east of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
I hate to admit this, but I am not the world’s most humble, gentle, or patient person. This fact is hit home to me every day as I walk my youngest child to preschool (about a mile away). Usually, we have left the house a bit late, I am thinking about the to-do list I have waiting for me at work, and so I’m trying to speed us along. Of course, my four-year-old, being four, sees this walk as an opportunity for mommy time, and for exploration of the world. For all that I want to walk at a fast clip, she will meander, point out the cicadas on the ground, and ask why no one has planted a garden in the plot of dirt yet, or why some cars are grey and some are red, or why that person over there is wearing a hat. She wants to pretend some of the garden walls we see on our walk are balance beams, and when we arrive at a sprinkler, that she’s turned into a mermaid. Our walk gradually gets slower and slower, I remind myself that taking time to talk about her questions is just as important – if not moreso – than the pile of papers on my desk.
It’s a good daily reminder that in fact, patience, humility, and gentleness is what I am called to practice in my Christian life, as Paul says in today’s first reading (Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13). “Live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,” he exhorts.
Notice that Paul cares less what we DO, and more the manner in which we live. After all there are many possible doings we could be about, and still be Christian: we could be teachers, prophets, pastors, and more. No matter what, we need to live in a manner worthy of our Christian call?
What did living that call mean for the tax collector of the first century? In today’s Gospel (Matthew 9:9-13), Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him. Tax collectors were not well-regarded in Jesus’ day because they worked for the Roman Empire and added in their own commission rates on top of the regular taxes. They were known for being dishonest people.
However, Matthew agrees to follow Jesus. One of the first acts Matthew does in following Jesus is to offer the hospitality of his house, a significantly new way to live, versus stealing money from the people. Jesus gathers at Matthew’s house with “tax collectors and sinners” and proclaims the Gospel to them.
We celebrate Matthew’s feast day today. Matthew’s Gospel is Good News for all of us who are sinners, the ones in need of Jesus the Physician. His own new way of life might inspire us to consider how we, too, might cultivate a life that is worthy of our calling. No matter what we do as spouses, parents, business people, health care workers, lawyers, teachers, farmers, construction workers, food servers, artists, and many more jobs – there is surely more we can do to demonstrate to ourselves and others that we live our lives in Jesus Christ.
Today, let us ask God for the grace to live fully into a life worthy of our calling.
Jana M. Bennett