SEPTEMBER 21, 2013 : FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist 
Lectionary: 643

Reading 1EPH 4:1-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with 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:
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

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 up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ. 

Responsorial PsalmPS 19:2-3, 4-5

R. (5) Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

GospelMT 9:9-13

As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

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Meditation: "I desire mercy – not sacrifice"

What is God's call on your life? Jesus chose Matthew to be his follower and friend, not because Matthew was religious or learned, popular or saintly. Matthew appeared to be none of those. He chose to live a life of wealth and ease. His profession was probably the most corrupted and despised by everyone because tax collectors made themselves wealthy by over-charging and threatening people if they did not hand over their money to them. What did Jesus see in Matthew that others did not see? When the prophet Samuel came to the house of Jesse to anoint the future heir to the throne of Israel, he bypassed all the first seven sons and chose the last! "God looks at the heart and not at the appearance of a man" he declared. David's heart was like a compass looking for true north – it pointed to God. Matthew's heart must have yearned for God, even though he dare not show his face in a synagogue – the Jewish house of prayer and the study of Torah – God's law. When Jesus saw Matthew sitting at his tax office – no doubt counting his day's profit – Jesus spoke only two words – "follow me". Those two words changed Matthew from a self-serving profiteer to a God-serving apostle who would bring the treasures of God's kingdom to the poor and needy.
John Chrysostom, the great 5th century church father, describes Matthew's calling: "Why did Jesus not call Matthew at the same time as he called Peter and John and the rest? He came to each one at a particular time when he knew that they would respond to him. He came at a different time to call Matthew when he was assured that Matthew would surrender to his call. Similarly, he called Paul at a different time when he was vulnerable, after the resurrection, something like a hunter going after his quarry. for he who is acquainted with our inmost hearts and knows the secrets of our minds knows when each one of us is ready to respond fully. Therefore he did not call them all together at the beginning, when Matthew was still in a hardened condition. Rather, only after countless miracles, after his fame spread abroad, did he call Matthew. He knew Matthew had been softened for full responsiveness."
When the Pharisees challenged Jesus' unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus’ defense was quite simple. A doctor doesn’t need to visit healthy people; instead he goes to those who are sick. Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to wholeness of life. The orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of religion that they neglected to help the very people who needed spiritual care. Their religion was selfish because they didn’t want to have anything to do with people not like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal terms: I came  not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically the orthodox were as needy as those they despised. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
On more than one occasion Jesus quoted the saying from the prophet Hosea: For I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Do you thank the Lord for the great mercy he has shown to you?  And do you show mercy to your neighbor as well?
"Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself.” (Prayer of Augustine, 354-430)
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With the Eyeglasses of Faith

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

Father Barry O’Toole, LC Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ´I desire mercy, not sacrifice.´ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." Introductory Prayer: You are true goodness and life, Lord. Closeness to you brings peace and joy. You deserve all of my trust and my love. Thank you for the gift of life, my family and above all of my faith. I’m grateful too, for the gift of the Church which you founded on the Apostles. Petition: Lord, help me to be simple and straightforward in my faith. 1. Simplicity Is Bliss: The tax collectors were considered traitors of the Jewish people since they were working for the Romans, the “oppressors” of God’s chosen people. The ordinary Jew would not even converse with one such as this. But Jesus says to him, “Follow me.” Matthew got up and followed him immediately, no questions asked, no conditions. What beautiful simplicity! He didn’t know that Christ was going to make him one of the Twelve. In a certain sense we might say that he signed a blank check and gave it to Jesus. Matthew doesn’t sit down to calculate, he only accepts. He then goes a step further: He invites Jesus to his house for dinner. A Jew generally invited only his true and closest friends and relatives to dinner. It was a sign of intimacy, friendship and love. Matthew goes overboard and lays out the red carpet for Christ in his life. 2. Complicated Calculations: In contrast to Matthew’s straightforwardness, we see the Pharisees’ “righteousness.” Jesus’ dining with a sinner like Matthew is a scandal for them. They really have to confront this Rabbi about his “shameful conduct.” The problem is that they haven’t understood the first thing about the Messiah. Their very point of departure is flawed. They are looking at Christ (and God) from a very rational perspective when the only valid outlook is faith and love. This happens frequently in our lives as we begin to judge events, circumstances and others without faith and charity. Before we realize it, we may have rejected and possibly even defamed our neighbor, a civil authority, or a priest or bishop. We are not looking at things from a supernatural vantage point but rather from our merely human standards. 3. Back to the Basics: Christ puts everything back into perspective. "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ´I desire mercy, not sacrifice.´ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." Once again Jesus invites us to elevate our thoughts to a supernatural plain. Why did God become man? We repeat it frequently, at least every Sunday in the Creed: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven.…” It is important to examine the degree to which I see and judge everything in my life through the prism of faith. A true believer, a real apostle, must form this “sixth sense” in all of his daily dealings. We form this habit through prayer, our frequent and intimate contact with God. We need to ask God for the gift of faith, which gives us a new perspective on life. Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want to be a simple person, one who accepts you and your demands without calculations and complications. Free me from all impediments and grant me your grace so that I might become a convinced, faithful and intrepid apostle of your kingdom, as was St Matthew. Resolution: In prayerful dialogue with God, I will examine at least three moments or events of my day. (This I can do even at home, in the car or waiting in line, etc.)

