A reading from the prophet Isaiah (58:9-14)
The Lord says this:
If you banish the yoke from among you,
the pointed finger and malicious gossip,
if you share what you have with the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the deprived,
your light will rise in the darkness
and your darkest hour will be like noon.
The Lord will always guide you,
will satisfy your needs in arid land;
he will give strength to your bones
and you will be like a watered garden,
like a flowing spring whose waters never run dry.
Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt;
age-old foundations will rise up.
You will be called “Breach-mender”, “Restorer-of-streets-to-live-in”.
If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath,
from taking your own pleasure on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath “a delight”
and the day sacred to the Lord “a day honoured”,
if you honour it by not going your own way,
from seeking your own pleasure and idle chatter,
then you will find true pleasure in the Lord
and I shall let you ride over the heights of the land.
I shall feed you on the heritage of your father Jacob,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
The prophet continues to deliver words of the Lord about fasting. Banishing ‘the yoke’ and providing for those in need are the real priority, not adherence to human rules. When such new behaviour is established, the prophet repeats, ‘your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like noon’. The imagery is now strong and positive: ‘a watered garden’, ‘a flowing spring’, ‘rebuilt ruins’. Honouring the Sabbath will bring ‘true pleasure in the Lord’. In a chariot or on a camel (Isaiah 60:6) ‘I shall let you ride over the heights of the land’. The promises made of old are fulfilled.
Psalm 86 (85) The psalmist describes himself as ‘the servant who trusts in you’, and prays, ‘give joy to the soul of your servant, Lord, for to you I lift up my soul.’
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (5:27-32)
After this he went out and noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting at the tax office, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything he got up and followed him.
And Levi held a great reception for Jesus in his house, and with them at table was a large crowd of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes kept complaining to his disciples saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus said to them in reply, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to conversion.’
In inviting Levi to be a disciple Jesus is breaking new ground, for tax collectors were considered to be dishonest and disloyal. Yet Levi is just as willing to leave everything as are those who left their fishing boats. The banquet for Levi’s colleagues ‘and others’ shows the universality of the invitation Jesus offers, preparing places particularly for the sick and the sinful.
Is our outreach as warm and generous as that of Jesus?
For those who hesitate at the threshold, uncertain of being welcomed, let us pray.