5 July, 2024 | Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 Reading : Am 8:4-6, 9-12

Gospel Mt 9:9-13

As Jesus passed by,

he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.

He said to him, "Follow me."

And he got up and followed him.

While he was at table in his house,

many tax collectors and sinners came

and sat with Jesus and his disciples.

The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,

"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

He heard this and said,

"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.

Go and learn the meaning of the words,

I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Reflection:

Jesus did not do anything according to the standard of this world nor according to the thinking of the people. That is why he called Mathew a tax collector, a man the Jews could never accept, a man labled as a public sinner, to follow him. Mathew celebrates his call and so invites Jesus and his disciples as well as his friends. But the Pharisees cannot accept it and so they protest: “Why is that your master eats with those tax collectors and sinners?” What is the answer of Jesus? “Healthy people do not need a physician, but sick people do… I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Those who thought they were righteous and looked down on others could not accept Jesus and the salvation he offered, whereas those who acknowledged sinners and welcomed Jesus as their saviour were redeemed. Do we consider ourselves as sinners in need of Jesus who came to call us to freedom and happiness?

Activity: 

Be kind and merciful to others and treat them with love and respect.