My dear friends, on this special feast of Saint Matthew, we join with the entire Church in thanking God for the gift of the calling he makes to each one of us to follow and become true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is truly a gift, and this is how Matthew understood his journey—as a gift from above beyond all telling. He and the apostles knew they had front row seats to the altering of human history as they and we know it, for in Christ, all things are continually sustained and being made new.
Whenever I read the beginning of the fourth chapter of Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I cannot but help remember how pivotal this passage of scripture was to the way the Lord called me to his magnificent service, as unworthy as I was. And hence it’s power in that Paul admonishes the Ephesians, who were also called to newness of life, to now make sure that they were living in a way befitting those who would say that Jesus is their leader, role-model, messiah and God. “I… urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received” he said to them, and to us.
What did it mean for Matthew to now live in a manner which was pleasing to our Lord, worthy of the calling he had shown him?
Well, we know that Matthew was a tax-collector. We are not told that he was a chief tax-collector, like Zaccheus was, so he was subject to his masters, both in Rome, and on home territory in Israel. We know that Matthew, like all tax collectors, would have been despised by his countrymen, because he was considered a traitor to the chosen people of God and a friend to what most of them considered their greatest enemy – Rome. Jesus showed Matthew that this didn’t have to be the case, and that eventually, the greatest enemy for all people was never and would never be Rome, but what Scripture actually called Jesus’ “final enemy” – death itself.
Jesus would show Matthew a new way – the way of love… sacrificial love. He would teach him, as he would teach the others, that true greatness in God’s eyes, was not worldly success or prestige or honour. It was not to be found in power and the domination over people and their lives. It was not in fame and legacy, wealth or accomplishment. But rather, true greatness would be found in service—the laying down of our lives, for the sake of helping others; helping others, yes, in this life, but ultimately to get to the next. He would show Matthew that there is so much more to our purpose and existence than meets the eye. We would have to become people of vision—people who extended our gaze beyond the visible sky, to the eternal pastures of heaven.
Jesus would show Matthew, that our home was not here and our purpose was not confined merely to the here and now, but rather our eternal home would be in heaven to be with him, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the rest of paradise’s citizens forever. He would teach Matthew as he continually tries to teach us that heaven is not so much about the bliss, but about the love that connects us all in life-giving relationship.
Saint Matthew was invited to embark on a journey that even his imagination was not yet able to fathom. He would see, even in this world, things which were never thought possible. He would see his Lord walking on water and raising the dead and telling the wind and the sea to be still and bring the world to a calm, while also having to endure the piercing pain of the capture, torture and brutal execution of his master, his Lord, his friend and brother, his God and all.
Are we ready to be like Saint Matthew? Are we ready to continue to allow the Lord to lead us, guide us, and sustain us through the storms of life so as to bring us to eternal bliss with him? If we’re ready, then let’s continue to live, first and foremost, for others, and then great things will happen for us, as they happened for the twelve and as they happened for Matthew.
Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
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