Go to bell

On some game shows, when a contestant answers a question incorrectly, there is the grating sound of a loud buzzer.

BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
You're wrong!

When the answer is right, a bell rings.

For those of us who are proud to take our faith seriously and to live lives of righteousness and sacrifice, the words of our Lord at the end of today's Gospel (Matthew 9:9-13) may sound like this:

BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
You're wrong!

Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.

Does that mean it is better to sin? Of course not.

The truth is that we are all sinners: we all fall short of the ideal to which God calls us.

We need to take our faith seriously.
We need to live righteously.
We need to be self-giving.

But most of all, we need to recognize our need for the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and our need to be conduits of his mercy.

And then, by that grace and by living our faith, we may hear the bells of heaven.