SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2024
SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY FOURTH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME B
ST MATTHEW, Ap. AND EVANGELIST (FEAST)
Ephesians 4: 1-7.11-13
Matthew 9:9-13
AND THE LORD CAME CALLING AND MATTHEW RESPONDED
The feast of Saint Matthew the apostle which we celebrate today as annual feast, recalls for us the call and responds of the apostle, Matthew. This is very significant since the Lord sought out Matthew at the tax house, requesting Matthew to follow him.
Matthew was a tax collector, a job that many Jews see as an affront to their national honour, a disservice to their citizenship as Jews. It was a job that serves the interest of their slave masters – the Roman Empire, because they were meant to pay taxes and Matthew was the agent of the Romans or rather the agent of the Emperor.
But that is not even enough. The collection of taxes from the people were done with such disdain that sometimes impoverishes the people because of the gains made and the high taxes imposed unjustly on the people. For these, the tax collectors were seen as sinful people who do dirty job. They were regarded as public shameless sinners who do these evils with such authority of the emperor without conscience.
The event of the call of Matthew is one that draws great attention because, Jesus went to meet him, beckoned on him and invited him to a new life. Jesus takes the first step in this instance. He sought Matthew to save him. And when asked why he associates with public sinners, Jesus had a good answer. He tells them. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
God’s initiative in calling and taking the first initiative is uniquely to save, to redeem, to lift us up, to renew our lives, to call us back to God and to deliver his own. This, God continues to do, even now. God invites us, he calls, he seeks us, and he is ever seeking our wellbeing.
Matthew teaches us how to respond to God’s call, whenever we hear or feel his call. Matthew understands the call, because he recognizes the depth of his sinfulness and the need for repentance and renewal. And so, Matthew saw in Jesus the way, the truth and the life. He rose, without looking back, without thinking for a while, without a second thought, he followed Jesus.
By following Jesus, he abandoned every other thing, his lucrative job, his lifestyle, his friends were even brought to Jesus, his family too. Matthew did not fear but took the risk of going against his employers who were their slave masters, knowing full well that Jesus was even seen as an enemy of the Emperor. But Matthew did not mind. He risks his life and his profession as a tax collector. Matthew mortgage his life for the sake of Jesus.
But he knew that the choice he is making is for his good. He has turned his face against evil and had given heed to a new form of living. As Saint Paul writes in the first reading, it is a new life for Matthew which makes him a prisoner for the Lord. A life described by Paul as one of “lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
A life of service to God supremely, and to humanity. A life of service, guided by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of preaching, teaching, pastoring, evangelising, working of miracle and others. A life of total giving of oneself to God and humanity.
It is more importantly, a life of grace, because “grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
And this grace, an unmerited gift of God, is bestowed on all who give in to this life in order to grow gradually to full maturity, building up the kingdom of God.
And this is the life we are called, invited and commissioned to live. As Matthew lived and answered, so we are to live and answer to God’s call.
Eternal Father, you called saint Matthew to faith and raised him to a new life in you. Grant that we may respond to your daily calls to follow you, work with you and live in you. May we always recognise your voice and submit ourselves totally to be renewed and remoulded by your grace, with the intention to serve you and humanity in humility and love so as to be numbered among the redeemed, through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
