September 21: Saint Matthew, Apostle

On this feastday of the Apostle St. Matthew, there is no better place to start pondering his importance than his own Gospel. In 9, 9-13, he was sitting at his tax desk; he was wealthy, yet socially despised. Jesus passed, saw him, and said only, “Follow me.” Matthew rose up, obeyed the Lord, and followed Him. A single encounter became the beginning of a new life and of a Gospel that, ever since, has led others to Jesus the Lord.

Pope Francis called the above passage “an exchange of glances which changed history." Others looked at St. Matthew and saw a sinner. Jesus looked calmly and peacefully with eyes of mercy. His gaze freed St. Matthew from his past. The Holy Father said that “the gaze unlocked the heart, healed, gave hope, and called forth a radiant future beyond imagining.”

God has always had a way of  putting the self-righteous to shame and calling sinners to the task of bringing His Son’s Good News to the world. Try to imagine today that Jesus wants to pass by our own “desks” – the various places where habit, fear, shame, or comfort keep us seated. Imagine that He looks at us before we dare to look at Him and He says, “Follow me.” May we rise, receive His healing gaze, and open our hearts to others. Like St. Matthew, may we be transformed and may we become a living Gospel through which all people may encounter the abundant mercy of the Lord.