Hebrews 4:12-16 / Mark 2:13-17
Behind the facade of our looks and appearances, there lies in our minds and our hearts, our thoughts and our emotions.
No one would know our thoughts and our feelings, and if we have mastered the art of having a poker face, then we can be quite certain that no one can guess what we think and how we feel.
Well, almost no one, except the One who created us and knows us through and through. From Him, we can't hide nor can we ever deceive.
As the 1st reading puts it, with His Word, God cuts through our thoughts and emotions more finely than the sharpest sword, and enters into the depth of our beings.
And that was what happened when Jesus called out to Levi, the son of Alphaeus, to follow Him. Jesus, the Word of the Father, had already probed the mind and heart of Levi even before He called him.
And Levi just got up and followed Jesus. But prior to that, there was a whole process and probing and prompting before the final responding.
But as for the scribes and Pharisees, they didn't make any attempt to hide their contempt for Jesus in eating with tax collectors and sinners, as they let fly their scorching words.
And with that, Jesus cut through their thoughts and emotions. Yes, there are those who know that they are sinners, like Levi and his tax collector friends.
Yet there are also those who think that they are virtuous, like the scribes and Pharisees.
Whether we think we are virtuous or sinners, the Lord knows us through and through. Let us pray that the Lord will help us to know who we really are.