RBWords

     The majestic words of St. Paul in the Letter to the Ephesians reflect a church that had begun to recognize various roles in service to the community.  Since the letter was written less than 50 years after the death of Christ, the development was fairly rapid.  The beginning, however, was a little bumpy if we pay attention to the gospel scripture for today which tells us how Matthew was chosen.  He was a tax collector - a person considered unclean by Jewish religious authorities because he dealt with pagans (Roman authorities and other outsiders who paid with Roman coinage).  In many ways he would have been considered a traitor!  That Jesus would choose him to be one of his closest associates made Jesus himself suspect as well.  However, Matthew [Levi] thought it might be a good idea to at least invite Jesus to dinner!  This makes possible the reply by Jesus to critics that he has come not to call the righteous but sinners!

     Every person called to ministry of any kind in the community knows well the struggle to live ALL of one's life "in a manner worthy of the call."  It is one thing to perform one's official duties well.  It is another to live one's life outside of those duties in a way that complements those duties!  Setting a good example has never been easy!  Our culture prizes individualism and private life.  Ministry requires that we surrender a lot of that to the requirements of the community.  The apostles were not perfect persons.  They argued with one another over status and power.  They abandoned Jesus in the garden of Gethsemani.  Yet, in the end, they were charged with the future of the faith.  Their successors are the bishops of today.  But Ephesians (and elsewhere in the New Testament) reminds us that there are many different kinds of service to the community.  Each one called is privileged to be both servant and sinner!   The bossy and the perfect will need to have a change of heart!   AMEN