A Reflection for the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Find today’s readings here.
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.”
April 15—and for some procrastinators, October 15—comes and goes each year. Most people do not like to pay taxes or feel they are paying too much. Some go out of their way to pay as little as possible. Some even become creative with their interpretation of the tax law. However one approaches those dreaded days, the idea remains that “the tax man cometh,” and we seek a way to avoid that person when the day comes.
Certainly, a component of tax time is scrambling together our receipts for our church contributions and worthy causes to mitigate the amount we are required to give to the tax man. That is fine, but maybe we should think about the good our resources are doing to those in need, the mercy part, and not be concerned about increasing our tax deduction, the sacrifice part.
Maybe it is time we get over ourselves and “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” (Matthew 22:21) Maybe it is time to do away with the stereotype of the tax monger. There is a certain liberty in using the resources God gives us for God’s greater glory, whether that is to the tax authority or to whomever else benefits from our resources.
If we remove the stereotype and liberate our point of view, then we can more fully live the life to which God calls us. We can spend the time by giving mercifully of our time, talent and treasure to those in need. God loves a cheerful giver. That may be seen by the contributions we make to worthy causes; more importantly, however, it is the works that our gifts make possible that promote God’s calling.
Matthew chose to follow Jesus. We too can follow Jesus and do God’s will by focusing on the works of mercy. When we act mercifully, we spend time with others with whom we may not normally interact. If we give to the food pantry (and get a receipt) how about going a step further and handing the food out at the pantry giving food to those in need? Or, how about working at a soup kitchen and giving a smile to those who need joy in their life? We might learn a lot from the time we spend with our brothers and sisters in need. They, in turn, might learn from us by the merciful example we share with them.
What is striking in this Gospel is that Matthew invites Jesus to his home to celebrate his new calling. One can imagine what that meal was like, “the sinners and tax collectors” meeting the Teacher to form a new life. They must have been mesmerized by the time they spent with Jesus when society deemed them unworthy. Their hearts and minds were opened to Jesus’ love and mercy. The hospitality and conversation shared must have inspired them to start a new way of life. They, no doubt, left satisfied and were not even concerned about who paid the bill or kept the receipt.
