Saturday After Ash Wednesday
167. MAKING ALL THINGS NEW (LK 5:27-39)
“As the tree is known by its fruits, so they who claim to belong to Christ are known by their actions; for this work of ours does not consist in just making professions, but in a faith that is both practical and lasting.”
- St Ignatius of Antioch
Luke 5:27-39
When he went out after this, he noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything he 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 who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance.’ They then said to him, ‘John’s disciples are always fasting and saying prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees too, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely you cannot make the bridegroom’s attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come, the time for the bridegroom to be taken away from them; that will be the time when they will fast.’ He also told them this parable, ‘No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece taken from the new will not match the old. And nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins. And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. The old is good, he says.’
CHRIST THE LORD Christ’s invitation to Levi (aka Matthew) is odd. In fact, the word “invitation” doesn’t describe it very well. It’s more like a command. Jesus doesn’t say, “Levi, would you like to join my band of disciples?” or “Levi, how would you feel about taking some time off work to come and learn how to save your soul?” Instead, he simply looks at Levi and orders him, with no explanation, to follow him: “Follow me.”
Jesus is either a megalomaniac or the Lord. Who else would issue such a definitive, personal command? This is no cajoling philosopher; this is a King exercising his rights over his beloved subjects. And Levi makes the right response: when your King sends for you, you come. He is our King too, and he is daily sending for us – how he hopes that we will have the same courage and love that Levi had, so he can make us too into the saints he created each one of us to be.
CHRIST THE TEACHER Following Jesus involves change. Levi the tax collector makes himself into a living parable of this fundamental Christian truth – Jesus called him, and Levi responded the way everyone must respond if they want to enter Christ’s Kingdom. First, St Luke tells us that Levi’s response required “leaving everything.” Jesus is not a TV show that you can turn on and off when you feel like it, or a website you can visit at your leisure and forget about the rest of the time. Jesus is God. To make room in one’s life for his voice, his action, means taking a huge risk. We have to be willing to give up whatever Jesus demands that we give up. Second, St Luke mentions that Levi “got up” and followed the Lord. He had to step out of his comfort zone. Christ teaches us that life on earth is a mission, not a vacation – a journey, not a destination. Jesus is constantly demanding more from his followers, constantly upsetting their plans and their ease, because love does that: it settles only for the very best, which means inciting continual growth in virtue and wisdom (along with the required growing pains).
Levi’s response is a living parable about what the Christian life involves, but to make sure the lesson sticks, Jesus complements Levi’s example with some normal parables. Old clothes are comfortable; old, familiar wine is pleasant. When Christ comes into our lives, he brings new clothes and new wine, and responding generously to his call means making an uncomfortable and at first unpleasant adjustment. And as our friendship with Christ grows, he continues to surprise us with another set of new clothes, with another new batch of wine. Earth is not heaven, so while we are on earth making our way to heaven, we can never rest on our laurels. The authentic Christian never conforms to what he has already accomplished, because Christ always has more for us to learn, to do, and to become.
CHRIST THE FRIEND St Luke paints a vivid picture of the encounter between Jesus and Levi. Jesus is walking downtown, probably with his disciples, and sees Levi there at his office. Luke says that Jesus “noticed a tax collector, Levi by name.” Isn’t it just like Jesus to notice someone – what a torrent of instruction rushes out of that one little verb! It means that the Lord is always on the lookout. It means that Jesus is thinking not of himself, but of us and of our needs. It means that Jesus recognizes the needs and desires and yearnings of our hearts. Jesus notices this unhappy tax collector, a social pariah, and calls him, renews his life, and gives him a mission and a meaning.
That’s what Jesus does. He is the doctor of every soul; he detects our every need and hope, and he prescribes the perfect medicine. He is the bridegroom of every heart; he gazes on us with personal, determined love and leads us into the everlasting adventure of indescribable intimacy and communion with God. Jesus is a friend, true – but what a friend he is, and what great friends he teaches us to be!
CHRIST IN MY LIFE You deserve my whole allegiance and my unconditional obedience. You created me. You placed me on this wonderful, mysterious earth. You gave me faith and showed me the purpose of my life: to know you and love you, and to help build up your Kingdom. I don’t need to know anything else, Lord. Your word is enough for me. Thy will be done in every corner of my life…
Lord, sometimes I wonder why you keep asking me for more, why you keep sending me more crosses, more missions. Why can’t we relax and take it easy? I know the answer: because you love me too much, and you love every person too much – you suffered and died to win us grace, and you want that grace to fill us and lead us to true meaning and lasting happiness. Lord Jesus, I trust in you…
I remember the first time I heard your voice in my heart. I was like Levi, living an average life, wanting more but not knowing where to find it. And you noticed me. You notice me every day, every moment. Give me a heart like yours, one that responds like Levi to your every wish, and in turn reaches out to others as you have reached out to me. Teach me, Lord…
QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What struck you most in this passage? What did you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?
2. What have been some of the more difficult changes Christ has asked of you in your life?
3. Levi followed Jesus generously and enthusiastically. What can inhibit us from doing the same?
4. How can we reach out to sinners who need Christ without falling into their sins?
Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1500-1513 on Christ the physician; 545 and 588 on the universality of Christ’s mercy; 796 on Christ as the bridegroom of the Church
“As the tree is known by its fruits, so they who claim to belong to Christ are known by their actions; for this work of ours does not consist in just making professions, but in a faith that is both practical and lasting.”
