Mark 2:13-17

Mark 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, find me at my place of work and call to me. Do not let my heart be overwhelmed by the cares and anxieties of this world. Teach me to entrust myself to your fatherly care as I seek to serve my brothers and sisters.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Call of Levi: Today, we read the second of five conflicts narrated in the Gospel of Mark. In the first conflict, Jesus demonstrated his divine authority as the Son of Man to forgive sins. In the second, Jesus acts as a divine physician who attends to the sickness of sinful humanity. Jesus is a gentle physician who spends quality time with his patients. While the scribes and Pharisees disassociated themselves from those they deemed as public sinners, Jesus entered into the lives of those he came to redeem and save. Levi, also known by his Greek name Matthew, was a tax collector. Like the four fishermen who left their boat and nets behind to follow Jesus, Levi left behind his customs post and followed Jesus. All five men humbly recognized their sinful state and their need for Jesus to establish them in a right relationship with God. By contrast, the scribes and Pharisees thought of themselves as already righteous and in no need of a divine physician to heal them.

2. The Desert Fathers: Today, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Anthony the Great (c. 251-356). He was the pioneer of the Desert Fathers, the early Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks who withdrew to the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and beyond in the third through fifth centuries. Saint Anthony is considered the “Father of Monasticism.” He sought radical discipleship amid a post-persecution Church that was tempted to grow comfortable and worldly. The desert movement emphasized fleeing societal distractions to pursue undiluted devotion to Christ. The Desert Fathers’ theology was practical and scriptural rather than speculative. It was rooted in imitating Christ and growing in a life of grace. As the bloody persecution of Christians died down in the Roman Empire, the Desert Fathers viewed ascetic withdrawal as a form of “white martyrdom” (a bloodless witness).

3. Life of Saint Anthony: Anthony was born in 251 in Koma, Egypt, some sixty miles south of Cairo. His family was Christian and wealthy and belonged to the rural Egyptian population who were known as “Copts.” When he went to church one day, he heard the words Jesus spoke to the rich young man: “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). In response to the Word of God, Anthony immediately sold his property and gave the money to the poor but also set aside some of the money for his younger sister. However, the next time Anthony went to church, he heard the Sermon on the Mount and the following words: “Do not be anxious for tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34). In response, he gave away the remaining sum of money and entrusted his sister to a household of virgins, where she was cared for and raised. Anthony himself, who had detached himself from all earthly possessions, began a life of asceticism that was to form him over the course of several decades. The spirituality of Anthony and the Desert Fathers has many elements worthy of incorporation into our lives: solitude and quiet (hescyhia); asceticism and self-discipline; unceasing prayer; humility and repentance; spiritual warfare and discernment; living in community and entrusting oneself to a spiritual guide; charity and hospitality; detachment and simplicity; and continual meditation on scripture. 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, teach me the solitude and stillness of living in the desert with you. Free my soul from any attachment to passing and worldly things. Empower me with your grace to overcome sin and temptation.

Living the Word of God: Would I benefit from reading The Sayings of the Desert Fathers? What elements of “desert spirituality” should I incorporate into my spiritual life?