A reading from the Book of Hosea
6:3-6
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming.
He will come to us like the rain,like spring rain that waters the earth.”
What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your loyalty is like morning mist,
like the dew that disappears early.
For this reason I struck them down through the prophets,
I killed them by the words of my mouth;
my judgment shines forth like the light.
For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
4:18-25
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become “the father of many nations,”
according to what was said,
“Thus shall your descendants be.”
He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body
as [already] dead (for he was almost a hundred years old)
and the dead womb of Sarah.
He did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what he had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
But it was not for him alone
that it was written that “it was credited to him”;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who
raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
9:9-13
As Jesus passed on from there,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher
eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”