We honor Saint Matthew as an apostle, an evangelist, and a
martyr. Matthew was a rather unlikely
character to be called by Jesus as an apostle, but then again, one could say
that about the group of unknown fishermen.
Matthew was a Jew who collected taxes from his fellow Jews on behalf of
the occupying Roman forces.
The Jews considered the occupation of a tax-collector an
outrageous disgrace, they were named in one breath along with murderers,
assassins, thieves, robbers, criminals, and prostitutes. No good Jew could even
marry someone who had a tax-collector in the extended family. They weren’t allowed in the Synagogue. They
were total outcasts. So, imagine people’s shock when Jesus called such a man
into his band of intimate followers. The
great artist Caravaggio paints the scene of the Calling of St. Matthew, and
even Matthew is surprised by the call.
In the painting Jesus points to Matthew, as if to say, “I call him.” And
Matthew points to himself in disbelief, as if to say, “You are calling ME?”
And we heard in today’s Gospel how our Lord approached the
tax-collectors table and said, “Follow Me”. The Lord enters into Matthew’s
life, the world of sinners, and invites him to a life he cannot possibly
imagine. In Jesus, Matthew experienced a far greater treasure than he had ever
collected.
And once you come to treasure Jesus, you want to share that
treasure with others. Matthew invited
his fellow tax-collectors to dinner that they too may experience the mercy and
salvation of the Lord. He writes a Gospel, to share with humanity that Jesus is
the long awaited Messiah, the one whom the Jews longed for to lead them out of
spiritual exile, and to establish the kingdom of God, Jesus is the one for whom
leaving behind all of your sins, all of your earthly treasure, is worth it.
How many thousands, millions of people, have come to more
deeply treasure the Lord because of Matthew’s witness? How many sinners were
willing to turn away from their sinful lifestyle, because Matthew had the
courage to follow the Lord?
So now it comes to us. Each of us has been called by the
Lord, not because we were sinless like the Immaculate Virgin, but because we
were like Matthew. He called us out of
the world of sinners that we might bring others with us to him. How will you share Jesus with others today? How
will you speak to others about Jesus’ merciful love?
May each of us take seriously this call to invite sinners to
the Lord’s mercy, to spread the Gospel of Mercy, for the glory of God and
salvation of souls.
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