Why did Jesus call Matthew, the hated tax collector to follow him, and why did he have dinner with outcasts and sinners? Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.
Readings for the Feast of St Matthew the Apostle can be found here.
Next month King Charles will receive the Sultan of Oman on a state visit to the UK. Hosting such visits is a regular duty of the monarch, and the centrepiece is always a grand state banquet at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. Drawing up the guest list for such a banquet is a diplomatic balancing act. Normally people in the UK with a connection to the visiting country are invited, but not any who have offended that government. The great and the good from the UK are always there, along with people who have achieved significant things in their particular field. Sometimes there’s criticism in the media about who has or hasn’t been invited.
The guest list at the dinner Jesus attended in today’s Gospel was rather different from a state banquet, but still attracted criticism. ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’, the Pharisees ask Jesus’ disciples. This guests at this dinner were certainly not the great and the good, the well-connected and the high fliers. They were the outcasts, those who were looked down upon. Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were particularly hated as they were seen as collaborating with the Roman Empire. One such Jesus had just called to be an apostle, Matthew whom we honour today on his Feast.
Why did Jesus call Matthew to follow him on that particular day as he passed the tax booth on the way out of Capernaum? Maybe he sensed something in Matthew that was yearning for something more, and a way out of the life he’s found himself in. Maybe Jesus knew that as a hated outsider himself who has suddenly been shown love and acceptance, Matthew was well placed to reach out to other outcasts.
The calling of Matthew gives a model for the church’s mission. Our table should be surrounded by all manner of folk – sinners, rebels, outcasts, and misfits. Unlike a grand state banquet, at our Eucharistic feast there should be room for all. And Matthew’s response to Jesus is a model for discipleship – responding to his call to serve, and following without delay, knowing we are loved and accepted for who we are.
Mass today is in St Dyfrig & St Samson at 6.30pm.
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