Calling Levi
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I had returned from a laboring journey. Activity in the small fishing village, I called home, was full of excitement. I asked a neighbor about the manifestations during my absence. He seemed surprised by my query.
"Have you not heard?" He began. "A teacher has come among us. No one is sure from where he came. It is said that he performed a miracle, maybe more. He was down by the shore the other day. He spoke with Simon and Andrew, and the two sons of Zebedee. Seems he seeks men who make their trade in the sea, but then, just this morning, he was talking to that vile tax collector."
"Levi?" I asked, knowing my neighbor could mean no one else. Then, I followed my first question with another, "And does that explain the zeal of the townsfolk?"
"Levi is having a gathering tonight, at his house. All are invited, but you know the pious will stay clear."
"Perhaps not," I countered. "Perhaps they'll want to see if this teacher, who may have performed a miracle or two, is nothing more than a vagabond passing through, and seeking a free meal along the way."
"Could be," the neighbor replied. "Maybe you will join us... and share this a moment of debauchery."
~
As the sun slipped from view, I entered the home of a man despised. Levi was a sinner, if you asked any of the Pharisees or scribes. It was rumored that he lined his pockets with excessive payment, taking more than his and the Roman's share from those who labored at their trades.
Simon the fisherman was an outspoken detractor of the tax collector. He stood outside Levi's house, seemingly troubled by the gluttony and noise radiating out across the open threshold. I did not know Simon well. I knew he was a hard man, shaped by the difficult work of the sea. I would have spoken, but he seemed lost in his thoughts, so I slipped past.
There were a cluster of Pharisees along the far wall. Their presence surprised me. Much of what would go on here was not of their tastes.
As I was paying attention to the crowd, Levi stood. He asked for silence, as he turned to a man beside him. "Speak to us," Levi said, with a plea in his voice.
The man beside Levi rose from a seated position on the floor. He wore no clothing that would be considered elaborate for a party like the one going on around him. His garments were plain, frayed and dusty. He was slender, rather tall. He paused before speaking. It wasn't a hesitation. It was almost as if he was allowing another to take the floor before him.
"Why do you eat and drink with these," a Pharisee shouted from the back of the room. "Are you foolish enough to think that tax collectors and prostitutes will listen when you speak? They will laugh and mock you, nothing more."
The man, the teacher, who had been seated beside Levi, waited until the bold Pharisee had finished. Then he responded, "There have been many who have come for the healthy. They have spoken to those who you do not consider to be lost. I have come for those who have never heard, or even bothered to listen. I have come that they might share the bread of those who heard, and in doing so, seek forgiveness for their sins.
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