Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
"Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."
In this passage, we see Jesus calling a tax collector to follow him. The reactions of the Pharisees was typical because tax collectors in the time of Jesus were considered to be 'sell outs' to the Roman Empire. They collected taxes on behalf of Rome and they often inflated the taxes because they were not paid a wage by the empire. So often in our lives it is difficult to stop what we are doing to follow our Vocation. Here it is the tax collector who shows us how we should answer God's call.
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