Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 5, 2022
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 eyes of Jesus look toward you. You’re worried. How could it be? How could
this man who you have heard so much about turn his attention to you? After all, you’re Levi, who takes the money of poor Israelites, handing it over to the imperial power of Rome.
Everyone else, when they see you, adverts their gaze. You’re a source of shame.
You’re a traitor. But Jesus doesn’t just look at you; he speaks to you. “Follow me,” he says.
With those two words, your life is changed.
You always knew that you are made for something more. You are made to be a disciple of Jesus. Yes, that will involve giving up your current position, which comes with a modicum of profit and prestige. But more important than any wealth and reputation, you recognize anew that you are still loveable.
Your joy is so complete you throw a banquet. You probably don’t even recognize what you’re
doing. Throughout the Old Testament, banquets are times to be in the presence
of God. Banquets are irruptions here and now of the kingdom of God when God feeds us
with choice wines and the best of food.
And you, Levi, the tax collector, throw a banquet.
Through the invitation of Jesus, you are involved in initiating the reign of God, but not everyone is so pleased. The Pharisees and the scribes know who you used to be. They won’t forget your transgressions. They can’t believe that you would change.
Not so with Jesus. He reprimands his fellow sons of Israel. He eats with sinners because he has come for the sick. Not the healthy. He has come to call sinners, not the righteous.
What good news for you, Levi, and what good news for us, who remember your story today. Jesus has also come to call us—the sick, not the healthy. The sinner, not the righteous.
Prayer
Lord, you knew each of us before the foundation of the world and called us each by name. Free us from narrow, prejudicial thinking, attitudes and actions. We are all sinners. Inspire us to humbly serve You and all your creation. We ask this through Christ our Brother Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Kieran is one of St. Patrick’s most important followers, and he helped the great bishop evangelize Ireland. It is said that he was the first saint to be born in Ireland.
Before he was born, Kieran’s mother had a dream in which a star fell into her mouth. She took this dream to druid priests for interpretation, and they told her that she would bear a son who would be famous around the world for his virtue.
Kieran left Ireland to pursue an education in Rome. When he returned, he settled as a hermit in the mountains. Soon, others joined him there, and a small monastic community was formed. When Patrick arrived in Ireland, he asked Kieran to join him in his work, and ordained him bishop of Saighir (now present-day Ossory).
Many folkloric miracles are attributed to Kieran—stories of him teaching wild animals, for example. Several accounts tell of him raising people from the dead. His image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.
St. Kieran, first born of the saints of Ireland—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Kieran of Saighir is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
