THE LORD EATS WITH SINNERS
Introduction
Amos castigates the people of Israel for offering sacrifices and observing religious feasts but not rendering justice; they are exploiting their brothers and sisters, who are with them people of the same covenant. He holds out hope for them if they are converted.
The Gospel, which Jesus preaches and lives, is not a religion based on the self-righteousness of people but a religion of love and mercy based on God’s pure generosity. This makes it possible for a typical sinner – an exploiter and a traitor to his people to boot – to be called to be an apostle. And Christ sits at table with sinners – with Levi-Matthew and his friends, with us now “so that sins may be forgiven.”
Opening Prayer
God of mercy,
you put the self-righteous to shame
and you call sinners to the task
of bringing your Son’s salvation to the world.
Forgive us our pride and reassure us
that we can count on you and your love
because we are weak and sinful people.
Let us share in your life
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading – AMOS 8:4-6, 9-12
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! “When will the new moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell our grain, and the Sabbath, that we may display the wheat?” We will diminish the containers for measuring, add to the weights, and fix our scales for cheating! We will buy the lowly man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!” On that day, says the Lord GOD, I will make the sun set at midday and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentations. I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth and make every head bald. I will make them mourn as for an only son, and bring their day to a bitter end. Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD. Then shall they wander from sea to sea and rove from the north to the east In search of the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.
Responsorial PSALM 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131
R. (Matthew 4:4) One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart. R.
With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands. R.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your ordinances at all times. R.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me. R.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life. R.
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands. R.
Alleluia – MATTHEW 11:28
Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – MATTHEW 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “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.”
Commentary
Following all the Way Home
Here is Matthew comfortably “seated” at the customhouse, the place of his work. Jesus comes along and asks him to follow him. To where? Matthew is not told. (Nor are we.) But then we find them at Matthew’s own very house, now with Jesus “seated” at the table there….
Perhaps this is what following Jesus amounts to: We are often displaced from home, seated at many customhouses, engaged in diverse activities that are often not so wholesome. Jesus comes along, asks us to get up and follow him, and leads us right into the center of our home and takes charge as its boss. Once we realize where exactly he has taken us, we can only throw a party, as Matthew did. It takes a “God to lead us home to ourselves.”
Intentions
– For the Church, a community of saints and sinners, that we, the People of God and our leaders, may not condemn those who fail but with God give them new chances in life, we pray:
– For people who have failed and no longer believe in themselves, in God or in the community, that they may draw new courage and hope from our compassion and understanding, we pray:
– For priests and religious, that they may keep trusting in the Lord who called them notwithstanding their human frailty; that with Christ they may care especially for the poor and the weak, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, merciful Father,
your Son, Jesus Christ,
was eating with tax collectors and sinners
because they needed him.
We bring this bread and wine before you,
that he may sit at table with us
because we too, need him.
Accept his sacrifice and ours
so that sins may be forgiven
and that we may live in your love,
now and for ever. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, merciful Father,
through your Son in our midst,
help us to be mild and compassionate
without condemning anyone,
for you have been gentle to us.
And do not let us boast
of our human achievements,
for we owe everything
to your grace and your call
in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Let these words change our attitude towards people and also ourselves. Let these words make us understanding and mild to everyone, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!