Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time,St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, September 21, 2024

Reflection on the WORD

Call of Matthew – Faith: In today’s Gospel, Jesus called Matthew to be His disciple, and ate with public sinners. The Pharisees were shocked. Ponder on, “Jesus proclaimed that it is sinners who need the Saviour. Ponder on: If we are not aware that our sinfulness can harm our relationships with Jesus and others, then we will not value Jesus, as our Saviour.

Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus was walking on from there 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?

  • All of us are sinners, yet Jesus still calls us to be with Him. Jesus still loves us and constantly calls us to return to Him.
  • That is Jesus’ divine and infinite compassion for us. We are undeserving, yet He still loves us so fully.
  • Thus, instead of feeling ashamed of that love, and running away from it, we should focus on how we can best repay and thank the Lord for His selfless Love for us.