www.regnumchristi.org

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
FEAST OF MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST
(Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; Psalm 19)

KEY VERSE: "He said to him, 'Follow me' (v 13).
READING: Matthew, one of the Twelve apostles, is called Levi in Mark and Luke's gospel, which is perhaps a tribal designation (Mk 2:14, Lk 5:27). Matthew was a collector of taxes, a "publican," so called because he dealt with public funds. A tax collector had purchased the right to collect taxes in a certain area, and was allowed to keep a commission on anything hecollected over and above an agreed sum. Pious Jews looked upon tax collectors as sinners because they collaborated with the occupying Roman forces. Moreover, they were suspected of extorting money from their own people. Though aware of Matthew's reputation, Jesus invited him to be a disciple. In turn, Matthew invited Jesus to dine with him and some friends who were also social outcasts. The Pharisees were shocked at Jesus' apparent disregard for the law. Jesus quoted the prophet Hosea who said that mercy was superior to the law (Hos 6:6). Those who knew they were sinners recognized their need for healing, while the self-righteous did not realize that they were in need of God's forgiveness.
REFLECTING: Let us "who hold and teach the Catholic faith that comes to us from the apostles" [Eucharistic Prayer I], continue in our own time to hand on the faith that we have received.
PRAYING: St. Matthew, help me to respond to Jesus' invitation as you did.

FEAST OF MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST

Matthew, son of Alphaeus, lived at Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. Matthew was a tax-collector and must have been hated by the Jews for having entered the civil service of their Roman conquerors. Jesus' contemporaries were surprised to see Matthew, a supposed "traitor," as a follower of Jesus. Jesus explained that he had come "not to call the righteous, but sinners." When Jesus called Matthew as he sat at his customs post, he rose up and followed him, leaving everything behind him except one thing ̶ his pen. Matthew used his literary skill to compile an account of the teachings of Jesus. Although it is believed that Mark's Gospel was written first, the Gospel of Matthew occupies the pride of place in all the early lists of the books of the New Testament. The church attached particular importance to this Gospel by using Matthew in the worship of the church, and its preaching and teaching. Matthew's Gospel was written for Jewish Christians. He asserts that what God had promised in the Old Testament was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, the messiah and king, thusfulfilling the Jewish scriptures.

www.daily-word-of-life.com

 Their message goes out through all the earth.
God is above all, through all and in all.

By the grace of God, recent medical research has discovered so much about how the cells of the body work together for the wellness of our bodies. Also the biodiversity and interdependence of plant and animal worlds are being revealed as necessary for the survival of our environment.

In the parallel spiritual world, Paul also speaks of the diversity of gifts and charisms among followers of Jesus to be used for the bringing of unity to the faith and in building up the body of Christ. 

We need then to uphold and encourage others, as well as ourselves, to exercise their gifts for the wellness of the Christian community so that we may all come to ‘the stature of the fullness of Christ.’ St Matthew would be an excellent model to follow.
www.churchresources.info

September 21
St. Matthew

Matthew was a Jew who worked for the occupying Roman forces, collecting taxes from other Jews. The Romans were not scrupulous about what the "tax farmers" got for themselves. Hence the latter, known as "publicans," were generally hated as traitors by their fellow Jews. The Pharisees lumped them with "sinners" (see Matthew 9:11-13). So it was shocking to them to hear Jesus call such a man to be one of his intimate followers.

Matthew got Jesus in further trouble by having a sort of going-away party at his house. The Gospel tells us that "many" tax collectors and "those known as sinners" came to the dinner. The Pharisees were still more badly shocked. What business did the supposedly great teacher have associating with such immoral people? Jesus' answer was, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners" (Matthew 9:12b-13). Jesus is not setting aside ritual and worship; he is saying that loving others is even more important.

No other particular incidents about Matthew are found in the New Testament.

Stories:

We imagine Matthew, after the terrible events surrounding the death of Jesus, going to the mountain to which the risen Lord had summoned them. “When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them [we think of him looking at each one in turn, Matthew listening and excited with the rest], ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age’ ” (Matthew 28:17–20).

Matthew would never forget that day. He proclaimed the Good News by his life and by his word. Our faith rests upon his witness and that of his fellow apostles.

Comment:

From such an unlikely situation, Jesus chose one of the foundations of the Church, a man others, judging from his job, thought was not holy enough for the position. But he was honest enough to admit that he was one of the sinners Jesus came to call. He was open enough to recognize truth when he saw him. "And he got up and followed him" (Matthew 9:9b).

