The Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel; Venerable Father Stephen the Sabbaite (9th c.); Holy Father Julian, Bishop of Kenomane
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Romans 8:14-21; Matthew 9:9-13
The calling of Matthew which we hear in today’s Gospel is short in length, but long in implication for our lives as Christians. In short, Matthew was a tax collector who left his career to become a disciple of Jesus. Let’s unpack this and learn what it means for all the followers of Jesus.
At the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, we learn of four Jewish fishermen who left their life’s work, and their families, to become followers of Jesus: Simon (called Peter), his brother Andrew, and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, who literally left their father alone in the boat (see Matthew 4:18-22). Jesus then sets out to teach the great crowds that assemble by His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). He then puts into practise what He preaches (Matthew 8-9) by calling all sorts of others to follow Him. However, it is not just other Jews whom He calls. Jesus accepts all sorts of disciples whom even the Jewish peoples exclude: lepers, foreigners, women, the sick, paralytics, the possessed, unclean persons, and, yes, even tax collectors—considered sinners and treated like an unclean (and unwanted) persons.
Jesus comes across Matthew (called Levi in the other Gospels) and simply issues the invitation, “Follow me.” And Matthew followed. The name “Matthew” means “gift of God” or “given by God.” Jesus’s invitation and Matthew’s own little “fiat” (yes, in his way, like Mary’s) teach us that one who is unclean and unwanted should be considered a gift within the community of Jesus’ disciples. Why? His presence makes the community a sign of salvation for all! Like the four Jewish fishermen, and many others, Matthew left everything to follow Jesus.
Jesus is our Divine Physician! He is the one who heals and restores us not only to personal health (mind, body, soul) but also to His very Body, the Church. To some extent, we are all unclean and unwanted persons. Jesus has called us, like Matthew, to leave everything and follow Him, and to live as His community of disciples, to extend the love and mercy that He Himself has extended to us.
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