Follow me

Gospel MK 2:13-17

Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

"Follow me."  Two simple words.   Like Levi, we are called to get up and follow Jesus.  But it's not easy.  Following Jesus means letting go of our old, comfortable, familiar life and embracing the life that Jesus has laid out for us.  Fortunately, if we are followers, then there must also be a leader and there isn't a leader that loves us more than Jesus.  I was running a road race in which there were runners who were blind - they could run for miles with the help of a short tether that connected them to their guide.  That's what Jesus wants for me.  To stay connected with Him, taking it one step at a time.  As long as I stay tethered to Jesus, I know that my next step will be in the right direction.  I can trust that Jesus is guiding me around obstacles to my ultimate destination.

You can tell a lot about a person by the company he keeps and Jesus was no exception.  Instead of hanging out with the rabbis and Pharisees, he sat with the marginalized: tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, the needy, the outcasts.  And his reasoning makes perfect sense: the well do not need a physician, but the sick do.  What happens is that we deny that we are sick and in so doing miss out on the saving graces of Jesus.  I am at my best when I truly understand that I am just as needy as the neediest among us - it is this awareness that opens my heart to the grace, mercy, and compassion of Jesus.