It all begins with Jesus, who, the Gospel says, “saw a man.” Few people saw Matthew as a man; they knew him as the sinner, the one who was “sitting at the tax booth” (v. 9).

But in the eyes of Jesus, Matthew was a man, with both his miseries and his greatness. Be aware of this, Jesus does not stop at the adjective — Jesus always seeks out the noun.

“This person is a sinner, he’s that kind of person…” these are adjectives; Jesus goes to the person, to the heart, “This is a person, this is a man, this is a woman.” Jesus goes to the subject –the noun– never to the adjective, He leaves aside the adjectives.

And I, how do I look upon others? How often do I see their faults and not their qualities? Their needs? How often do I label people according to what – I guess– they do or what they think?