WHAT IS GREATER

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” – Mark 2:17

Lisa felt a gnawing pain on the right side of her abdomen but she ignored it. When it became unbearable, she asked to be taken to the hospital. The doctor immediately operated on her appendix and she recuperated in a few days. The doctor said, “If you hadn’t come to the hospital, you could have died because a burst appendix would have poisoned your blood.”

       A lot of people die a little each day spiritually because of the weight of their sins. Some of us, for fear of God’s anger and shame for our failures, wait until the pain of our sins becomes unbearable before we turn to the Lord. We are afraid that He will not accept us because we have sinned greatly. On the contrary, Jesus assures us, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” His love for us is greater than all our sins combined. It is not His desire that the sinner should die but that he may live.

       Our Divine Physician lovingly calls us back to Him again and again, no matter how many times we fall and despite the grievousness of our sins. We can trust in His Divine Mercy, a love so great that Jesus died on the cross for us. “Because of His wounds, we are healed.” Marjorie Duterte (marjorie.travels@gmail.com)

Reflection: Do you feel sick in your spirit? Return to Jesus in the sacrament of confession. He is waiting to restore you to wholeness.

Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say Your Word and my soul shall be healed. Amen.

St. Charles of Sezze, pray for us.

Saul is tall, imposing and handsome, yet we will see that his character and faith in God, in particular, are fundamentally flawed. David is but a boy and has his character flaws as well, but he is clearly a better man than Saul to lead God’s people. It is not surprising that the people should elect Saul; it is also not surprising that Saul is a failure when it comes to leadership.

1 There was a stalwart man from Benjamin named Kish, who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite. 2 He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man. There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul; he stood head and shoulders above the people. 3 Now the asses of Saul’s father, Kish, had wandered off. Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go out and hunt for the asses.” 4 Accordingly they went through the hill country of Ephraim, and through the land of Shalishah. Not finding them there, they continued through the land of Shaalim without success. They also went through the land of Benjamin, but they failed to find the animals. 17 When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord assured him, “This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people.” 18 Saul met Samuel in the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer lives.” 19 Samuel answered Saul “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today. In the morning, before dismissing you, I will tell you whatever you wish.” 10: 1 Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul’s head; he also kissed him, saying: “The Lord anoints you commander over his heritage. You are to govern the Lord’s people Israel, and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout. This will be the sign for you that the Lord has anointed you commander over his heritage.”

1 [2] O Lord, in your strength the king is glad; in your victory how greatly he rejoices! 2 [3] You have granted him his heart’s desire; you refused not the wish of his lips. (R) 3 [4] For you welcomed him with goodly blessings, you placed on his head a crown of pure gold. 4 [5] He asked life of you, you gave him length of days forever and ever. (R) 5 [6] Great is his glory in your victory; majesty and splendor you conferred upon him. 6 [7] For you made him a blessing forever; you gladdened him with the joy of your face. (R)

Jesus’ choice of disciples is not necessarily that of someone seeking to impress. He wants to demonstrate that all people can become His followers. It does not matter what their past may be; what matters is their heart’s desire. What matters is their willingness to follow Him and take up the life of a disciple. What is the deepest desire of your heart? Are you willing to follow Jesus wherever He leads you?

The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.

13 Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. 14 As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus. 15 While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. 16 Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Matthew 10-12

JESUS UPSETS

When we read the Gospels, we cannot help but admit that Jesus was a person who annoyed a lot of people. He annoyed the experts of the Law by forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man, when He touched a leper, or violated the Sabbath rule. Today’s Gospel story is even worse. First, He shocked the bystanders by inviting Levi to follow Him and become His disciple. In Palestine, people hated tax collectors because they levied taxes for the oppressors and, at the same time, enriched themselves.

       Not contented doing this, He accepted an invitation from Levi to dine in his house, together with other tax collectors and questionable characters. With this, He annoyed the Pharisees. No pious Jew would enter the house of a tax collector or have a meal with one as it would make him unclean.

       Jesus didn’t care what others think. Those who were considered sinners by the pious people were very important to Him. He reached out to outsiders and assured them of God’s love. He said, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick do.” And then He proclaims: “I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.”

       This was shocking for His contemporaries but Good News for us. With all our weaknesses, shortcomings, failures and sins, we have no reason to be discouraged. The Lord is always there for us, especially when our fellowmen reject us because we did something wrong. We can always approach Him.

       But there is an annoying challenge we have to face. Jesus is merciful, understanding and forgiving. What about us? We identify ourselves with Levi and the sinners to whom Jesus shows His love. Yet, aren’t we sometimes among those who reject sinners, judge them and even condemn them? We are tempted to erect barriers between us and those who are different from us. That is the annoying reality Jesus makes us face today. He did not only annoy people of His time; He continues to annoy us with nagging questions. But He means well; He only wants to heal us. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you allow yourself to be annoyed by Jesus’ words and so change your attitude towards others?

Lord, this was a shocking realization. Yes, I easily judge and condemn others. Transform me from being a harsh, hypocritical judge into a compassionate healer.