Saturday January 16  

First Week In Ordinary Time

 

GOD CALLS THE WEAK  

 

Introduction

      The word of God is alive and active, says the first reading. It is so alive and active that this word of God, spoken by Jesus, changes sinners into saints. This word can judge, but it judges with mildness: by offering new chances. Do we offer these chances to others? Or does our attitude—if not words—of condemnation keep people confined within their mediocrity and failures?

      Matthew is a typical sinner, a tax collector, one who was not only exploiting his own people but a traitor to them as a collaborator with the Romans. But he responds to Jesus’ call and becomes an apostle and martyr, faithful to the end.

 

Opening Prayer

God of mercy and compassion,
you call weak people, sinful as they are,
to give shape to your dreams
about people and their world
and to be instruments of salvation.
Give us trust, not in our own strength,
but in the power of your love,
which can do through us and with us
what we ourselves are incapable of.
We thank you for calling us
out of our frailty and alienation
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Reading 1: Heb 4:12-16

The word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit,
joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15

(see John 6:63c) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

 

Alleluia: Lk 4:18

Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: Mk 2:13-17

Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
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.
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.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
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.”

 

Intercessions:

–         For the Church, a community of saints and sinners, that we the people of God, and our leaders may not so much condemn those who fail but give them new chances in life, we pray:

–         For people who have failed often and no longer dare believe in themselves, in God or in the community, that they may draw new courage and hope from our understanding and compassion, we pray:

–         For priests and religious, that they may keep trusting in the Lord who called them notwithstanding their human weakness, and that with Christ, they may care especially for the poor and the weak, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God,
your Son did not deem it below his dignity
to go to the houses of sinners
and to eat and drink with them.
We are thankful that here today,
he sits at table with us, weak people.
We recognize your merciful love.
All we can say is: Thank you, Father,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

God, in this Eucharist,
we have experienced your forgiving mercy
and your call for hope and trust in you.
May we never look down
on people struggling against their weakness
or too tired to stand up.
Help us to recognize in them
our own flesh and blood torn apart
and crying out, aloud or in silence,
for an understanding heart and a helping hand.
We ask this through Jesus Christ. our Lord.

 

Blessing

How daring of Jesus, how sure of himself! Jesus chooses one whom all consider a public sinner and makes him his apostle, to build his Church on him, similar also on some other apostles, who will show signs of great weakness. God trusts us. Let us also trust him and ask for the blessing of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Let sin not stop us

The vocation of Levi, which we read in the gospel today, speaks to us about an An unlikely vocation. Levi is a tax collector, although considered anti-national and public sinner by patriotic Jews, but by the profession, he is economically well off, and wields power in the government. Being in the job, he could claim a lot of privileges and benefits but all of a sudden and forever, he leaves his job simply because a stranger called him: “Follow me!”

We have to assume a prehistory to this call. Levi must have been listening to this preacher and might have witnessed the miracles he performed. But nothing is said about it in the Gospels. Possibly his vocation story is presented like this to highlight that with Jesus there is no discussion: Either he is obeyed or he is rejected. He is always Lord and never “compromises.” He acts, as the slogan on the coat of arms of Pope Francis says, “miserando atque eligendo” which means “by showing mercy and by choosing”. Jesus mercifully chooses a tax collector to be his apostle and Levi does not think twice to respond. Pope Francis chose this sentence about the call of Mathew as his motto on his coat of arms to remind him of God’s merciful choosing of a sinner.

Levi invited his friends, as well as others, to celebrate his vocation. He understands that being called by Jesus is like falling in love: finding a treasure. The Gospel is an invitation – to follow him! Of course, we have decided to follow Christ long ago and that’s why we have received the sacraments and go to Church and read the scripture. Well, Levi the tax collector tells something more to us today. Responding to Jesus, be it an immediate decision or a well meditated discernment, requires total commitment. Following Jesus cannot be a part-time activity or half-hearted decision.

The leaders of the community raise a concern over Jesus’ proximity to the public sinners and accepting them in his company. How often do we label people as “not suitable for our acquaintance” and keep them away from our communities and circles?

Jesus brings in a pastoral approach: He never despised the sinner. The closeness of Jesus to the sinner is always therapeutic, healing. Jesus, who laid down his life for us sinners, invites us to come to Him as we are. It’s like saying, let sin not stop us; let worldly attractions not lure us away from God’s loving invitation to go with Him.