The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isa 9:2 Yes, we know, with all our hearts that we have seen the light of the world in our midst! Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Even on our Lenten Journey to new life anew in Him, our hearts rejoice for we have tasted, and we have seen. So, leave everything behind, get up and we follow Him.
Have our light not risen in the darkness through Him? Have our night become like the noonday. Isa 58:10 For Jesus died for our sins and we now we live as free children of God our Father so loved by Him!
Shall we not then, children of light; shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death. To guide their feet into the path of peace? Luke 1:79 How can we not sit with sinners as Jesus did? Are we so afraid to be tainted? When we have the power from on high to minister to them! Where ever we go, we bring the presence of Christ Jesus with us.
Sweet Jesus let Your wellspring of living water flow through me, like a well that never runs dry! Amen
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First reading
Isaiah 58:9-14
You will be like a spring whose waters never run dry
The Lord says this:
If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry,
and relief to the oppressed,
your light will rise in the darkness,
and your shadows become like noon.
The Lord will always guide you,
giving you relief in desert places.
He will give strength to your bones
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never run dry.
You will rebuild the ancient ruins,
build up on the old foundations.
You will be called ‘Breach-mender’,
‘Restorer of ruined houses.’
If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
and doing business on the holy day,
if you call the Sabbath ‘Delightful’,
and the day sacred to the Lord ‘Honourable’,
if you honour it by abstaining from travel,
from doing business and from gossip,
then shall you find your happiness in the Lord
and I will lead you triumphant over the heights of the land.
I will feed you on the heritage of Jacob your father.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
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Gospel
Luke 5:27-32
Jesus comes not to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance
Jesus noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything he got up and followed him.
In his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with them at table was a large gathering of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples and said, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus said to them in reply, ‘It is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance.’
, whose company he seemed to enjoy. It is striking to see how willingly they left their lucrative but degrading employment: here Levi; in another version of the story it is Matthew; and at Jericho the story is told of Zacchaeus. Either Jesus lost all claim to be God’s representative or the Pharisees had got their priorities wrong.
So Jesus replies with two of those splendid, forceful contrasts which are so characteristic of his speech: not healthy but sick, not virtuous but sinners. In other words, it is not the details of the Law which matter, but the purpose of the Law: to bring men and women to God. Jesus positively welcomes sinners, so at the beginning of Lent there is no point in denying that we are sinners. We would fit nicely into the dirty, degraded company of Jesus. But let’s see if we can just hang on to Jesus for a bit. Pope Francis wants a dirty Church, too!
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