Friday 1 July

Amos 8: 4-6, 9-12, Psalm 119: 2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131; Matthew 9: 9-13

Jesus and sinners

Jesus regularly shocked the religious leaders of his time. Over and over again he befriends, consoles or works miracles, for people who have been judged and labelled as bad people. Matthew was one of these. What does Jesus’ repeated option for sinners say to us? Maybe that despite our faithful compliance with the laws of God and the Church we cannot truly relate to Jesus unless we discover our own sinfulness, our own very mixed motivations. And we are all sinners! Dear Lord, help us to grow in self-knowledge.