Reading 1
Eph 4:1-7, 11-13
Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
Gospel
Mt 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by,
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.”
Meditation: Matthew 9:9-13
St. Matthew
Everyone must have known and despised Matthew. He was the guy who collected duty from local farmers and craftsmen whenever they took their products to or from the territory of Herod Antipas. He probably also collected taxes for the Romans. If he was like most tax collectors of the time, he had grown wealthy by extracting extra payments from his own people.
The disciples must have been horrified when Jesus called this collaborator and extortionist to join him! Imagine the conversion it required—not just for Matthew but for those who had to live with him. The evidence of their success—the fact that all were praying together in the upper room (Acts 1:13-14)—should give us hope that no division is too hard for God to overcome.
According to tradition, Matthew became a missionary and a martyr. It’s unlikely, though, that he went on to write the gospel that bears his name. The words “according to Matthew” were not added until the second century. Most scholars think the author was a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian—maybe a disciple of Matthew’s—who wrote around a.d. 85, probably from the city of Antioch.
If so, this author belonged to a community that faced its own big challenge to unity. The founding members of the Antioch church were Jewish converts who were still following Jewish laws and practices. But then came a great wave of gentile conversions (Acts 11:19-26) and with it, challenging questions. Did the new converts have to become Jews? Were Jewish Christians still bound by the Law of Moses?
Working out these questions was no simple matter. Tensions ran high, and at one point, Paul even accused Peter of cowardice and hypocrisy for going back on his original practice of sharing meals with Antioch’s gentile Christians (Galatians 2:11-14). But gradually, guided by the Holy Spirit, the apostles learned how to steer the church toward unity.
What challenges to Christian unity do you see—in your parish, religious community, or the church at large? Don’t let them get you down! The same Holy Spirit who taught Matthew and the other apostles how to live together can do the same for you.
“Jesus, thank you for Matthew and the other apostles. Help me to love unity and work for it, as they did. Make your people one, Lord!”
Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13; Psalm 19:2-5
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