Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist, Monday, September 21, 2026

Gospel

Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus passed by,

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.

I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Reflection

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him. What stood out to me is how immediate Matthew's reaction was in getting up and following Jesus. I think we can learn a lot from Matthew in this moment as he had the courage to take that first step. He didn't make an excuse or wait till he figured everything out. He simply got up and followed Jesus.

I also love the response Jesus gave when the Pharisees question why He eats with tax collectors and sinners... “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do”. Jesus is for the people. He wants us to come to Him broken and all. He doesn't expect us to have everything put together before we approach Him, in fact, He tells us the opposite..."I did not come to call the righteous but sinners".

I think this should take some of the burden off our shoulders. Jesus is the physician, and we are all sick in one way or another. We all have our own weaknesses, sins, and struggles. We don't need to pretend and hide these things or feel like we need to fix ourselves before going to Him. Instead, we just need to take the first step in bringing Him our brokenness and allow Him to heal us.