Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2, 13-17
Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God
1) Be impartial and accept others. How nice it would be if people could say that about us. We should treat everyone the same way. We shouldn’t make friends just for our own benefit; we should have the grace of having a big, open heart that welcomes everyone, like Jesus. Look at your heart and consider how you act towards others. Do you treat everyone alike or do you get close to certain people just because they are popular or influential?
2) Give to Caesar. We Christians are called to be exemplary citizens, fulfilling our social and political obligations. Lay people are called to evangelize their community and to transmit the presence of God in everyday life. This implies evangelizing by complying with the rules; evangelizing by being punctual at work, evangelizing by paying employees what is fair, and evangelizing by seeking the best for all. Our life cannot be disconnected. We must be careful not to have a saintly face inside the Church but to be harsh critics outside of it. The key is to fulfil social as well as religious responsibilities.
3) To God. It is good to remember that we must fulfill our religious obligations and by that, I mean your spiritual and material commitments. It’s not that I am asking you for money… But ask yourself, do you contribute to your church? Do you give your time, your money, or your talents? It is good to remember that it is your responsibility and mine to collaborate, and this is not reduced to material help (although it is true that we Catholics have a reputation for being a little stingy), but it is also good to contribute time or your talents that you can share to support the Church. Remember that you are the Church and you build the Church; the living Church.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Remember, Heaven is our goal!
