Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.
And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Homily:
To the charge, “Follow me”, Matthew obeyed.
The conversation with the Pharisees that followed, immediately brings 3 passages to mind.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” – Matthew 7:3-5
“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”” – John 8:7
“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his gracethrough the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” – Romans 3:23-24
In most circumstances, we are more prone to be Pharisees than Matthews. We believe the sinner is not us. We justify our ways and vilify the ways of others.
It is important to realise that in each waking hour, we have more to do to be right with God, than our neighbour. We will be judged by God for who we are, not in comparison to who they are.
We need Jesus daily, not as a mirror of our righteousness, but as a doorway to righteousness.