Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favour and find help in time of need. [Heb 4:16]

The Word of God revealed to us in Scripture is always Spirit and life as the response to today's Psalm assures us, and as Jesus himself assured us concerning his own words (cf. Jn 6:68-70). In different circumstances of our lives, God's Word or Jesus' Word will come to us as commandments or as a revelation, a promise or an encouragement. The same may be said of the Words of Tradition that have come down to us over the centuries through the Church's teaching ministry.

The term "throne of grace" in the Hebrews is seen from the Jewish Old Testament religious practices. Today, we approach the throne of grace in "the Sacrament of Reconciliation," and receive mercy and favour.

The call of Levi the tax collector, in today's Gospel, raises an important question. Does the quality of one's life qualify or disqualify a person for God's call?

Even more to the point, Levi, the tax collector, reviled by his own people for his well-known dishonesty and traitorous allegiance to Rome, is called by Jesus. Jesus, the prophet, the holy man, the Messiah, favours the most hated man in the community.

What can we make of all this? What kind of God enters into such lives? The healing stories in the gospel are stories of forgiveness and call are just. They touch us deeply. Such is the gracious love of God for each of us.