Feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle

I… urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Celebrating Saint Matthew’s feast day, we are reminded that Christ came to reclaim us, sinners. Matthew was a tax collector, and it’s unknown whether he was a good and just man, but we know that people in his line of work were disliked for serving the Romans. Yet Christ knows who we are and what we can do, and he called Matthew to follow him. We now know Matthew not as a tax collector but an Apostle, sent to the word to spread the Gospel, and as an Evangelist.  Christ called Matthew the sinner, and through breaking bread with him, through the gift of relationship that allowed Matthew to experience Jesus’ life-changing love, we were gifted Saint Matthew the Apostle.

Go and learn the meaning of the words: I desire mercy, not sacrifice… (Matthew 9:13)

Just like Matthew, we are called by our Lord to experience the greatness of his love for us.  We are invited to his banquet, where we will be among people searching, called to a relationship with Christ. If we feel we are advancing on the path to heaven, let us remember our call to reach out to our brothers with charity, faith, and hope. Let us share our journey, speaking of how we have struggled yet shared from Christ’s table. Let us tell of how God’s grace is transforming our own lives.

We may still be sinners, but remember that in our life with Christ, we are also the “called.”

Let us pray:

Lord, help us to leave behind our pursuit of false things. May we be transformed by your presence to live the lives you desire for us, that we may be with you to the end of the age. Amen.