Daily Meditation - Sunday 10June 2008 - THE RIGHTEOUS DO NOT NEED A PHYSICIAN

[BarbaraTherese]

Tenth Sunday
in
Ordinary Time
Our Sunday Obligation here

Mass Readings and Meditation

Readings

Meditation

http://www.wau.org/images/spacer.gif
Sunday, June 08, 2008

Matthew 9:9-13

Matthew was an outcast—a Jew who served the financial arm of the Roman Empire that occupied Palestine.

• He was probably not naïve about this, either.
• Most likely, he knew that by making accommodations with the pagan culture that held the Jews in subjection,
• he himself had betrayed and rejected his people
• . It’s also quite possible that he followed the common practice among tax collectors
• of overcharging his clients and keeping the extra money for himself (Luke 3:12-13). here
  So why did Matthew leave behind such a money-making proposition in order to follow this rabbi—especially since Jesus represented everything Matthew had thrown away?
• To put it simply, Matthew knew he was sinful.
• He was reminded of it every day as he endured the scornful looks and bitter words of his neighbors.
• And this knowledge finally got the better of him when he met Jesus: Matthew knew he needed saving.
  Imagine Matthew’s joy when he heard Jesus tell his detractors: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. . . . I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:12,13). here
• Matthew learned it was not too late for him,
• that in fact Jesus calls us precisely while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8). here
• Matthew realized that he was spiritually sick,
• and he saw in Jesus someone who could heal him.

• The popular view in the world is that we are basically good people who just need a little help now and then.
• But the truth of the matter is that we have all been wounded by original sin.
• We all seek after our own needs and desires before we think about other people or even God’s will.

When Matthew realized this, he left everything behind and followed Jesus.
The same can also be true for us. If we ask him, the Holy Spirit will not only show us our sin, he will speak words of comfort and hope to us, calling us to Jesus, our healer.

“Lord Jesus, you came to redeem and heal the sinful.
By your Spirit,
help me to experience your work in my life
and learn to follow you.”