Jesus, overhearing their question, responds.  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Like Willie Sutton, choosing to rob places where the money was, Jesus chose to go where the sinners were.  We know those who consider themselves righteous have problems of their own.  Jesus knew that too.  He frequently spoke out about the self-righteousness of the religious leaders of his day—as he holds us accountable for our own self-righteousness.  But he knew where his mission lay.  He came to call sinners to repentance.  Where else would he go but where sinners would be found?  Where should God find Christians serving today?