9/21/2012 – Friday of 24th week in ordinary time - Saint Matthew – Matthew 9:9-13

         We hear about the call of Matthew in today’s Gospel on his feast day. We hear how Jesus called Matthew out of the tax collector’s office to be his follower, how they shared a meal together with other tax collectors and sinners, how this was an occasion that was to define the thrust of much of Jesus’ ministry and his proclamation of God’s kingdom.  The Pharisees objected to this gathering Jesus had with the tax collectors and other sinners, but Jesus describes himself to them as a physician who came to heal the sick, to bring sinners to God.

         The Pharisees were so obsessed with following God’s law, so in touch with the tiniest details of the letter of the law, that they often disregarded the very spirit of God’s law.  The Pharisees could be so caught up in their own righteousness that they were not capable of responding to Jesus’ call for them to repent.  In their eyes, the Pharisees thought that they did not need a Savior, that they did not need someone to proclaim God’s kingdom to them. They believed they were already in right relationship with God through their own efforts, their own actions, their own words.  The Pharisees of today’s Gospel certainly did not see themselves in need of a physician to heal them. 

         And being the true physician, Jesus sought to heal the whole person: in body, mind, and spirit.  Jesus came to care for his people, to restore them to wholeness of life. Through this passage describing the call of St. Matthew, we get a glimpse of God’s mercy that Jesus brings to his ministry.  It is this faith that is based on the life and ministry of Jesus, a faith that was passed down to the apostolic community and the early Church, a faith that we profess today.  Through our words and our actions, through the way we live out our faith, do we thank God for the great mercy he has shown us, both individually and as a community of faith?  Do we seek the good for our brothers & sisters? Do we pass on God’s mercy and kindness to them? 

         We may think that Matthew was an unlikely choice as one of the apostles, but this shows the mercy & power of God to move mountains & to change hearts.  If we are but open to God, it will amaze us to see the ways he can work in our lives.  Let us today give thanks for Matthew and the other founding fathers and mothers of our faith, for the choice they made to leave everything behind to follow our Lord.