To call… sinners

AT times we find ourselves in a happy, unexpected situation — winning in a raffle, being chosen the “best dressed” person in a party, or being singled out as a “model employee.” We may not have expected this because we have thought of ourselves to be simply “ordinary” or even “unworthy.”

That Jesus should call a tax collector like Levi to be one of the Twelve is almost unthinkable. We expect Jesus to choose only “the best,” the most “worthy” persons, or the most “qualified.” And yet, Jesus surprises us with his choices. This makes us realize that Jesus gives each one of us a chance to prove our worth before him. No one is marked “sinner” or “unworthy” in his eyes. He knows each of the Twelve could become an ideal disciple if he wanted to, learning from Jesus himself, the Master. All of us are sinners before God; no one can claim to be more worthy than others. Sinners though we are, Jesus chooses us to serve him in whatever state of life we have been called to.

Do you realize how precious you are in God’s eyes and that God does not focus on your sinfulness but on your potentials because you have been created in the divine image and likeness?

Gospel • 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.”