NOTES for Мк 2:14-17
We live in a world into which Christ has already come, and it is often difficult for us to appreciate how much He did for us by His coming, because we already have everything and are accustomed to it all. But we must understand that the difference between us and the time when Christ came to us in the flesh is quantitative, not qualitative; and as long as this is so, we must strive to hold fast to the Spirit He brought. To do this, we must try to read the words of the Gospel not only against the background of our own day—which is useful too—but also to understand how they could have been perceived then. The Old Testament offers invaluable help with this. Let us recall words from the Psalter: “Early in the morning I will destroy all the wicked of the earth, that I may root out from the city of the Lord all who work iniquity” (Ps 101:8). This is how the sinner is perceived: as an evil that must be destroyed. We must be imbued with this idea to the depths of our soul in order to understand the meaning of the words the Lord speaks to us today: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” To call them to repentance means to call them to Himself. Not to reject them, as people thought, but to accept them. Truly, only the Lord could accomplish such a revolution.