Mk.2:1-17,The Call of Levi

In the beginning of the second chapter of Mk, the healing of the paralytic who was brought down through the hole in the roof is being described.Jesus, seeing the faith of the man ,forgives his sins and then to make the suspicious on-lookersto be convinced that he has the power to forgive as well as to heal, he asks him to take his bed and go home.The sudden cure of the paralytic surprised all who had gathered there and they were really surprised a the power of Jesus.They were not ready yet to confide their faith in him.
We are all affected by  a paralysis of faith in our lives.We need reawakening and a miraculous healing in our lives.We have to put our trust in the Lord and believe in His power to cure us.Whatever may be our failures and sins, if we come to the Lord asking for forgiveness ad cure, he will forgive our sins and give us a new life.
The same compassion  of Jesus is seen in his dealings with Levi.He not only calls him to be a follower of his but also decides to dine with him and his friends.This has shocked many of the people who thought of them as public sinners.In the eyes of Jesus , there are no public sinners.When he comes near to someone or embraces him, all his faults are wiped out.
A very categorical statement was made by Jesus which should give us hope and confidence. He has come not to call the righteous but sinners.What a source of hope and peace are those words.Our Lord will never abandon us.We can come to him at any time in our lives.He is there to receive us and offer us mercy and compassion.
All of us do not have have the same virtuous ways of behavior.Some of us , in spite of our good resolutions fail or fall in our lives.Some of us may be arrogant or abusive.Others may be too weak to over come the power of the flesh.We carry the guilt in our hearts , wondering whether Jesus would forgive us.But here, our Lord is telling us, he has come to the world  to search for the sinners and offer them mercy and forgiveness.
It is this same thought that guides our Holy Father,Pope Francis, in all his sermons where he emphasizes the need of mercy on the part of Christians.