Today's Gospel acclamation, Ez 33:11, proclaims that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked... but rather in [their] conversion, that [they] may live." The news, invariably, brings wickedness to our attention: someone committing violent crimes against another human being, exploiting the poor, withholding justice, violating human rights in various nations throughout the world, including the U.S.., destroying other people's property, and so on! God, the prophet Ezekiel tells us, takes no pleasure in the of criminals but delights and waits for their conversion, "that [they] may live!"
God is a merciful, compassionate God. He waits for each of us to turn to Him, to repent and believe in the Gospel! And, yes, He invites the sinner, the criminal, to follow Him, as He did Matthew in today's Gospel (tax collectors, in Jesus' time, were known for exploiting the people, stealing from them by demanding excess revenue and then pocketing some of the money). When the Pharisees and their scribes witnessed Jesus calling Matthew and then dining with him and fellow tax collectors, they complained, asking: "'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.'"
Jesus came to reveal the true nature of our God, a God filled with compassion, seeking to dine with us and to make us whole, to cure our illnesses, that is, those weaknesses that lead us into sin! As a Divine Physician, God excels in accurate diagnoses of our condition and knows exactly where healing is needed!
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