Jesus certainly chose strange people to be His closest followers! Who else would choose a tax collector, one of the most despised and generally dishonest kinds of people in the society of His day? And what is almost equally striking is that this man, who would have been presumed to be only interested in getting money, more money than was his due, should straightaway get up, leave his business behind and follow Jesus into an unknown and uncertain future! Yet, He has also called me in spite of all my shortcomings. The question is whether I respond as generously as Levi did.

But the story continues. For Jesus goes to have a meal with Levi in 'his' house - Jesus' or Levi's is not certain, but either is equally significant. Either Jesus invited sinners to eat in His own house or He went to eat with sinners in Levi's house. The pious and self-righteous are shocked. They do not understand the mind of Jesus nor the mind of God. For God, the sinner is not a person to be avoided, still less to be eliminated. God wants the sinner to come back. The only way to do it is to reach out to him or her. Is this the way I behave with people I see doing wrong?