Quote:

Patron Saint of:

Accountants
Bankers
Bookkeepers
Tax collectors

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LECTIO: ST. MATTHEW, THE EVANGELIST - MT 9,9-13

Lectio: 

 Saturday, September 21, 2013  

St. Matthew, the Evangelist

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,
you call your children
to walk in the light of Christ.
Free us from darkness
and keep us in the radiance of your truth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 9,9-13

As Jesus was walking on from there he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him.
Now while he was at table in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, 'Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?'
When he heard this he replied, 'It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinners.'

3) Reflection

• The Sermon on the Mountain takes chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew.   The purpose of the narrative part of chapters 8 and 9 is to show how Jesus put into practice what he had just taught.  In the Sermon on the Mountain, he teaches acceptance (Mt 5, 23-25. 38-42.43).  Now he puts it into practice accepting the lepers (Mt 8, 1-4), the foreigners (Mt 8, 5-13), the women (Mt 8, 14-15), the sick (Mt 8, 16-17), the possessed (Mt 8, 28-34), the paralytics (Mt 9, 1-8), the tax collectors (Mt 9, 913), the unclean persons (Mt 9, 20-22), etc.  Jesus breaks the norms and the customs which excluded and divided persons, that is with the fear and the lack of faith (Mt 8, 23-27) the laws on purity (9, 14-17), and he clearly says which are the requirements for those who want to follow him. They should have the courage to abandon many things (Mt 8, 18-22).  In the same way in the attitudes and in the practice of Jesus we see in what the Kingdom and the perfect observance of the Law of God consists.

• Matthew 9, 9: The call to follow Jesus.  The first persons called to follow Jesus are four fishermen, all Jewish (Mt 4, 18-22).  Now Jesus calls a tax collector, considered a sinner and treated as an unclean person by the community of the most observant of the Pharisees. In the other Gospels, this tax collector is called Levi. Here, his name is Matthew, which means gift of God or given by God.  The communities, instead of excluding the tax collector and of considering him unclean, should consider him a Gift of God for the community, because his presence makes the community become a sign of salvation for all!  Like the first four who were called, in the same way also Matthew, the tax collector, leaves everything that he has and follows Jesus.  The following of Jesus requires breaking away from many things.  Matthew leaves the tax office, his source of revenue and follows Jesus!
• Matthew 9, 10: Jesus sits at table with sinners and tax collectors. At that time the Jews lived separated from the tax collectors and sinners and they did not eat with them at the same table. The Christian Jews should break away from this isolation and sit at table with the tax collectors and with the unclean, according to the teaching given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mountain, the expression of the universal love of God the Father (Mt 5, 44-48).  The mission of the communities was that of offering a place to those who did not have it. But this new law was not accepted by all.  In some communities persons coming from paganism, even if they were Christians, were not accepted around the same table (cf. Ac 10, 28; 11, 3; Ga 2, 12). The text of today’s Gospel shows us Jesus who sits at table with tax collectors and sinners in the same house, around the same table.
• Matthew 9, 11: The question of the Pharisees. Jews were forbidden to sit at table with the tax collectors and with sinners, but Jesus does not follow this prohibition.  Rather he becomes a friend to them. The Pharisees seeing the attitude of Jesus, ask the disciples: “Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?” This question may be interpreted as an expression of their desire to know why Jesus acts in that way.  Others interpret the question like a criticism of Jesus’ behaviour, because for over five hundred years, from the time of the slavery in Babylon until the time of Jesus, the Jews had observed the laws of purity.  This secular observance became a strong sign of identity.  At the same time it was a factor of their separation in the midst of other peoples.  Thus, because of the laws on purity, they could not nor did they succeed to sit around the same table to eat with tax collectors.  To eat with tax collectors meant to get contaminated, to become unclean.  The precepts of legal purity were rigorously observed, in Palestine as well as in the Jewish communities of the Diaspora.  At the time of Jesus, there were more than five hundred precepts to keep purity.  In the years 70’s, at the time when Matthew wrote, this conflict was very actual.   
• Matthew 9, 12-13: “Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. Jesus hears the question of the Pharisees to the disciples and he answers with two clarifications: the first one is taken from common sense: “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick”. The second one is taken from the Bible: “Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice”. Through these clarifications, Jesus makes explicit and clarifies his mission among the people: “I have not come to call the upright but sinners”.  Jesus denies the criticism of the Pharisees; he does not accept their arguments, because they came from a false idea of the Law of God.  He himself invokes the Bible: “Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice”. For Jesus, mercy is more important than legal purity.  He refers to the prophetic tradition to say that mercy has greater value for God than all sacrifices (Ho 6, 6; Is 1, 10-17).  God has profound mercy, and is moved before the failures of his people (Ho 11, 8-9).  

4) Personal questions

• Today, in our society, who is marginalized and excluded?  Why? In our community, do we have preconceptions or prejudices? Which? Which is the challenge which the words of Jesus present to our community?  
• Jesus asks the people to read and to understand the Old Testament which says: “Mercy is what pleases me and not sacrifice”.  What does Jesus want to tell us with this today?

5) Concluding Prayer

Blessed are those who observe his instructions,
Blessed are those who observe his instructions,
who seek him with all their hearts,
and, doing no evil, who walk in his ways. (Ps 119,2-3)

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