Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to abandon our past sinful way of life and embrace from now on, God’s righteousness and virtues in our lives, in each and every one of our actions, words and deeds. We are all reminded that if we continue to walk in the path of sin and disobedience against God, and if we continue to allow the darkness of this world to mislead and bring us down the path to ruin, then in the end, we will regret our choice and path. The Lord reminded us all that we have been called by Him and given the opportunity to embrace His love and generous mercy, but we must also be willing to make the commitment and to embrace wholeheartedly this love and mercy, or else, we will continue to be separated from Him.

In our first reading today, we heard of the continuation of the passage from the Book of the prophet Amos which we have heard in the past one week or so, in which the prophet spoke of the Lord’s words to His people, the Israelites living in the northern kingdom, also known as Israel, who have disobeyed and disregarded His Law and commandments. The prophet Amos was sent to the people of Israel during the last years of the existence of the northern kingdom of Israel to bring about God’s warning and the revelation of the fate that would soon befall all those people who had hardened their hearts and acted wickedly for so many years in refusing to believe in God and persecuting the many prophets and messengers which God had sent them constantly to help and guide them in their path.

God thus spoke through the prophet Amos, chastising those same people of their many sins and wickedness, as we heard in our first reading today, stating how they had behaved inappropriately as God’s holy and beloved people by manipulating and exploiting the weak and the less privileged for their own personal benefits and ambitions, through their self-serving attitudes and actions, all of which had brought about a lot of misery and hardships for others, leading to more and more wicked actions and things that were truly unbecoming of a people whom God had called and chosen to be His own people. And the Lord also told His people that they were to be chastised and punished so that they might see the errors of their ways, and thus, hopefully that they could then turn away from those sins and wickedness before it was too late for them.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the calling of Levi, the tax collector by the Lord Jesus. Levi decided to follow the Lord, leaving behind his post at the tax collector’s office and committing himself to be a disciple of the Lord. He would henceforth be known as Matthew, and as with other people who changed their names in the other parts of the Scriptures, like Abraham, Jacob, Peter and Paul, this name change indicated the new life and path which Levi had committed himself to take, by which he embraced the Lord fully, and becoming Matthew, a committed disciple and servant of God, a member of the Twelve Apostles and later on as one of the Four Evangelists.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were quick to criticise the Lord when He went to have dinner with Levi and the other tax collectors, as at the time, the tax collectors were widely seen as traitors to the nation and the people of God for their role in collecting taxes on behalf of the rulers and the Romans. They were also seen as sinners and people who were unworthy of God’s grace and salvation, and as common at the time, no one especially the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law would associate themselves with those considered as sinners, like the tax collectors, the prostitutes and those afflicted with certain illnesses and diseases, because they could make them to be considered unclean as well.

But the Lord immediately pointed out that His mission and what He wanted to do is to reach out to the marginalised and those who have been lost to Him, those who have been afflicted the most by the affliction of sin. It was sinners and those who are struggling that need the most help, and it is for them that the Lord had made Himself available through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Whom God had sent into our midst to be Our Saviour and Hope. He is the Light and Hope for all the people of all the nations, and He shows us all that God truly loves everyone, all of His beloved children and people, without exception. Even the greatest of sinners and those whom others deem to be unworthy, God still loves and desires to be reunited with Him.

That is why all of us are called to embrace God’s love and mercy, to seek Him and His forgiveness for all of our faults and sins. The Lord wants us all to turn away from all of our rebellious ways and to be like His servant, Levi, who have committed himself thoroughly to God’s cause, and gave Himself to the glorification of God. Each and every one of us have also been called to our own respective missions and vocations in life, to do what is right and just, virtuous and worthy in each and every moments in our lives. All of us should make good use of these many opportunities that the Lord had given to us so that we may come ever closer to Him and be forgiven from our many sins and wickedness. Let us all no longer harden our hearts and minds, but humble ourselves, welcoming the Lord Himself into our midst.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Anthony Zaccaria, a renowned servant of God whose life and commitment to God can serve as a good inspiration for all of us to follow in our own lives. St. Anthony Zaccaria was born into a noble family in what is part of Italy today, and he was brought up by his mother mostly after his father died when he was just two years old. From a young age, the young St. Anthony Zaccaria had been exposed to the sufferings of the poor and the needy through his pious and devout mother, who made him as an almoner, to be the one to reach out and care for the poor in the community. He became a physician for a short while before eventually, he joined the seminary and was trained to become a priest.

St. Anthony Zaccaria continued to minister to the poor and the needy as a priest, working in hospitals and other institutions caring for the needy at the time. He and some other like-minded clerics began living a life of love and ministry to the people who were needy and poor, eventually establishing the congregation of the Clerics Regular of St. Paul, also known as the Barnabites, which members are devoted to the service of God’s people, delivering and encouraging the pious practices of the Forty Hours Devotion and the emphasis on the Passion of the Lord to the greater community. Through their many efforts, they helped and sustained the physical and spiritual needs of many people, bringing them ever closer to the Lord. The dedication and faith shown by St. Anthony Zaccaria and his compatriots should inspire all of us to commit ourselves to the Lord in the same way as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to do our part in following the Lord ever more faithfully, in doing His will and obeying His Law and commandments at all times. May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey throughout life, to do what He has entrusted to us to do. May He continue to bless us all in out every good efforts, works and endeavours, and help us to be His faithful and committed disciples in all things. Amen.