DAILY- HOMILY

01 July 2016  

Friday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time 

St. Junipero Serra, Priest 

Green.       

Am 8:4 -6, 9 – 12 / Mt 9:9 – 13

Born in Mallorca, Spain, St. Junifero Serra (1713 – 1784) joined the Franciscans and, as a missionary in the New World, established many churches and Christian communities in the US West Coast. He was canonized by Pope Francis in the US in September 2015.

Gospel Reading: Mt 9:9 - 13 

As Jesus moved on from there, he saw a man named Matthew at his seat in the custom-house, and he said to him, "Follow me." And Matthew got up and followed him. Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and other sinners joined Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this they said to his disciples, "Why is it that your master eats with those sinners and tax collectors?"

When Jesus heard this he said, "Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and find out what this means: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but the sinners."

Reflection:

If Jesus were in our midst, we too like the Pharisees would be scandalized seeing him in the company of tax-collectors.  Why?  Because they were despised for enriching themselves with the money of their fellow Jews.  They were also considered as betrayers of their people and of the Law of Moses.  This prejudice and dislike for them remain till now.  They were numbered among the list of sinners in Jesus' time, along with the prostitutes, adulterers, etc.  All men should shun their company.  

Yet Christ was not ashamed to be among them.  He considered them as sick and wounded people who needed a physician.  In fact he was the physician who could heal the serious internal disease of men called sin and its consequences. His love and compassion were greater than any sin.  It could transform a sinner into a saint.  In the Gospels, often the public sinners were the ones who welcomed this forgiveness and converted faster than those who considered themselves healthy.  

Do we need the healing of Christ?  Christ came to die for all of us.  We too are sinners like the tax-collectors and prostitutes.  We too are murderers and adulterers.  Because even if we are not in jail for murder, oftentimes, hatred has made us guilty of it.  Lust for a man or a woman also makes us adulterers.  

Jesus said, "What makes us unclean is not what comes from the outside, but what comes from within, from the heart."  (Mt 7: 21) We may seem to fulfill the law perfectly, but, if we become fault-finders and self-righteous like the Pharisees, then we are committing the mother of all sins, pride.  Let us examine ourselves sincerely and recognize that we do need Christ because we are no better than the public sinners.

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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