First reading Amos 8:4-6,9-12
A famine not of bread, but of hearing the word of the Lord
Listen to this, you who trample on the needy
and try to suppress the poor people of the country,
you who say, ‘When will New Moon be over
so that we can sell our corn,
and sabbath, so that we can market our wheat?
Then by lowering the bushel, raising the shekel,
by swindling and tampering with the scales,
we can buy up the poor for money,
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and get a price even for the sweepings of the wheat.’
That day – it is the Lord who speaks –
I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
I am going to turn your feasts into funerals,
all your singing into lamentation;
I will have your loins all in sackcloth,
your heads all shaved.
I will make it a mourning like the mourning for an only son,
as long as it lasts it will be like a day of bitterness.
See what days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks –
days when I will bring famine on the country,
a famine not of bread, a drought not of water,
but of hearing the word of the Lord.
They will stagger from sea to sea,
wander from north to east,
seeking the word of the Lord
and failing to find it.
Responsorial Psalm 118(119):2,10,20,30,40,131
Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts,
I have sought you with all my heart;
let me not stray from your commands.
My soul is ever consumed
as I long for your decrees.
I have chosen the way of truth
with your decrees before me.
See, I long for your precepts;
then in your justice, give me life.
I open my mouth and I sigh
as I yearn for your commands.
Gospel Matthew 9:9-13
It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick
As Jesus was walking on, he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’
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Follow me!
Today’s gospel can be summed up with two words: God’s love. As a tax collector, Matthew was considered a sinner by the religious leaders. Yet, Jesus took the initiative to draw close to Matthew and called him to follow Him. Experiencing God’s forgiving love through Jesus, Matthew put his trust in Jesus and responded to the call, which started his faith journey from being a sinner to a disciple. Jesus then went to have a meal with Matthew and other tax collectors. This action was considered scandalous by the religious leaders. For Jesus, He wanted to reveal God’s inclusive love that welcomed the sinners and outcasts.
Today, Jesus takes the initiative to come to us and calls us again, “Follow me”, despite our sins and brokenness. Jesus loves us and will never keep His distance from us. Like Matthew, we are called to respond to His call with trust and allow Jesus to lead us to experience God’s love that will always empower us to live as His disciples and share in His mission. May we, as His disciples, have His same heart of inclusive love.
Question for reflection:
How open am I to Jesus’ call, “Follow me”?
How open am I to Jesus’ call, “Follow me”?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
