Isaiah comments on complaints being made by people that, though they are fasting, God is not taking any notice of them. The reason, says Isaiah, is because while they are virtuously fasting, they continue to exploit their workers and get involved in fights and quarrels. These are the Pharisaic stereotype complaints and attitudes which become targets of reprimanding by Matthew's Gospel.

How sure are you that you are far more free than the wandering vagrant living on the streets? Do you think they are a burden to society and to God? Are they more detached? The point is that conversion of a person from a self-assured superior mindset to an acceptance of others is necessary for salvation to come as a ripple effect in society.

The choice of Jesus over Levi to follow Him is odd and inconceivable for those who police other peoples' moral life, and what more when it comes to religious life. However, it is concrete life that is changed, a testified conversion that exhibits the person's encounter with a loving God. Life has become more meaningful, with a purpose, by working together with Jesus for the establishment of God's kingdom of acceptance and hospitality. In welcoming the repentant, God celebrates goodness.

Celebration is also a public witness that some good had been achieved or accomplished in a person's life or endeavour. Jesus comes to heal the sick, the discarded and the downtrodden. Those who responded to His approach will receive. How can we refuse?