Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 21, 2024 - 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 jup the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God....[Ephesians]
Most scripture scholars nowadays would not allow Matthew the Apostle to also be Matthew the evangelist. We can be grateful to Matthew the apostle for his courage and willingness to leave his lucrative job as a tax collector to follow Jesus and join in the task of preaching the gospel. He celebrated it by throwing a dinner party and inviting those who were considered sinners to come - a sign of the Kingdom of God.
We can be grateful to Matthew the evangelist for his gospel portrait of Jesus. Although he relied heavily on the Gospel According to Mark, he also gave us the Sermon on the Mount and some additional challenging parables, including the one of the Last Judgment, depicted by Michelangelo in awesome art on the wall of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. [Matt. 25:31-45]
The first scripture for today from the Letter to the Ephesians celebrates various gifts of God's grace for building up the Body of Christ. The feast of Matthew the Apostle and Matthew the evangelist allows us to celebrate two of those important gifts. AMEN