His Word Today: Saint Matthew

Saint Matthew and the Angel
by Guido Reni

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Matthew, the Apostle.  Matthew was a first-century Galilean, the son of Alpheus, who is referred to as Levi the tax collector in some parts of the gospels.  He would have been literate in Aramaic and in Greek, but his fellow Jews would have despised him because tax collectors were understood to be collaborating with the Roman occupiers.

Jesus encountered Matthew, as he also encounters each one of us.  The scriptures say that as Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post, and he said to him: 'Follow me' (Mt 9:9).  When the word saw is used in the gospels, we must understand that Jesus not only saw him with his eyes, but that he saw all the hidden parts of Matthew, all of his potential, all that he had been hiding - from himself or from others - and that Jesus loved all that he saw.  He invited Matthew to follow him, and this invitation changed the tax collector's life.

In response to Jesus' invitation, Matthew issued his own invitation for Jesus to come to dinner at his house.  This act of generosity is an expected outcome of those who come to recognize the generosity of God when we too are seen, loved and called.  Are you aware of the moment when Jesus saw you in this way, when he called you and invited you to follow him?  Can you recall the reaction of overwhelming generosity in answer to such an invitation?  An authentic call that comes from God will always be the result of such an encounter, and the result of our yes will always be an exceeding awareness of joy.  Give thanks today for the gift of having been called, and for having had the courage to accept the invitation to follow Jesus.

Have a great day.