God seeks me...a sinner

Scripture:  Matthew 9:9-13 
9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. 10 And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  12 But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  13 Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt

Reflection:  We are in great need of God's mercy. All of us are sinners and have offended God more often than we please Him. What a relief that God not only loves us but longs to bestow His mercy and forgiveness on us. The greater the sinner, the greater His mercy. No sin is too big for God to forgive, if only the sinner would run back to Him. 

I personally find comfort in the fact that Jesus' disciples are men who have many faults. That means that there is hope for us who have fallen and made mistakes. St. Peter, the head of the apostles had a quick temper and was too impulsive. He did not think before he act and often says or does things he would regret later on. He even denied Jesus three times. But Jesus made him the "the keeper of the keys" to God's Kingdom. That shows that Jesus trusted Peter regardless of his faults and weaknesses. Jesus can see beyond those and saw that Peter's love for Him would prevail in the end. St. Matthew who was a tax collector, the equivalent of today's corrupt politicians or even worse, was also called by Jesus via two words only: "Follow Me." That was enough for Matthew to turn his back on his riches, gave away all that was not rightfully his, and live a new life as God's follower. 

Jesus truly sees the good in us no matter how much we have failed Him in the past. He sees our hearts and our capacity for goodness and love. May Jesus help us to believe in ourselves as He believes in us. Let us not give up on ourselves because God surely does not.