Matthew, Apostle: Saturday 21st September, 2019 September 21, 2019
Reflection on the WORD
Call of Matthew: In today’s Gospel, Jesus called Matthew, the public sinner to be one of His apostles. We are each unworthy of serving in His Father’s mission. Pray for the gift of humility and perseverance, when we face the challenges of serving God. Jesus will always accompany us with His Spirit’s Light and Strength.
Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus was walking on he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
Now while he was at table 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: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinners.’
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- •Jesus told the Pharisees that He came to call sinners, not the upright as they are already “God fearing” people. He wants mercy not sacrifice.
- •Although a sacrifice had always been a fitting offering to God as He is almighty and all Loving, mercy is preferred because it is a virtue that comes from relating to others with compassion and love.
- •In all our dealings with others, Jesus expects that we show mercy and compassion to them as He has constantly been showing us these values. Not to show such values is to take Jesus for granted.