Transforming power of God's mercy
Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Feb 17, 2024
Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Luke 5:27-32
Isaiah 58:9b-14 resounds with a call to genuine righteousness and compassionate living. The prophet assures that if we remove the yoke of oppression, share our food with the hungry, and provide shelter for the homeless, our light will rise in the darkness. That is what Jesus did during his life on earth and continues doing in the lives of those who believe in Him.
In the Gospel of Luke, we have two tax collectors mentioned by their names: Levi and Zacchaeus. One left everything behind and followed Jesus, the other gave half of his possessions to the poor and made a promise of restitution to those whom he wronged. Both of them gave a great banquet for Jesus in their houses. Jesus mended their lives and they embarked on the road of righteousness by bringing the light of Christ into the lives of others.
We are not told in the Gospel why those two tax collectors were chosen by Jesus to become one of the first recipients of His forgiveness but perhaps Psalm 86 can shed some light into this mystery. In Psalm 86, the psalmist calls on God for help. He wants the Lord to listen to his prayer and preserve his life. In his prayer for help, the psalmist mentions the revelation of God's character in the Book of Exodus (see Ex 34:6-7): "For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you" (Ps 86:5). And then, he continues his prayer saying: "Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my pleading" (Ps 86:6).
From the beginning of his Gospel, Luke presents tax collectors as seeking the grace of forgiveness from the Lord. They could not find it in Jerusalem's temple, so they searched for it in the wilderness asking John the Baptist what they should do. The answer they got was: "Collect no more than you are authorized to do" (Luke 3:13). And when Jesus began to preach the Good News of God coming to reign in our lives, "the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him" (Luke 15:1). Rejected by the self-righteous Pharisees and the scribes, they were welcome by Jesus who revealed to them God's mercy and called to a new way of life.
As we reflect on these passages, a common theme emerges: the transformative power of authentic relationship with God and others. Isaiah challenges us to move beyond empty rituals and engage in acts of compassion, paving the way for the light of God to illuminate our lives. Psalm 86 reflects our deep longing to experience God's mercy that alone can bring lasting joy to our lives. Finally, Luke 5:27-32 unveils the radical inclusivity of Jesus' ministry. The invitation to Levi signifies that no one is beyond the reach of God's transformative grace.
The liturgy of the Word calls us to embrace the transformative power of God's mercy and extend compassion to the marginalized. Let the tax collector whose name in Hebrew was Levi and Matthew in Greek become our model. After experiencing God's mercy, he left everything behind and shared the story of Jesus with the whole world.