Word to the Wise
Monday, September 21, 2009 - St. Matthew - apostle and evangelist
[Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 and 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.......
Tax collectors are the perennial folks that everybody loves to hate. We don't need to know their names. Once we know they are tax collectors, we feel guilty or smug! Their job was considered "ritually unclean" because they had to deal with some of the Roman currency, which was pagan money and "unclean" in pious Jewish circles. There were other jobs or trades that shared the same status because of various unclean items involved. The term, "sinners," here could mean anything from job description to moral failures. Since Matthew (called "Levi" in the gospels of Mark and Luke) was a tax collector, one might presume his acquaintances were also from despised occupational fields! Whom else could he invite? Well, he invited Jesus and Jesus' disciples, thereby scandalizing the Pharisees. This gives rise to Jesus' response emphasizing the common sense evangelism that one should preach to the folks who need it the most! Of course, there's some irony here that the Pharisees miss completely because of their judgmental zeal! In celebrating the feast of St. Matthew (Levi), we celebrate his willingness to accept Jesus' call to "follow me." We also celebrate the magnificent scriptural work to which his name has been given, the Gospel of Matthew, with the Sermon on the Mount as its crowning glory! This gospel shows the concern with the Mosaic law and Jesus' role in "fulfilling" it and interpreting it that we see in the gospel passage for today. However, anyone may read it without that concern and realize that there is a profound appreciation for the role of human motivation in human behavior and that these motives can be sinful even if the actions they prompt never take place! Jesus is concerned with the whole person and especially with the poorest persons and our responsibility toward them. (Read Matthew 25:31-46!) We are reminded today to go back and once more, in the pages of this gospel, experience the powerful and direct challenge of our baptismal call: "Follow me!" AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
77 ms
4
