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“The Calling of Matthew”
by Marinus van Reymerswaele, 1536 |
Readings for Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading I: 1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1
There was a stalwart man from Benjamin named Kish,
who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror,
son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite.
He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man.
There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul;
he stood head and shoulders above the people.
Now the asses of Saul’s father, Kish, had wandered off.
Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you
and go out and hunt for the asses.”
Accordingly they went through the hill country of Ephraim,
and through the land of Shalishah.
Not finding them there,
they continued through the land of Shaalim without success.
They also went through the land of Benjamin,
but they failed to find the animals.
When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD assured him,
“This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people.”
Saul met Samuel in the gateway and said,
“Please tell me where the seer lives.”
Samuel answered Saul: “I am the seer.
Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today.
In the morning, before dismissing you,
I will tell you whatever you wish.”
Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul’s head;
he also kissed him, saying:
“The LORD anoints you commander over his heritage.
You are to govern the LORD’s people Israel,
and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout.
“This will be the sign for you
that the LORD has anointed you commander over his heritage.”
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Commentary on 1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1
We are introduced to Saul in this passage. While on a journey of three days to try to recover livestock that went missing from his home, Saul encounters Samuel who is called seer as opposed to prophet at this point in history. Samuel is told by God that this is the person he is to appoint as King of Israel. He invites Saul to dine with him and the next day anoints his head with oil as a sign that he is commander over the heritage given to the Jewish people by God.
"Everything happens in a natural way, as elsewhere in the Bible (see especially the Joseph story in Genesis), God's directing the course of events manifested in the 'accidental' occurrences. Only thanks to his persevering servant - and against his own intention - does Saul happen to get to Samuel's town, and only thanks to the chance encounter with some girls does he enter the town at the precise moment when Samuel comes out, thus meeting the prophet who will anoint him." [5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (2a) Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
O LORD, in your strength the king is glad;
in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you refused not the wish of his lips.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
For you welcomed him with goodly blessings,
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked life of you: you gave him
length of days forever and ever.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
Great is his glory in your victory;
majesty and splendor you conferred upon him.
For you made him a blessing forever;
you gladdened him with the joy of your face.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
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Commentary on Ps 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
In this psalm of praise, the faithful king is honored. This is the first of two parts in the psalm. “In the first, addressed to God, it puts on record that the king’s success comes from God (v. 1-6) […] The general tone of the psalm goes beyond the way things were in the ancient kingdom of Israel and points to the ideal king. For this reason, both Judaism and the Church read it as a psalm about the Messiah.” [6]
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Gospel: Mark 2:13-17
Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
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Commentary on Mk 2:13-17
This passage from St. Mark’s Gospel documents the call of Matthew, here named Levi. The Gospel of St. Matthew renames Levi to Matthew so this tax collector, whose call is given special notice, will be included with the elevated status of the call of the first four disciples.
This story is the setting for the next conflict/response interchange. Once Matthew follows Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees challenge the Lord about the people with whom he chooses to associate because it threatens his status as “teacher.” In response, the Lord uses the famous analogy of a doctor not being needed by those who are well: "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
CCC: Mk 2:14-17 574; Mk 2:17 545, 1484, 1503
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Reflection:
Today we take notice of St. Mark’s record of Jesus’ ironic reply to the scribes and Pharisees regarding his mission. He tells them: “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” The probable reaction to this statement by those to whom he addressed it was: “Oh, he’s on a mission to save those poor sinners,” excluding themselves from the population that needed calling since they were self-righteous.
We, of course, having been exposed to the full ministry of Jesus, recognize that the Son of God came into the world for all peoples, and that no one is free from sin except he who came to wipe away sin, and the vessel from which he was delivered. Still, we see these pious Jews thinking that by consorting with those who had been marginalized, Jesus was contaminating himself, being pulled down to their level, himself being made unfit for their righteous company.
We think to ourselves: “How blind these scribes and Pharisees must have been, not to have seen that they themselves were sinful.” But we are pulled up short. Are we not guilty of the same condescension we see in those who looked down on Jesus’ actions in calling Levi, a tax collector? Do we not see the poor and those trapped in sin and feel (even secretly) that we are better than they are, more righteous, more grace-filled, and closer to God?
The great gift of the Gospel is that it holds up God’s mirror to our faces and tells us to look closely at ourselves. It calls us to see if we are truly conforming ourselves to the Lord or simply giving lip service to the one who came to save all who had sinned, even those of us who believe we are righteous and free from the worst ravages of sin. If we fall into this latter category it is probably more difficult for us to find intimate closeness with the Lord than one who is fully aware of their great failings. For that tax collector or sinner, society helps them by pointing out their sins and humiliating them, and in their humility they can find Christ. Those who cling to their righteousness find humility elusive, and Jesus, who dines with the sinners, is difficult to find in the lofty palaces of self-righteousness.
We learned long ago not to pray for humility because, as Monsignor Robert Lundsford was fond of reminding us, those who pray for humility should expect God to find a way to humiliate them. We do pray that we may always be reminded that Christ came to call sinners and that we are all in that category. Whenever we start to think that we have somehow avoided sin and have come closer to Jesus, may we look at the Blessed Mother, the apostles, and all the saints and see how far we have yet to go.
Pax
[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5.
[2] The picture is “The Calling of Matthew” by Marinus van Reymerswaele, 1536.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Jewish Study Bible, © 2004 Oxford University Press, New York, NY, p. 575.
[6] The Navarre Bible: “Psalms,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 89.
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