“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Pharisees assumed that if a person ate with sinners, that person was a sinner, too.

Jesus invited to Levi to follow Him, without regard to qualifications or merits.

Levi will be changed not by harsh words and fear mongering of eternal punishment but by the gentle love of Jesus.

Jesus was coming into contact with sinners. But instead of the sinners making him unclean, he was making them clean.

 

Blessed Virgin Mary St. Hilary, bishop & doctor

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1

There was a man

From the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Kish. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a valiant Benjaminite. Kish had a son named Saul, a handsome young man who had no equal among the Israelites, for he was a head taller than any of them. It happened that the asses of Kish were lost. So he said to his son Saul, "Take one of the boys with you and go look for the asses."

 

They went all over the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah but did not find them. They passed through the land of Shaalim and the land of Benjamin, but the asses were nowhere to be found.

So, when Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh told him, "Here is the man I spoke to you about! He shall rule over my people." Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said, "Tell me, where is the house of the seer?" Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me. In the morning, before you leave, I will tell you all that is in your heart."

 

Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on Saul's head. And kissing Saul, Samuel said, "Yahweh has anointed you to rule over and to lead his people Israel. And this will be Yahweh's sign to you that he has anointed you."

 

Ps 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 Lord, in your strength the king is glad.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

Mark 2:13-17

When Jesus went out again, beside the lake, a crowd came to him, and he taught them. As he walked along, he saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him, "Follow me!" And Levi got up and followed him.

And it so happened that, when Jesus was eating in Levi's house, tax collectors and sinners sat with him and his disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow Jesus.

But Pharisees, men educated in the law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does your master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

Jesus heard them, and answered, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Do not judge."

A legalistic attitude often leads to self-righteousness. This happens when one thinks of himself as the one who follows the rules and others do not. He is sane while the rest is sick. This is not the way Jesus looked at the public sinners during his time. In Jesus' eyes, the tax collectors and sinners are persons who need redemption.

 

The Pharisees appeared to be afraid to associate themselves with the tax collectors and other public sinners because they already had become self-righteous. Jesus reached out to them. He associated with them and he related with them in a loving relationship. The only way to bring the lost back to God is to relate with them in a loving relationship.

 

We relate with them without judging them. Condemn the sins but not the sinners. Of course, this is always easier said than done. How are we going to relate with the lost without falling into the trap of self-righteousness? Begin by admitting that we were also lost at some point and God, who is always righteous, never stops relating with us in a loving relationship.