Christ the light in the darkness

 

“LORD, THAT I MAY SEE.”

A SHORT COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF THE DAY.

Gospel

Mark 2:13-17

Your light must shine in the sight of men

1.     Jesus went out to the shore of the lake;

2.     and all the people came to him,

3.     and he taught them.

4.     As he was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house,

5.     and he said to him,

6.     ‘Follow me.’

7.     And he got up and followed him.

8.     When Jesus was at dinner in his house,

9.     a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples;

10. for there were many of them among his followers.

11. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors,

12. they said to his disciples,

13. ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’

14. When Jesus heard this he said to them,

15. ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick.

16. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’

 

God so loved the world. He so loved people that he came and lived among us, as one of us. Sin is a spiritual disease which if not treated in time leads to eternal death. Jesus has medicine for every kind of sin. We are all sinners but like with physical sickness some people know they are sick and others are not aware of their sickness. The latter are in a more dangerous condition.

Tax collectors and others who openly broke the Law of Moses knew they were sinners. Other people did not allow them to forget it either. Jesus went to them. He was their friend and spent time with them. He was their good physician, come to heal them.

Sinners for all they may say openly are not happy people. Inside them they know that they are sinning and their conscience condemns them. If sinners, that is if we, respond like Levi and follow Jesus then our sinful life will be forgiven and forgotten. The closer we are to Jesus, the more peaceful and happier we shall be.

But how to get close to Jesus? It is a matter of believing he is with you, even though you do not see him. “I stand at the door and knock,” he says in the book of Revelation. “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in and we will eat together.” Hear his gentle voice. Open the door of your heart and welcome him. Speak to him – heart to heart. Persevere in this and through his Spirit you will become close to him and he will heal you of every kind of sin.