A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
As Jesus walks along the sea, he passes by Levi, a tax collector sitting at his customs post. Jesus says to him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and followed Jesus. At his house, Jesus and the disciples sat with tax collectors and sinners, and the Pharisees accuse him by saying, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners.” Jesus, the Divine Physician, responds by saying that those who are well don’t need a physician, but the sick do. Jesus, God made man, could have chosen anyone to follow him—kings, political leaders, the rich and powerful. Instead, he chose sinners. Even Peter, on being called by Jesus, fell at his knees and says to him: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Just as Peter recognized his sinfulness, anyone with an illness must first acknowledge it before seeking treatment. In my own acknowledgment of particular sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus seeks to heal me in a way that corresponds to each of these. How do I respond to that call?
God, help me understand that you sent your Son to set us free; “to proclaim,” as the Gospel acclamation says, “liberty to the captives.” Through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, you understand every human need and what each one of us in particular lacks. Help me identify any sins and illnesses in me so that, as Paul says in the first reading, “I can confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”
The demands of the day clamor in my ears. Help me be still. Lord, just as you taught the crowds as you went out along the sea, give me the grace today to walk with you and hear your words. Divine Physician, heal me and quiet my soul!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.