GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY – 21ST SEPTEMBER 2016

GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)

DATE: 21ST SEPTEMBER 2016

FEAST OF ST. MATTHEW, APOSTLE, EVANGELIST

1ST READING: Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-3

PSALM: Psalm 19:2-5

GOSPEL: Matthew 9:9-13

THEME: FRIEND OF SINNERS

Sitting dejectedly in a chair with tears rolling down his cheeks, he said, “I can’t believe that I committed that sin; the Lord will never forgive me”. He had been a faithful and active Christian in all respects, and in the eyes of his contemporaries, he stood out in many ways as a role model. However, in his pursuit of holiness, he had forgotten that he was a vulnerable human being subject to human weakness. One day, he stumbled and fell right into the very sin for which he had despised so many sinners. He felt broken and crushed.

Empathising with him, I held his hands firmly and reminded him of an important saying of Jesus, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Mt. 9:12-13). Later on in life, our paths crossed again and he reminded me of who he was and his story; he then added, “I had always thought of Jesus as a friend of the righteous, but now I know he is a real friend of the sinner.”

The call of Matthew and the decision of Jesus to sit at table with tax collectors and sinners for a meal, as narrated in our Gospel text, is an efficacious reminder to each one of us of the mission of Jesus Christ. He came to rescue and restore all those who are broken and have been marginalized. This is what grace is about.

Paul was a man who had experienced the gospel of grace in his own personal life. In our First Reading he writes, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Eph 4:7). He knew very well that it was grace that had made him who he was.

When Jesus set eyes on Matthew, he did not see a tax-collector, he saw a man sitting at the tax collector’s office. He put no tag on Matthew and never addressed him as a tax collector. Jesus chose to focus not on what Matthew was but what he could become.

There is a difference between who you are and where you are. Where you are may not be the right place for you but you are the right person the Lord wants. You may have fallen into sin and broken your heart in the process but the good news is that Jesus loves you as you are and he still wants you. The grace that transformed Matthew, “the tax collector” into an apostle is being offered to you today. Jesus stretches his hands towards you and says, “Follow me.” Like Matthew, now is the right time to rise from your broken state and follow him!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I have heard your call in my broken state and my response is “Yes Lord, I will follow”.

Andrews Obeng, SVD

DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES

BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)

“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).

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