Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.

Jesus came to save the sinners, not the righteous. But who in this reading is the greater sinner? The tax collector Levi (aka. Matthew) was indeed a great sinner that was carrying out a great injustice on his own people for money. Tax collectors were hated world-wide, because they made their living by extorting money above and beyond what the king told them to collect. They were often greedy and sometimes violent. But Levi was a Jewish tax collector. He was especially hated because he made his living by taking wealth from the people of Isreal, and out of the temple, and giving it to pagan kings. But despite all this, Levi knew that he was a sinner and we know that he wanted something more. He wanted to live a life that honored and glorified God, and that is why he answered the Lord’s call, and left his post.

The pharisees on the other hand were also great sinners. They use the law to subjegate the jewish people, and their knowledge of it to aggrandize themselves. They would gather together in the sanhedron and make many laws that they placed on the backs of the jewish people. Laws that governed, washing, and eating, and worship. They then used their knowledge of that law to subjugate the people and burden them with many things, and ultimately they placed themselves in a position of honor as the only ones that could arbitrate who was righteous and who was not under that same law. But despite this obvious hypocrisy, the pharisees did not see anything wrong with what they were doing, they thought that they were righteous, and they definitely did not think that they were sinners.

So what is happening here in today’s reading…, the answer is simply that Jesus “did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” But He is a gentleman, and He will not force himself upon you, He is not going to help you if you dont want His help. The sick and the needy recognize their helplessness and are not shy about begging for God’s mercy, and thus that is why Jesus is with them, trying to get them to repent and reconcile their sin and return to full communion with the Lord. The pharisees on the other hand were arogant, and hard hearted, and they didn’t recognize this fact, they do not think that they are the ones that need any help, and as a result, Jesus is not with them. As St. Paul said in Hebrews (paraphrasing) “Jesus does not call the equiped, he equipts the called.” He wants the same for you, He is calling your name, are you ready to join Him? Start by humbly asking for His help.

Oh lord, help me today to recognize my sin, and my weekness, and bring it to you for healing. Amen.