Set Apart by the Lord for a Special Vocation and a Special Ministry or Profession

In today's gospel, Mark 2: 13-17, Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him.  At table dining with Levi in  his house, Jesus hears scribes outside the house asking why is eating with sinners and tax collectors.  His response is that he "did not come to call the righteous but sinners." And furthermore states: "Those who are well do not need a physician."  Sinners, not well spiritually, do!

Many are called be that to marriage, to single life, to religious life, to priesthood,  or to the deaconate. All of us need a physician to stay well, to remain faithful to the Lord, as Levi had even to the point of being martyred for his faith. You and I most likely will not face physical martyrdom but a spiritual martyrdom, dying to sin, to selfishness, to anything that is an obstacle within us to following the will of God for us, especially when the choices God calls us to embrace provoke others to say: Why has the Lord called this person to that way of life, to be involved in that ministry, to marry that person, to be involved in that profession?

Samuel, unlike Levi, was highly praised: "There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul; he stood head and shoulder above the people....When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord assured him, 'This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people'...[Saul anointed him, saying:) 'The Lord anoints you commander over his heritage. You are to govern the Lord's people Israel, and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout."

Saul, unlike Levi, does not remain faithful to the Lord or to his calling, but get lured into evil ways with others around him.  You and I need to know that fidelity to the Lord is not a given.  We, like Saul, may face challenges to follow others paths. Without keeping our focus on the Lord and remembering that we are sinners dependent on the Lord for our salvation, we, too, could succumb to temptations all around us. 

Lord, help us remain faithful to you in whatever calling you have given us. May we stay close to you and remember our dependence upon grace to do the good  to which you have called us.

God's Justice

Today's liturgy opens with the following antiphon:  Give me justice, O God, and plead my cause against a nation that is faithless. From the deceitful and cunning rescue me, for you, O God, are my strength (cf. Ps 43 (42): 1-2).  In light of those who have recently been stripped of their jobs , I paraphrase this antiphon as follows:  "Give them justice, O God, and plead their causes against faithless leaders. From the deceitful and cunning rescue them, for you, O God, are their strength."

In today's responsorial psalm, we pray to God as follows:  "Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.  Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sins cleanse me. A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me...."

May God have mercy on those unjustly firing their employees. May God have mercy on the "deceitful and cunning" and "in the greatness of [His] compassion wipe out [the offenses of those doing the unjust firing]."  It is more difficult to apply the rest of the psalm to the persons who dominate our news today, yet we know that Jesus forgave the good thief on Calvary when he turned to Him and asked to be remembered. "Remember me, Jesus, when You get to Your kingdom" and Jesus responded: "This very day you shall be with me in my Kingdom."  Jesus does not rejoice in even one sinner, you or me or anyone else, being lost. All sin was destroyed on the cross and all sinners saved. I pray for this salvation and for God's saving graces to transform the evil we are seeing in our own lives and in the world of today!  God, have mercy on  us all!

Jesus' Association with, and Transformation of, Sinners

In  today’s Gospel, Matthew 9: 9-13, Jesus calls Matthew to become an apostle. Matthew is despised by his people. He is a tax collector, working for the Roman government, the occupiers of Israel. He not only is on the side of Israel’s oppressor, he is also overcharging the people the taxes owed to the government and lining his own pockets with extra cash.  In the words of the first reading, Amos 8: 4-6, 9-12, he is cheating.

How can Jesus, the Pharisees wonder, choose such a man and even sit down with him at table, feasting.   Why, they ask, is He associating with sinners?  Jesus knows what the Pharisees are thinking and responds:  “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

We, too, have Pharisaical thoughts and are baffled by the choices Jesus makes.  “She, a nun, we ask. He,  a priest!  How come so and so was chosen for that position.  Why do you want to marry him/her?  Of all people!  And on and on goes our list of objections to choices being made that we do not understand or accept.

Let u, also, imagine ourselves being a Matthew. God sees us at work in ways that are in opposition to who we really are and what He really wants of us. In fact, God sees us cheating here and there. He also reads our hearts. He knows of what we are capable. He wants us working for the Kingdom, His Kingdom here on earth and to be a part of His Kingdom in eternity. And, to the amazement of those who know us, chooses us to walk closely with Him, to sit at table with Him (the Eucharistic banquet here on earth and later in heaven), to be ones who recognize Him, follow Him, and proclaim His death and resurrection. He calls us, not because we are righteous,  but because we are sinners in need of a Physician like no other. 

Wow! Thank you, Jesus, for recognizing my need of You. Thank you, Jesus, for calling me to walk closely with you, to sit down at the Eucharistic table with You, to get to know You intimately and to serve You faithfully in building up the Kingdom with You and through You and for You. Give me the grace each day, Lord, to sit at Your feet, reflecting on the Scriptures, the Living Word of God, and being transformed by this Word that never returns to You without doing the work for which You sent it.

Jesus: Savior and Master of our Lives

St. Paul, in today's first reading, 1 Tim 1: 15-17,  states the obvious; namely, that Jesus came into this world to save sinners and that he, Paul, is the worst of such.  Recall that Paul was pursuing Christians to put them to death. He would, today, be a member of ISIS or of any group killing Christians.   He would be a member of tribes in Africa killing other tribes, a member of gangs in any city out to destroy other gangs. He was not someone you or I would want to meet anywhere.  He would be despised by most, hunted down by police, his face among the "Most Wanted" ones.

God knocks him down on his way to Damascus to seek out Christians. He finds him at his worst and transforms him into an apostle, His disciple. Jesus transforms the passion that he used against the gospel into a passion to spread the gospel.  The ugliest sin in him--treating persons as objects to be destroyed--was transformed by grace.  He  now, through God's grace and mercy, works for the good of all, proclaiming the Good News of salvation. He becomes the Light and abandons the darkness.

You and I have the same choice.  We, too, are persons who are sinners, who need God to intervene i our lives, turn us around often and put us on the right path.

How has God intervened in your life?

The Rythm of Falling and Rising

In today’s first reading, 2 Cor 11:1-11, Paul states that he “betrothed…[the Corinthians] to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But, [he says,] I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ.” 

In my meditation this morning I was bemoaning my infidelity to the Lord in small things: not being totally honest, giving in to gossip from time to time or at times exaggerating a point to make a point,  to be noticed or presumably to be accepted; giving in to pride or whatever. 

The Lord then let me know who He is in my life. “Dorothy Ann, I, not Paul betrothed you as a chaste virgin to Christ. I am not afraid, as Paul was, that Satan, the Father of Lies, the Great Deceiver, will corrupt you.  I am your Redeemer. I live in you to protect you from Satan’s deceitful ways.  Will you fall from time to time? Yes! That is sin in you.  Will you rise after a fall? Yes! That is grace in you.  Your honesty with me in prayer is a grace that purifies you every time you come to me in prayer, in the Eucharist and in the sacrament of reconciliation.”

Who is God for you?  What do you do when you are discouraged after a fall?