Monday, September 22, 2014
(St Matthew the Apostle)
Matthew 9. 9-13
"Jesus saw Matthew sitting at the tax office, and said to him...Follow me".
Venerable Bede (d. yr 735. Monk of Jarrow, Northumberland) commented that "Jesus not only saw Matthew in the usual sense but more significantly with his merciful understanding of human beings, Jesus saw the tax collector and chose him not only to follow him but to imitate the pattern of Jesus' own life. " And Matthew rose and followed him, leaving his former life and wealth behind him. And then we are told that at the table, other tax collectors also came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples, they being drawn by Matthew's example.
Today in the Canadian Anglican Church Calendar for Alternative Services, we are remembering Saint Matthew, who traditionally is believed to be the author of the first Gospel. The fact that Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, into his circle was one of the things that scandalized his fellow Jews the most, because the likes of Matthew as a tax collector meant that many Jews of the day saw Matthew only as a collaborator extorting money from their own people to sustain the Roman occupation. Matthew was in a sense an outcast in his own nation. Interestingly, it is ironic for this Gospel account of Matthew takes great pains to show that Jesus was faithful to his Jewish heritage and constantly refers to Old Testament texts to show that Jesus did not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfil them (p. 288 For All The Saints) .
Might that we be intrigued by Matthew and even moved by the fact that Jesus saw beyond the outer person of Matthew, seeing the potential that was of the inner person of Matthew. Life from that point on for Matthew was one of transformation and witness to being faithful to the Presence, Love and Way of Life that Jesus advocated: he proceeded for the rest of his life to proclaim and present this to the Church and world.
-Archdeacon Ken Cardwell
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