Homily for Friday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus often behaved in ways that surprised people, as is evident in today’s Gospel. In the story, Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him and shares a table with Matthew and other tax collectors. In the religious community of that time, people like Matthew were considered sinners, and others were supposed to avoid them for fear of being contaminated.

However, Jesus did not follow this practice. He was not afraid of being influenced negatively by others. Instead, He believed that His own goodness could transform others for the better. When Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” He meant that He wanted His followers to show mercy and kindness in their actions. In the same way, we are also called to bring positive change to others through our own goodness. We are all meant to be agents of the Lord’s transformative love and mercy.