A group of primary school students were once asked by their catechism teacher, "Draw up a list of people whom you would want to invite to your birthday party?" Lists with names of friends, favourite cousins, uncles and aunts, and the occasional reference to the catechism teacher were spontaneously drawn up. "But what about the person you dislike the most or the beggar who sits at the corner of the street leading to the school? What about the children from the orphanage?" the teacher added. There was an immediate silence. A single hand shot up, with the following answer, "I'll invite them too, teacher. Because Jesus always had a place for them at His birthday parties". We will never ever be certain whether Jesus had birthday parties, but we are quite sure that He ate together with the tax-collectors and sinners, the ones who were situated at the lowest rung of the social religious ladder, even out-casts. And Jesus was never afraid of the scandal that this would and indeed did cause. We too are challenged by today's Gospel to open up our 'table of fellowship' to all persons regardless of caste, creed, colour, gender, social and economic status, and even personal likings. In case we may harbour the erroneous idea that we are better than the rest of 'them', let us be reminded that we too are sinners.