Jesus Calls Sinners

The story of Levi's call to follow Jesus in today's Gospel perhaps does not seem like such a "big thing", but taking a deeper look at it, we see that it is.  Tax collectors were mistrusted and despised because they were working for the Roman "Establishment" and often themselves cheated the tax-payers.  Sound familiar?  For Levi to leave his coins behind and become a follower of Jesus meant more fodder for the already wagging tongues, and a decrease in income, assuming that Levi did his share of "skimming the pot".  And like Zacchaeus, this move had to cause Levi to look into his soul and admit his sins.  Ah, this is the part of the story for us today.  For it is this recognition of our sinfulness that allows Jesus to forgive, forget, and re-channel our gifts to his service.  Levi moved from tax-collector notoriety to the popular Matthew whose Gospel for two thousand years has helped people come to know and love Jesus. What a dramatic switch in the direction of his life!  Do we want to make such a switch?  Can we do it?  How do we do it?  It begins with a humble acceptance of our sinfulness, to seeing our sins as reminders that without Jesus, we are going to continue walking the wrong path. Repentance turns us around and brings us to the point of rejoicing in our weaknesses, for as St. Paul wrote, "When I am weak, then I am strong", (2 Cor 12:10), because it is the strength Jesus supplies that gives us our strength. "For I live not I, but Christ lives within me." (Gal 2:20). Let us rejoice in our weakness then, for because of it we have Jesus as our Savior.
Bro. Rene