Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 - Sept. 21 - St. Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
[Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 and Matt 9:9-13]"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of these words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." [Matthew]
SEPTEMBER 21, ST. MATTHEW, apostle and evangelist
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Tax collectors seemed to do well, economically, in Jesus' time. The story of Zaccheus [Luke 19:1-10] would be a good example, Matthew [a/k/a Levi] must have done well himself if he could afford to have a banquet after Jesus called him. Tax collectors typically took a "commission" from what they collected for the Roman authorities. This made them "sinners" in the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes because tax collectors handled Roman coinage, which made them unclean. And in the eyes of many in the general Jewish population, it also made them "collaborators" with the Roman occupiers. If Jesus attended the banquet, that would make him a sinner, too, by association, in the eyes of the scribes and Pharisees. They were quick to criticize. Jesus' response to them may be taken in both a direct and ironic way.
Directly, it is a challenge to all those who try to "build a fence around mercy" and consider themselves the "real" or "pure" members of the church. Ironically, it may be taken as a challenge to the scribes and Pharisees to consider if they really are "well" and not in need of a physician. In either case, Jesus exalts mercy over observance. Purists carry the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church around with them like loaded guns looking for a target. Neither of those two items are intended for that use! Jesus called very imperfect people (in the eyes of the scribes and Pharisees) to be his closest associates. "Conversion," not "punishment," is the aim of the gospel. Matthew wrote for a community that worried about the status of the Mosaic Law in their newfound faith. Jesus offered a new way of observance and called himself the "fulfillment" of the Law's purpose. Observance should follow faith and not the other way around. "Mercy triumphs over judgment." [James 2:13]. AMEN