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Gospel Reading for September 21, 2026 – Matthew 9: 9-13
INCLUSIVE
As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
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Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. Before he became a disciple of Jesus, he was a publican or tax collector in the town of Capernaum, collecting tolls and taxes for Herod Antipas. In Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27, he is originally identified as Levi, the son of Alphaeus.
The first-century Jews hated and despised tax collectors. They viewed them as traitors and collaborators who cheated their own people by collecting more than what was due and keeping the excess for themselves. Because of this, they were labeled “sinners.” The Pharisees, who considered themselves “holy,” would never want to be seen in the company of “sinners.” This is why they could not understand why a holy man like Jesus would even sit at table with them.
Imagine what would have happened if Jesus had not challenged this mindset. How could the Church have become INCLUSIVE? Since we are all sinners, who among us could even become a member?
We call the Church holy not because its leaders and members are holy in the way the Pharisees thought of themselves as holy, but because the Head of the Church is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. All of us in the Church—the Pope, bishops, priests, religious, and the faithful—are sinners. Yet all of us are called to share in Christ’s mission of salvation so that all may be saved from sin.
Lord Jesus, unworthy as we are, we believe that by doing our best to follow You, we may attain eternal life. Amen.
