Saturday of 1st Week in Ordinary Time
God Calls the Weak
God has his own plans and standards, which are often at variance with our human wisdom. For example, he calls sinners – limited, deficient people – and they are good enough for him to do God’s work, even to be entrusted with a special mission. Saul is taken from an insignificant tribe of God’s people. He responds at first, but fails later.
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.
First Reading: 1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1
There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin named Kish. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, great-grandson of Becorath, great-great-grandson of Aphiah—a Benjaminite of stalwart character. He had a son, Saul, a most handsome young man. There was none finer—he literally stood head and shoulders above the crowd!
3-4 Some of Kish’s donkeys got lost. Kish said to his son, “Saul, take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys.” Saul took one of the servants and went to find the donkeys. They went into the hill country of Ephraim around Shalisha, but didn’t find them. Then they went over to Shaalim—no luck. Then to Jabin, and still nothing.
The moment Samuel laid eyes on Saul, God said, “He’s the one, the man I told you about. This is the one who will keep my people in check.”
18 Saul came up to Samuel in the street and said, “Pardon me, but can you tell me where the Seer lives?”
19-20 “I’m the Seer,” said Samuel. “Accompany me to the shrine and eat with me. In the morning I’ll tell you all about what’s on your mind, and send you on your way. And by the way, your lost donkeys—the ones you’ve been hunting for the last three days—have been found, so don’t worry about them. At this moment, Israel’s future is in your hands.”
Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, and kissed him. He said, “Do you see what this means? God has anointed you prince over his people.
“This sign will confirm God’s anointing of you as prince over his inheritance: After you leave me today, as you get closer to your home country of Benjamin, you’ll meet two men near Rachel’s Tomb. They’ll say, ‘The donkeys you went to look for are found. Your father has forgotten about the donkeys and is worried about you, wringing his hands—quite beside himself!’
Gospel: Mark 2:13-17
Then Jesus went again to walk alongside the lake. Again a crowd came to him, and he taught them. Strolling along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” He came.
Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?”
Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.”
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. Amen.
Reflection:
God in His mercy, chose me, a sinner!
The vocation of Levi, which we read in the gospel today, speaks to us about an unlikely vocation. Levi is a tax collector, although considered anti-national and public sinner by patriotic Jews, but 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 fixed his gaze on him and called him: “Follow me!”
Levi must have been for sure, listening to this preacher and might have witnessed the signs he performed. But of course, the gospel does not speak anything about these assumptions. Possibly his vocation story is presented like this to highlight that with Jesus there is no room for doubts: Either he is obeyed or he is rejected.
Levi acts as the slogan on the coat of arms of Pope Francis reads, “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 – from the same profession, 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 religious leaders 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. God, in His mercy chose me a sinner, to follow him. The closeness of Jesus is always therapeutic – he brings healing. He laid down his life for us sinners, and invites us to go to Him as we are. Let sin not stop us; let worldly attractions not lure us away from God’s loving invitation to go with Him.
Video available on Youtube: God in His mercy, chose me, a sinner!