This morning as I celebrated Eucharist on the feast day of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, I was struck by the words of the Collect: “O God, who with untold mercy were pleased to choose as an Apostle Saint Matthew, the tax collector, grant that, sustained by his example and intercession, we may merit to hold firm in following you.”
We may find it strange that Jesus didn’t consider qualities or skills Matthew had to offer but the calling the tax collector received was a sign of God’s mercy.
Firstly we can use the painting of Caravaggio “the calling of St Matthew” which faces us with profound meaning of the moment captured by the artist. At some close inspection we can discover that Caravaggio was inspired by the image of creation of Adam from Sistine Chapel, as the finger of Jesus Christ reaching out to Matthew is the same like the finger of God reaching out to the first man. Caravaggio expressed perfectly that calling to follow Christ means a new creation. When Jesus called Matthew he created him anew, Matthew was enabled not only to step out of his profitable business but he was enabled to step out of his self-interest and started imitating Jesus at serving others.
The same painting also shows us the surprise of Matthew who points at himself as if he were asking: “Are you sure that you want me to follow you?”
When we read the Gospel the ex-tax collector wrote we also discover that his calling wasn't simply mercy given him but his calling was also a sign of God's mercy for his people as trough St Matthew the Lord Jesus reached out to many other sinners.
We may find it strange that Jesus didn’t consider qualities or skills Matthew had to offer but the calling the tax collector received was a sign of God’s mercy.
Firstly we can use the painting of Caravaggio “the calling of St Matthew” which faces us with profound meaning of the moment captured by the artist. At some close inspection we can discover that Caravaggio was inspired by the image of creation of Adam from Sistine Chapel, as the finger of Jesus Christ reaching out to Matthew is the same like the finger of God reaching out to the first man. Caravaggio expressed perfectly that calling to follow Christ means a new creation. When Jesus called Matthew he created him anew, Matthew was enabled not only to step out of his profitable business but he was enabled to step out of his self-interest and started imitating Jesus at serving others.
The same painting also shows us the surprise of Matthew who points at himself as if he were asking: “Are you sure that you want me to follow you?”
When we read the Gospel the ex-tax collector wrote we also discover that his calling wasn't simply mercy given him but his calling was also a sign of God's mercy for his people as trough St Matthew the Lord Jesus reached out to many other sinners.
Calling of Matthew - New Creation performed by Jesus Christ
Creation of the first man
As Jesus was walking on from there he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs house, and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him. While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, 'Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?' When he heard this he replied, 'It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the virtues, but sinners.'
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