The Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, September 21, 2023

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:

Matthew, the tax collector, apparently was a man who never seemed to forget his origin or his former life occupation, before he became one of the twelve apostles. His gospel is filled with more than fifteen separate references to tax collectors and to sinners of which he himself is always somehow present. Tax collectors in the New Testament were an unsavory lot. They habitually cheated people and worked for the Roman government, not a very enviable resume.

How could tax collectors ever hope to find a place in the kingdom of God?

Surely, most people in Jesus’ time were reasonably certain that God’s kingdom would be spared the presence of such loathsome people. Then, Matthew enters the scene. Not only is Matthew a tax collector, he is the author of one of the four gospels. Not only is Matthew a friend of Jesus, but he becomes a witness to the very mystery of God’s kingdom that Jesus proclaims. Alas, the reign of God will have tax collectors and sinners, a fortunate verdict for all of us. We are all sinners who have found mercy and forgiveness in the mystery of God’s redeeming love.

Jesus was a visitor at Matthew’s house. His very presence sanctified that otherwise ordinary dwelling place. Jesus also dwells in the stately house of the church. Here, Christ continues to dine with sinners and tax collectors, with people who have many faults and more than a few fears, with people whose faith is occasionally weak and perhaps non existent. In this house, Christ continues to be the physician who heals all those who are sick with sin and deeply sorrowful.

We Bless God for helping all of us who seek His mercy and who strive to be a witness to the mystery of God’s kingdom of love, mercy and eternal life.

Saint Matthew, Pray for us.