First reading Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13
We are all to come to unity, fully mature in the knowledge of the Son of God
I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.
Each one of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. To some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.
Responsorial Psalm 18(19):2-5
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
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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Matthew: A forgiven sinner loved by God
Today, as we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew, we read his conversion story. Matthew was a tax collector, and thus, he was considered to be a public sinner by the rest of the Jews. Yet, Jesus took the initiative to draw close to this public sinner and called him to follow Him. The gaze of merciful love changed Matthew’s life forever. Today, we, too, celebrate the reality that we, like Matthew, are forgiven sinners. Jesus always takes the first step to come into our sometimes messy lives to love us unconditionally and calls us to follow Him. The question is: Do we respond, as Matthew did, to His love?
Unlike Jesus, the religious people in the passage were scandalous at Jesus’ action of interacting with Matthew and the tax collectors. For them, these people were sinners and did not deserve to be shown mercy. Let us follow the footsteps of Jesus and give others the mercy we have received from Him.
Reflective question:
What is Jesus’ message for me as I pray with the gospel passage?
What is Jesus’ message for me as I pray with the gospel passage?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
