DAILY- HOMILY

FEBRUARY 20, 2010
SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY – YEAR II

ISAIAH 58:9-14
Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call and
he will say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the clenched
fist and malicious words, if you deprive yourself for the hungry and
satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the
darkness, and your darkest hour will be like noon. Yahweh will always
guide you, will satisfy your needs in the scorched land; he will give
strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, like a
flowing spring whose waters never run dry. Your ancient ruins will be
rebuilt; you will build on age -- old foundations. You will be called
'Breach-mender', 'Restorer of streets to be lived in'. If you refrain
from breaking the Sabbath, from taking your own pleasure on my holy
day, if you call the Sabbath 'Delightful', and the day sacred to
Yahweh 'Honourable', if you honour it by abstaining from travel, from
seeking your own pleasure and from too much talk, then you will find
true happiness in Yahweh, and I shall lead you in triumph over the
heights of the land. I shall feed you on the heritage of your father
Jacob, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.

LUKE 5:27-32
When he went out after this, he noticed a tax collector, Levi by name,
sitting at the tax office, and said to him, 'Follow me.' And leaving
everything Levi 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 that are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I
have come to call not the upright but sinners to repentance.'

REFLECTION
Today's story unfolds in the middle of a busy marketplace of a
hardscrabble village in Galilee. "Have you heard?" a neighbor
whispers. "Jesus, the talk of Galilee, is in town. He came out of the
nowhere that is Nazareth and has been performing miracles." Everyone
is jostling for a chance to see him, to touch him, to talk to him and
become the next beneficiary of a miracle. For a place that is a speck
in a corner of the Roman Empire, it is as if the Emperor himself has
come for a visit!

And then he stops. Right in front of the tax house which is the most
hated place in the village. And he beckons to Levi who is its most
hated man. And in a loud voice so that all can hear, He invites him to
become his follower.

Imagine stunned silence followed by an uproar. People shout curses at
both Jesus and Levi for this unholy association. This abuse continues
all the way to Levi's house where Jesus defiantly turns and defends
himself: "I have come to call sinners to repentance."

Jesus deliberately did this in such a public manner to make his point.
His miracles grab the attention of his audience and make him credible.
But his words imprint themselves on their souls — as well as on ours
who can only imagine what may have happened. His words force us into
reflection. He has come to call sinners to repentance. He has come to
call us.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the strength and healing of:
- Brenda
- Filmore T.
- Dapo family
- Renan Lacida
- Walter Stamatelaky
… for the personal intentions of Veronica Yap
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Eugene Yang. Eternal rest
grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he and all
the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Rodel Manansala
- Birthday: Lou Pineda
- Birthday: Ditas Remulla
- Prayer Intention: Chua Giok Yean (Lota Chua)
- In Memoriam (+): Mary Beatrice S. Saludares
… for the healing and peace of all families

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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