Daily Catholic Lectio
Sat, 21 February ‘26
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Isaiah 58:9a–14. Psalm 86. Luke 5:27–32
Change of Mission, Change of Heart
In these first days of Lent, we often speak about conversion — change of heart. But today the Gospel invites us to reflect on something very concrete: change of mission, change of work. And it tells us something profound: sometimes a change in mission becomes a change of life. And a change of life becomes a change of heart.
In the Gospel according to Gospel of Luke (5:27–32), Jesus passes by a tax booth. There sits Levi — also known as Matthew. He is at work. Counting money. Collecting taxes.
Tax collectors in the time of Jesus were not respected. They worked for the Roman Empire. They collected money from their own people. Often, they took more than required. They were seen as sinners, collaborators, outsiders. Religious society kept them at a distance.
And yet, Jesus stops. He looks at Levi. And He says just two words: “Follow me.” And Levi does something extraordinary: he leaves everything, rises, and follows Him. A change of work. A change of direction. A change of belonging.
Was Levi unhappy in his work? We do not know. Perhaps the money was good. Perhaps the position gave him power. But something was missing. And Jesus saw what others did not see.
Where others saw a sinner, Jesus saw an apostle. Where others saw corruption, Jesus saw potential. Where others saw a closed story, Jesus saw a future. The way we look at a person can change that person’s life.
Levi’s response is immediate. But his conversion is not private. That very evening, he gives a banquet in his house. He invites his friends — other tax collectors and sinners. It is as if he says to Jesus, “This is who I am. These are my people. Come into my world.” Conversion does not mean escaping our past. It means allowing Christ to enter it.
The Pharisees complain: “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answers with clarity: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
A change of mission is not just about profession. It is about belonging. Levi moves from serving money to serving mercy. From collecting debts to announcing forgiveness.
The first reading from the Book of Book of Isaiah (58:9a–14) speaks about removing the yoke from among you. If you remove oppression, pointing the finger, speaking wickedness — then you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
When Christ enters our life, He removes one yoke — the heavy burden of sin, selfishness, and false security. But He places another yoke — His own mission. His own heart. His own way of seeing.
There is a striking example in history: Albert Schweitzer. He was a theologian. Then a biblical scholar. Then he studied medicine. Finally, he left Europe and went to serve in Africa among the poor and the sick. Each change of work was also a change of heart. He did not see these as career shifts, but as responses to a deeper call. Like Levi.
Not everyone is called to leave their profession. Not everyone must change jobs. But everyone is called to change the way we do our work.
Perhaps the Lenten question for us today is this: in the mission we are already doing — as priests, parents, teachers, workers — what needs to change? Not necessarily the place, but the spirit.
Psalm 86 today is a prayer of trust: “Teach me your way, O Lord.” That is the heart of conversion. Not simply doing something different. But walking differently. Seeing differently. Belonging differently.
Don Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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