How many of us are willing to give another person a second chance? Some of us may do so out of compassion, but there are also some of us who rather let the person be condemned or ostracised, especially if the person had done something to hurt us. What if we are the ones who have done something wrong and are asking for a second chance? Would we then "pay it forward," so to speak, by being compassionate and merciful towards others and give them a second chance as well, just as we have been given a second chance?
In today's Gospel, we come across Matthew, a tax collector who had been called by Jesus to follow Him. As a tax collector, Matthew was hated by his countrymen because he
was selling his services to the Romans to collect taxes and,
in the process, made a handsome profit. In the eyes of the Jews, Matthew had already messed up his
life, and was considered beyond hope or redemption. However, Jesus was well aware of this and yet He was willing to give Matthew a
second chance by inviting him to follow Him.
Likewise, Jesus gives us plenty of chances to start again. He sees us for what we
are in terms of our past foolishness, but he also sees what we can
become in terms of our future possibilities. Would we be willing to set aside our prejudice, pride, self-righteousness and ego, and give others a chance, just as God has given us many chances to turn back to Him?
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