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The First Proclamation
In this text the Lord speaks through the mouth of prophet Isaiah and tells the people that if they share their food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed, then the Lord will always guide them and provide them with what they need. If they do not profane the sabbath and keep it holy, then they will find happiness in the Lord.
The Gospel Proclamation
he went out and saw tax collector named Levi, ... and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet ...; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors ... The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples ....
Gaze on Jesus
The tax collector would have heard about Jesus and His ongoing ministry to the people. It would have taken him by surprise when Jesus called him because of the resentment the people have for them. For they serve the Roman rulers whom the people hated. Jesus was not in the least concerned about the negative attitude of the people and He acted according to the Will of the Father in heaven. On the other hand the tax collector made a total commitment by leaving everything to follow Jesus. He would have felt that he should do something in return for the unique role conferred on him and so he arranged a great feast for Jesus in which the disciples and his fellow tax collectors also participated.
The Pharisees and the other religious leaders who were all the time bent on finding fault with what Jesus did or spoke made use of this occasion to level an accusation not on Jesus direct but on His disciples who were only following His example. He took upon Himself the challenge and made it very clear to all those present as to why He has come down to earth. To call to repentance the sinners and not those who consider themselves righteous.
Prayerful Awareness
To enter the family of God one must change some of the values he holds on to. This conversion is not as conspicuous as participation in devotional practices but is much more valuable. First, we must liberate ourselves from practices by which we classify people. Let us stop dividing people into good or bad; those we can greet and those we cannot. Let us learn that God does not hate the rich or the uneducated, those on the left or those on the right, for the merciful plan of God sees to the salvation of all. The Gospel speaks about the publicans or the tax collectors, who served the foreign powers. The people knew that the tax collectors filled their pockets, and even the beggars did not want to receive anything from them. Yet Jesus did not condemn them, but chose one of them to be an apostle of whom the majority were patriots.
Prayer Starter
Lord Jesus, we believe that we who have taken the call to follow You, are expected to love everyone, even those who hate us. You have given us an outstanding example by washing the feet of Judas knowing very well that in a short while he will betray You to those who will bring about Your most ignominious death on a cross. Enable us dear Jesus to accept everyone as he is, so that we can live up to Your expectation of true discipleship.
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