The call of Levi

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.”

REFLECTION WHY DO YOU EAT AND DRINK WITH TAX COLLECTORS? During the Roman occupation of Palestine, tax collectors are hated by their fellow Jews because they collect taxes for the foreign conquerors and enrich themselves in the process. They belong to the category of “sinners,” who are marginalized in Jewish society.

Jesus compares sinners to sick people who need a physician. And he has come to bring not only physical healing but also, above all, spiritual well-being.

The first stage of spiritual healing is repentance, a word translated from the Greek word metanoia. Paul explains metanoia as a “renewal of… mind” (Rom 12:2). The Hebrew word for metanoia is shub, which means to make a 180-degree turn. Repentance then means to turn away from sin and go to God.

Levi exemplifies true repentance: he leaves everything behind (his means of livelihood), gets up, and follows Jesus. Getting up signifies a new way of life. Levi is transformed from a tax collector to a disciple of Jesus.

The Lenten season invites us to get rid of our prejudice and self-righteous attitude and imbibe Jesus’ spirit of openness to the marginalized in society.