- St Ignatius of Antioch
Luke 5:27-39
When he went out after this, he noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything he 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 who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance.’ They then said to him, ‘John’s disciples are always fasting and saying prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees too, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely you cannot make the bridegroom’s attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come, the time for the bridegroom to be taken away from them; that will be the time when they will fast.’ He also told them this parable, ‘No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece taken from the new will not match the old. And nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins. And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. The old is good, he says.’
CHRIST THE LORD Christ’s invitation to Levi (aka Matthew) is odd. In fact, the word “invitation” doesn’t describe it very well. It’s more like a command. Jesus doesn’t say, “Levi, would you like to join my band of disciples?” or “Levi, how would you feel about taking some time off work to come and learn how to save your soul?” Instead, he simply looks at Levi and orders him, with no explanation, to follow him: “Follow me.”
Jesus is either a megalomaniac or the Lord. Who else would issue such a definitive, personal command? This is no cajoling philosopher; this is a King exercising his rights over his beloved subjects. And Levi makes the right response: when your King sends for you, you come. He is our King too, and he is daily sending for us – how he hopes that we will have the same courage and love that Levi had, so he can make us too into the saints he created each one of us to be.
CHRIST THE TEACHER Following Jesus involves change. Levi the tax collector makes himself into a living parable of this fundamental Christian truth – Jesus called him, and Levi responded the way everyone must respond if they want to enter Christ’s Kingdom. First, St Luke tells us that Levi’s response required “leaving everything.” Jesus is not a TV show that you can turn on and off when you feel like it, or a website you can visit at your leisure and forget about the rest of the time. Jesus is God. To make room in one’s life for his voice, his action, means taking a huge risk. We have to be willing to give up whatever Jesus demands that we give up. Second, St Luke mentions that Levi “got up” and followed the Lord. He had to step out of his comfort zone. Christ teaches us that life on earth is a mission, not a vacation – a journey, not a destination. Jesus is constantly demanding more from his followers, constantly upsetting their plans and their ease, because love does that: it settles only for the very best, which means inciting continual growth in virtue and wisdom (along with the required growing pains).
Levi’s response is a living parable about what the Christian life involves, but to make sure the lesson sticks, Jesus complements Levi’s example with some normal parables. Old clothes are comfortable; old, familiar wine is pleasant. When Christ comes into our lives, he brings new clothes and new wine, and responding generously to his call means making an uncomfortable and at first unpleasant adjustment. And as our friendship with Christ grows, he continues to surprise us with another set of new clothes, with another new batch of wine. Earth is not heaven, so while we are on earth making our way to heaven, we can never rest on our laurels. The authentic Christian never conforms to what he has already accomplished, because Christ always has more for us to learn, to do, and to become.
CHRIST THE FRIEND St Luke paints a vivid picture of the encounter between Jesus and Levi. Jesus is walking downtown, probably with his disciples, and sees Levi there at his office. Luke says that Jesus “noticed a tax collector, Levi by name.” Isn’t it just like Jesus to notice someone – what a torrent of instruction rushes out of that one little verb! It means that the Lord is always on the lookout. It means that Jesus is thinking not of himself, but of us and of our needs. It means that Jesus recognizes the needs and desires and yearnings of our hearts. Jesus notices this unhappy tax collector, a social pariah, and calls him, renews his life, and gives him a mission and a meaning.
That’s what Jesus does. He is the doctor of every soul; he detects our every need and hope, and he prescribes the perfect medicine. He is the bridegroom of every heart; he gazes on us with personal, determined love and leads us into the everlasting adventure of indescribable intimacy and communion with God. Jesus is a friend, true – but what a friend he is, and what great friends he teaches us to be!
CHRIST IN MY LIFE You deserve my whole allegiance and my unconditional obedience. You created me. You placed me on this wonderful, mysterious earth. You gave me faith and showed me the purpose of my life: to know you and love you, and to help build up your Kingdom. I don’t need to know anything else, Lord. Your word is enough for me. Thy will be done in every corner of my life…
Lord, sometimes I wonder why you keep asking me for more, why you keep sending me more crosses, more missions. Why can’t we relax and take it easy? I know the answer: because you love me too much, and you love every person too much – you suffered and died to win us grace, and you want that grace to fill us and lead us to true meaning and lasting happiness. Lord Jesus, I trust in you…
I remember the first time I heard your voice in my heart. I was like Levi, living an average life, wanting more but not knowing where to find it. And you noticed me. You notice me every day, every moment. Give me a heart like yours, one that responds like Levi to your every wish, and in turn reaches out to others as you have reached out to me. Teach me, Lord…
QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What struck you most in this passage? What did you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?
2. What have been some of the more difficult changes Christ has asked of you in your life?
3. Levi followed Jesus generously and enthusiastically. What can inhibit us from doing the same?
4. How can we reach out to sinners who need Christ without falling into their sins?
Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1500-1513 on Christ the physician; 545 and 588 on the universality of Christ’s mercy; 796 on Christ as the bridegroom of the Church