Saturday, January 17, 2004
1st Week in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: 1S 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1
Gospel: Mk 2:13-17

When Jesus went out again beside the lake, a crowd came to him and he taught them. As he walked along, he saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him, "Follow me." And Levi got up and followed him.

And it so happened that while Jesus was eating in Levi's house, tax collectors and sinners were sitting with him and his disciples for there were indeed many of them. But there were also teachers of the Law of the Pharisees' party, among those who followed Jesus, and when they saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why! He eats with tax collectors and sinners!"

Jesus heard them and answered, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Commentary

LEVI (also known as Bartholomew) was still working at his rotten job when Jesus called him. It was an ugly exploitative job: he and his likes were shunned by Pharisees and befriended by nobody. But Jesus didn't wait till he had turned his back on his old way of life. He called him while he was "sitting in his office," totting up his profits, it may be, for he was a tax collector. What do we see next? A whole crowd of tax collectors, having a meal-and Jesus in the middle of them! And for good measure there were some public sinners there too. In those days, to sit at table with someone was to express unrestricted friendship with them. What were they talking about? Try and imagine that! There's some empty space on this page; get a pencil and have a go!

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