One day, a man collapsed at a busy intersection. Emergency services were summoned, and the man was transported to the nearest General Hospital. Periodically, he regained consciousness and would repeatedly call out for his son. A nurse attending to the man discovered an old letter in his wallet indicating that he had a son who was a marine. The nurse contacted the son and requested that he come immediately. Upon the marine's arrival, the nurse escorted him to the man's bedside and whispered, "Your son is here! Your son is here!" Although the elderly man was unable to recognize the marine, he did notice his uniform and took comfort in his presence. The young marine held the old man's hand, offering compassion and love each time he regained consciousness. Later that night, the nurse urged the marine to take a break and grab some food and drink. The marine declined, requesting only a chair to sit by the old man's bedside and continue holding his hand. Sometime before dawn, the patient passed away. The nurse offered her condolences to the marine, who stammered, "Nurse, who is this man?" The nurse was taken aback and replied hesitantly, "I thought he was your father." The marine responded, "Honestly, nurse, my father passed away a long time ago. I have never seen this man before in my life." The nurse asked, "Then why did you not say something earlier?" The marine replied, "I could see that he was too sick to realize that I was not his son. I could also see that he was slipping fast and needed his son's comfort. So, I decided to stay."

This story inspires and challenges us to reach out to the least, lost, and the last of society. The Gospel narrates how Jesus reaches out to Levi, the tax collector. In those days, the Jews hated and despised tax collectors since they worked on behalf of Rome and levied exorbitant amounts of taxes on the people. Jesus, knowing this situation, reaches out to Levi and summons him to be his disciple. Moreover, he accepts his invitation to dine at Levi’s house. I think this whole experience of Jesus reaching out to him in compassion when everyone hated him made him say ‘Yes’ to the call of Jesus.

In the first reading, Isaiah encourages the people of God to reach out and share their resources with the poor and the needy. According to Isaiah, it is only when they are able to recognize the dignity of every individual, especially the vulnerable and the downtrodden, that God’s light will dawn on them.

Our society relies on the goodness of individuals touched by God's love to reach out to others in compassion. The question for us to consider in the light of the readings is, in what way are we going to reach out to those most in need of us today?