The Call to sinners

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time A-1

Entrance Antiphon Upon a lofty throne, I saw a man seated, whom a host of angels adore, singing in unison: Behold him, the name of whose empire is eternal.

Collect Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture today: 1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1; Psalm 21:2-7; Mark 2:13-17

Jesus went forth again to the sea side and all the multitude came to him, and he taught them. When he was passing by he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom and he said to him, “Follow me.” And rising up, he followed him. It came to pass that as he sat at table in his house many publicans and sinners sat together with Jesus and his disciples, for they were many who also followed him. The scribes and the Pharisees, seeing that he ate with publicans and sinners, said to his disciples, “Why does your master eat and drink with publicans and sinners?” Jesus hearing this said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do. I came not to call the just, but sinners.” (Mark 2:13-17)

The Call to sinners Surely any observer would recognize that one of the mightiest phenomena of the world’s history is the fact of Christianity. Its enormous spread and influence and especially its power to penetrate cultures and its force for good and holiness of life all make of it the worthiest subject of study and consideration. But of course the study and consideration of Christianity means in the first instance the study and contemplation of the person of Christ. By any standards he is a giant of history, while of course if one judges as a Christian, Christ is the giant of history with whom no one can compare. The gospels enable us to enter his mind and draw near to him at the level of the heart. He says, “come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest. Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart.” He invites us to draw near to him, to learn from him, and to take our rest in him, and we must do this as to a living person and not just to a distant figure of the past who remains a model and teacher through historical records. Christ lives and we contemplate his person in the gospels so as to know the mind and the heart and the action of the living Jesus. Well then, let us observe what he is doing in our Gospel passage today. The great phenomenon of Christianity began in simple, ordinary events. Jesus passes by the office of a tax collector, Levi the son of Alphaeus (probably Matthew the evangelist), and simply asks him to follow him: “Follow me”, he said. Jesus disregards the opprobrium attached to Levi’s profession and wins his heart. That is to say, he loves him and honours him with the invitation to be part of his company and mission. Christ loves the one in the lowly spot and lifts him up, in this case raising him to friendship with him. Levi will go on to write the wonderful First Gospel and through that Gospel will present Christ to the Church and to the world till the end of time. Jesus is the One who loves sinners and who calls them to repent and to be part of his company.

Our Lord’s call to Levi and Levi’s immediate acceptance of the call led to the surprising event — surprising to the scribes and the Pharisees — of our Lord dining and mixing with a concourse of tax collectors and sinners. We read that “it came to pass that as he sat at table in his house many publicans and sinners sat together with Jesus and his disciples, for they were many who also followed him” (Mark 2:13-17). Our Lord was in the midst of some of the most disreputable people in the country and was showing perfect ease in this situation. The tax collectors and the sinners who were dining and, we might say, partying in his presence, felt at ease with him and felt loved by him. They loved him. This was, perhaps, one of the distinguishing features of Jesus precisely as a prophet. He attracted sinners and showed that he loved them and liked being with them, provided, of course, they understood that he expected of them repentance from sin. The sinful woman entered the house of the Pharisee where she knew Jesus was dining, and proceeded to pour oil on his head and to wash his feet with her tears. She felt at ease in his presence and felt loved by him. She went away with her sins forgiven and undoubtedly with her life changed. Zacchaeus the leading tax collector ran ahead and climbed the Sycamore tree to see Jesus who, when he arrived at the tree, looked up and (undoubtedly with a smile) invited himself to Zacchaeus’s home for dinner. Zacchaeus was completely converted by the love for him that Jesus, the all-holy prophet, showed. We notice too that whenever a Pharisee invited our Lord to his house to dine there as a guest he willingly accepted, thus showing his love for them too. But our Lord did not find in them the recognition that they were sinners. They resisted and were hostile to his corrections. They were like the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican praying in the Temple. Our Lord’s love and holiness could not penetrate their pride and jealousy.

Christ tells us in our Gospel passage today that he came to call sinners. That means us. He comes to call us to his friendship. This means sharing his life, accepting totally his doctrine, and living in his company which is the Church he founded. What we get is the inestimable benefit of his friendship and the singular privilege of sharing in his mission. We grow in his friendship by daily prayer and the work of our life, both done out of love for him. We engage in his mission everyday through the theatre of our work and any other apostolates we are led to participate in. Let us then firmly resolve to follow Jesus who came to call sinners to himself.

(E.J.Tyler)

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