To read the texts click on the texts: Isa58:9-14; Lk 5:27-32
The call of Levi the toll
collector and his response to that call is the text for today. Toll collectors
like Levi was were those individuals who paid the Roman authorities in advance
for the right to collect tolls. Since they decided the value of the goods being
brought in, they could abuse the system and many did. Due to this also because
they were seen as colluding with the Romans, they were despised by the people
and made targets of scorn and ridicule. The calling of Levi is a revolutionary
act on the part of Jesus. When almost everyone else would have seen Levi as a
thief and corrupt individual, Jesus was able to see him as a potential
disciple. This is an indication not only of the deep insight into people that Jesus had but also of God’s grace
which is given without any merit on the part of the individual. It is a gift
and not earned but gifted.
Levi on his part accepts
this call. He leaves “everything” for the privilege of following Jesus. Luke’s
Gospel alone mentions the word “everything” to stress the total sacrifice that
Levi was called to and made. It is an indication that he left his old way of
life behind to take on a new kind of life that Jesus was calling him to. He
then arose and followed Jesus. The sequence of the actions of Levi is
interesting. He gets up and follows, only after giving up.
Levi then gives a feast in
his own house to celebrate his call. The scribes and Pharisees complain about
the scandal of sitting at table with tax collectors and sinners. By doing so
those who sat at table with them were making themselves unclean, but they were
also showing social acceptance of a group that was considered as outcasts.
Jesus’ response is in and through a proverb and a statement. It is obvious that
the services of a physician are required by those who are sick not be those who
are well. The mission of Jesus is very clearly directly to those who need him:
the sinners. Repentance is not the condition for following Jesus; it is his
purpose for coming into the world. He has come in order that sinners might be
transformed.
The call which Jesus made to
his disciples and here to Levi is startling brief: “Follow me”. This is because
his call was a call to a personal commitment to him. It was not a call to a set
of values or principles. It was not a call to any kind of philosophy or
theology. It was not a call to a particular political programme. It was a call
that had as its base and origin Jesus himself. The only reward that one could
expect from such a following was that others would be drawn to Jesus because of
one’s own commitment and perseverance.
The call is made here to
Levi, who was considered as an outcast and one who was beyond the bounds of
God’s mercy. This indicates that no one is excluded from the Mission of Jesus.
Everyone has a place, all are called. Like Levi it is important to give up the
former way of life and then to get up and follow. This requires God’s grace
surely, but also human response.
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