Word to the Wise
Friday, September 21, 2012 - Sept. 21 - St. Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
[Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 and Matt 9:9-13]But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
It's a good thing Matthew became an apostle and got his name attached to one of the four gospels. Otherwise he would have remained a hated tax collector and forgotten as soon as he died! It's bad enough that the other two gospels that mention him call him "Levi" instead of "Matthew." Instead he is part of the "foundation stones" of the "New Jerusalem" (Rev. 21:14) and associated with the Gospel of Matthew! Not bad for a tax collector! If anyone can be said to have "equipped the holy ones for the work of ministry," certainly the writer has done so who put together Jesus' teaching in the Sermon of the Mount!
Matthew the Evangelist preached to a community that contained many Christians of Jewish background. As such, his gospel serves the valuable purpose of reminding us of our roots in Judaism. He portrays Jesus as a "new Moses" and the giver of a new law. The passage from his gospel for the celebration of the feast also contains a very important warning about "legalism" that can prevent people from experiencing God's mercy. The last line is very important: "I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." As a tax collector, Matthew (Levi) qualified! If we're smart, that's where we want to start from as well! More could be said, but it seems to me that we have enough to celebrate with today! AMEN