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| “The Tax Collectors” by Marinus Roejmerswaelen, 1550 |
Reading I: Isaiah 58:9b-14
Thus
says the LORD:
If
you remove from your midst oppression,
false
accusation and malicious speech;
If
you bestow your bread on the hungry
and
satisfy the afflicted;
Then
light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and
the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then
the LORD will guide you always
and
give you plenty even on the parched land.
He
will renew your strength,
and
you shall be like a watered garden,
like
a spring whose water never fails.
The
ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and
the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer
of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer
of ruined homesteads.”
If
you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from
following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If
you call the sabbath a delight,
and
the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If
you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking
your own interests, or speaking with malice-
Then
you shall delight in the LORD,
and
I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I
will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for
the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
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Commentary on
Is
58:9b-14
This selection from Isaiah in the post-exilic period is part of
the second in a series of poems. The prophet continues exhorting the people to
understand that God desires a spirit of compassion and generosity. He tells the
people that if they follow this course they will be greatly rewarded and will
receive rich blessings from God.
In verses 10-14 Isaiah explains what it means to keep the sabbath
day holy. Again, following this command brings the faithful rich rewards from
God.
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (11ab) Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk
in your truth.
Incline
your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for
I am afflicted and poor.
Keep
my life, for I am devoted to you;
save
your servant who trusts in you.
You
are my God.
R. Teach me your way, O
Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have
mercy on me, O Lord,
for
to you I call all the day.
Gladden
the soul of your servant,
for
to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Teach me your way, O
Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
For
you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding
in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken,
O LORD, to my prayer
and
attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Teach me your way, O
Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Ps
86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Psalm
86 is an individual lament. It asks for mercy from God. The psalmist sings of
an afflicted life, and asks God to give his servant relief. The song indicates
the faithfulness of the singer, even in times of distress.
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 5:27-32
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.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Lk 5:27-32
The story of the call of St.
Matthew in Luke’s Gospel immediately follows Jesus’ confrontation with the
Pharisees that culminated with the cure of the paralytic lowered through the
roof. “A man named Matthew: Mark names this tax collector Levi (Mark 2:14). No such
name appears in the four lists of the twelve who were the closest companions of
Jesus (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16; Acts 1:13 [eleven,
because of the defection of Judas Iscariot]), whereas all four list a Matthew, designated
in Matthew 10:3 as
'the tax collector.'"
The evangelist may have changed the
"Levi" of his source to Matthew so that this man, whose call is given
special notice, like that of the first four disciples (Matthew 4:18-22), might be
included among the Twelve. Another reason for the change may be that the
disciple Matthew was the source of traditions peculiar to the church for which
the evangelist was writing. [4] It is much more focused on the reaction of the Pharisees
than the same story in Matthew (Matthew 9:9). The
message, however, is clear. Jesus came so that we (who are all sinners) might
understand that God’s love is for sinners as well.
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
As
we struggle to understand what our faith calls us to do and to be in the world,
one of the most difficult areas to put into practice is our attitude of
compassion. You might think to challenge
that statement saying, “I am always compassionate.” But, in Jesus, the depth of compassion goes
much deeper than what most of us can accomplish consistently.
God
tried to convey the need for those who follow him to show compassion and
consolation to those less fortunate from the beginning of his revelatory work
with humankind. The Book of the Prophet
Isaiah demonstrates this. In the first reading the prophet extols the Hebrews
to “remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech; . . . bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted.” He calls
on the people to show compassion to the poor and the downtrodden. If they do this consistently they become a
light in the darkness, a people God will abundantly reward as only he can.
Jesus
takes that notion to a higher level with his example in the Gospel of St.
Luke. Following his call of a
controversial disciple, St. Matthew, he chooses to dine, not in the pious halls
of the Pharisees, but with tax collectors.
When those zealous Pharisees complain that he has sullied himself by doing
so, he tries once more to explain the meaning of compassion, of loving one’s
neighbor. We can see how much this must
disturb them. Later they will engage in the plot to have the one who is
compassion incarnate put to death.
The
lessons taught by Isaiah and Jesus are very clear for us. We are to extend the loving hand of
compassion and generosity to those who are less fortunate. The Lenten discipline of almsgiving is
clearly expressed today. We may not be
able to take in the homeless or the afflicted, but we must not ignore them,
avert our eyes so we do not see them, or rationalize that we cannot help. We are reminded that when we perform acts of
mercy and charity in God’s name, the Lord is glorified and “He will renew your strength, and you shall
be like a watered garden.”
Pax
[1]
The picture is “The Tax Collectors” by Marinus Roejmerswaelen, 1550.
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[4]
See NAB footnote on Matthew 9:9.
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