From: Matthew 9:9-13

The Call of Matthew

[9] As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the
tax office; and He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he rose and followed Him.

[10] And as He sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sin-
ners came and sat down with Jesus and His disciples. [11] And when the Phari-
sees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax
collectors and sinners?” [12] But when He heard it, He said, “Those who are well
have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. [13] Go and learn what this
means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners.”

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Commentary:

9. “Tax office”: a public place for the payment of taxes. On “following Jesus”,
see the note on Matthew 8:18-22.

The Matthew whom Jesus calls here is the Apostle of the same name and the
human author of the first Gospel. In Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 he is called Levi
the son of Alphaeus or simply Levi.

In addition to Baptism, through which God calls all Christians (cf. note on Mat-
thew 8:18-22), the Lord can also extend, to whomever He chooses, a further
calling to engage in some specific mission in the Church. This second calling
is a special grace (cf. Matthew 4:19-21; Mark 1:17-20; John 1:30; etc.) additio-
nal to the earlier calling through Baptism. In other words, it is not man who
takes the initiative; it is Jesus who calls, and man who responds to this call by
his free personal decision: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:
16).

Matthew’s promptitude in “following” Jesus’ call is to be noted. When God
speaks, soul may be tempted to reply, “Tomorrow; I’m not ready yet.” In the
last analysis this excuse, and other excuses, are nothing but a sign of selfish-
ness and fear (different from that fear which can be an additional symptom of
vocation: cf. John 1). “Tomorrow” runs the risk of being too late.

As in the case of the other Apostles, St. Matthew is called in the midst of the
ordinary circumstances of his life: “What amazes you seems natural to me:
that God has sought you out in the practice of your profession! That is how He
sought the first, Peter and Andrew, James and John, beside their nets, and Mat-
thew, sitting in the custom-house. And—wonder of wonders!—Paul, in his eager-
ness to destroy the seed of the Christians” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 799).

10-11. The attitude of these Pharisees, who are so prone to judge others and
classify them as just men or sinners, is at odds with the attitude and teaching
of Jesus. Earlier on, He said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1),
and elsewhere He added, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to
throw a stone at her” (John 8:7).

The fact is that all of us are sinners; and our Lord has come to redeem all of
us. There is no basis, therefore, for Christians to be scandalized by the sins of
others, since any one of us is capable of committing the vilest of sins unless
God’s grace comes to our aid.

12. There is no reason why anyone should be depressed when he realizes he
is full of failings: recognition that we are sinners is the only correct attitude for
us to have in the presence of God. He has come to seek all men, but if a person
considers himself to be righteous, by doing so he is closing the door to God; all
of us in fact are sinners.

13. Here Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, keeping the hyperbole of the Semitic style.
A more faithful translation would be: “I desire mercy MORE THAN sacrifice”. It
is not that our Lord does not want the sacrifices we offer Him: He is stressing
that every sacrifice should come from the heart, for charity should imbue every-
thing a Christian does—especially his worship of God (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-13;
Matthew 5:23-24).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading	Amos 8:4-6,9-12 ©

A famine not of bread, but of hearing the word of the Lord

Listen to this, you who trample on the needy

and try to suppress the poor people of the country,

you who say, ‘When will New Moon be over

so that we can sell our corn,

and sabbath, so that we can market our wheat?

Then by lowering the bushel, raising the shekel,

by swindling and tampering with the scales,

we can buy up the poor for money,

and the needy for a pair of sandals,

and get a price even for the sweepings of the wheat.’

That day – it is the Lord who speaks –

I will make the sun go down at noon,

and darken the earth in broad daylight.

I am going to turn your feasts into funerals,

all your singing into lamentation;

I will have your loins all in sackcloth,

your heads all shaved.

I will make it a mourning like the mourning for an only son,

as long as it lasts it will be like a day of bitterness.

See what days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks –

days when I will bring famine on the country,

a famine not of bread, a drought not of water,

but of hearing the word of the Lord.

They will stagger from sea to sea,

wander from north to east,

seeking the word of the Lord

and failing to find it.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 118(119):2,10,20,30,40,131 ©

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

They are happy who do his will,

seeking him with all their hearts,

I have sought you with all my heart;

let me not stray from your commands.

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

My soul is ever consumed

as I long for your decrees.

I have chosen the way of truth

with your decrees before me.

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

See, I long for your precepts;

then in your justice, give me life.

I open my mouth and I sigh

as I yearn for your commands.

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Gospel Acclamation	Ps24:4,5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Teach me your paths, my God,

make me walk in your truth.

Alleluia!

Or:	Mt11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,

and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Matthew 9:9-13 ©

It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick

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.’