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Like Matthew in today’s Gospel, Jesus is calling us to follow Him. To turn away from the darkness, hopelessness, emptiness of what the world offers and follow Him. To walk in His light and in His ways.

All of us in one way or another has been touched by the word of the God. How do we respond to the grace that calls us to Him? Stand up sisters and brothers and follow Him. Your lives will be changed forever. You will experience His peace, love and joy. Your loving acceptance draws others to Him. Just as Matthew did at the table with the Lord, tax collectors and sinners gathered round Him.

We are all unique in our Lord’s eyes and have been given different gifts and talents. Through Him we form One body in Him. Let us use our gifts, talents charisms, to build up His Kingdom. Glory and Praise to our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

First reading
Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13

I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.
Each one of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. To some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.

Gospel
Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus was walking on, he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’