Homily for Friday of the 13th Week in Ordinary time

Jesus often surprised people with His behavior, as illustrated in today's Gospel. In this story, Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him and shares a meal with him and other tax collectors. In that time's religious community, individuals like Matthew were considered sinners, and others were expected to avoid them to prevent contamination.

However, Jesus did not adhere to this practice. He was not afraid of being negatively influenced by others. Instead, He believed that His own goodness could positively transform those around Him. When Jesus declared, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," He meant that He wanted His followers to demonstrate mercy and kindness in their actions. Similarly, we are called to bring about positive change in others through our own goodness. We are all meant to be agents of the Lord's transformative love and mercy.