Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 5, 27- 32
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
The key is to go out and find what is lost
1) Go out. Jesus goes out and does not wait at home. Many times, we sit down and wait, and expect our brothers to arrive at our doorstep. During Lent, go out and seek your brother. There are many people in need of God, do not let prejudice win. Go out, stop staying in the sacristy or at home. Seek beyond your closed circle, look for other life partners, open yourself to others, stop being such a closed and scared person. Whoever loves you must love you as you are. Go out and open yourself to others because others are a gift from God to you.
2) Saw. Seeing is the capacity to look at one another and not to ignore others. Do not pretend you cannot see. Accept the responsibility of helping your brother who has fallen and is hurt. Today, it may be him and tomorrow it might be you who needs a helping hand. Look around and find who may need your help.
3) He said to him, “Follow me.” Jesus teaches us that He does not look at your résumé to see who you are. He already knows. He wants to save you. You must change from being a public sinner to being a public follower. I am a public sinner-follower and so are you. Therefore, let’s be grateful to God that He chose us to follow Him. Follow the Lord and do not forget that you were and are a sinner. You are not a clean follower, and you have no right to judge others.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Remember that Heaven is our goal!
