Word to the Wise
Monday, September 21, 2015 - Sept. 21 - St. Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
[Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 and Matt 9:9-13]"Those who are well no 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." [Matthew]
Matthew [Levi] is called by Jesus and gets up from his tax collector's post and follows him. This results in an invitation to dinner at Matthew's house where the guest list includes a lot of people who would know Matthew. Naturally enough, they would also be in similar trades that the Pharisees would consider unclean. (Tax Collectors handled Roman coinage with the image of Caesar on it, which the Pharisees would consider unclean!) Their comment to Jesus' disciples gets a reply from Jesus which should be particularly familiar to us at the present time: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." This is a direct quote from the prophet, Hosea, but the whole statement is echoed in Pope Francis' THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL in which he refers to the church as a field hospital, and speaks of the Eucharist as "medicine for sinners, not a reward for the elite."
As I write this, Pope Francis is in Cuba, before coming to the U.S.A.. There are those who think he should not be "eating and drinking" with Raul Castro and the Cuban government. He will be speaking to the U.S. Congress, also. I wonder what comment that will elicit from other kinds of Pharisees! His recent reform of annulment proceedings have already attracted severe disapproval from certain canonists.
Beginning this Advent, Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy. If we want to know the meaning of his pontificate, we will find it in Jesus' quote. Are we among the "disapproving righteous" or among the sinners and tax collectors that Jesus came to call? AMEN
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