Monday
21 September 2026 – St. Matthew, Apostle- Feast
Mass Readings: Eph
4:1-7, 11-13 Ps 19 Mt 9:9-13
Key Verse to Meditate:
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but
sinners." (Mt 9:13)
Feast of St.
Matthew, the Apostle
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the great evangelist St. Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, and the author of the first gospel which is addressed in
particular to the Jews who became Christians. A great gift for us too, his gospel
containing the life and teachings of Christ.
The First Reading - Eph
4:1-7, 11-13
In this passage, St. Paul
delivers a passionate plea for unity and purposeful living within the Christian
community. The text can be broken down into three core themes:
- A Call to Virtuous Unity:
Paul urges believers to live in a manner worthy of their divine calling.
This requires practicing humility, gentleness, and patience, and bearing
with one another in love to maintain the "unity of the Spirit."
- One Body, Diverse Gifts: He
emphasizes the profound oneness of the faith—one Lord, one baptism, one
God—but notes that within this unity, Christ distributes grace and
specific gifts to each person uniquely.
- Purpose of the Roles: Christ
appoints different roles within the Church (apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors, and teachers). These roles are not for personal
status, but are strictly meant to "equip the holy ones for the work
of ministry." The ultimate goal is to build up the Body of Christ
until everyone reaches spiritual maturity and the fullness of Christ.
Spiritual Reflection: The
Tollbooth and the Evangelist
When read on the Feast of
St. Matthew, this passage takes on a deeply personal and striking resonance.
Matthew’s life is a perfect testament to Paul's message about grace, calling,
and the building up of the Church.
Living "Worthy of the
Call" Paul begs the Ephesians to live a life worthy of the
calling they have received. Matthew was a tax collector—a profession synonymous
in his day with corruption, greed, and betrayal of his own people. Yet, when
Jesus walked past his customs post and said, "Follow me," Matthew
left his old life behind instantly. Living worthy of our call does not mean we
start out perfect; it means we respond with humility and allow Christ’s grace
to fundamentally redirect our lives, just as Matthew did.
The Unique "Measure of
Christ's Gift" Paul writes that grace is given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ's gift. God never wastes our natural
talents; He transforms them. It is highly likely that Matthew’s background as a
tax collector made him meticulous, literate, and skilled at keeping detailed
records. Christ took the skills of a hated tax collector and transformed them
into the gifts of an evangelist. The very hands that once recorded
corrupt financial ledgers were repurposed to write down the Gospel, preserving
the Sermon on the Mount for billions of people across millennia.
Building up the Body of
Christ The gifts we are given—whether to teach, to lead, to
comfort, or to serve—are never meant to be hoarded. Matthew was given the grace
of an apostle and an evangelist not for his own glory, but to "equip the
holy ones" and build up the Church. His Gospel continues to fulfill
Ephesians 4 today, guiding us toward the "unity of faith" and the
"knowledge of the Son of God."
Questions for Personal
Reflection:
- What past experiences or natural skills do I have
that God might be asking to repurpose for His Kingdom?
- Am I using my specific gifts to build up the
people around me and foster unity, or am I keeping them to myself?
The Gospel Reading - Mt
9:9-13
The Call of Matthew, the
Tax Collector In today's Gospel, Matthew himself recounts his own
call from Jesus. Saint Jerome observed that only he, in his Gospel, identifies
himself by his own name: Matthew. The other evangelists recounting the same
episode—for example, St. Luke—call him "Levi," his middle name, which
was probably less known, as if to veil his identity as a tax collector.
Matthew, however, insists on the contrary. He recognizes himself as a tax
collector called by Jesus and as one of those publicans who were not very honest
and were despised as collaborators with the occupying Romans. The tax
collectors and sinners called by Jesus caused a great scandal. So the Pharisees
asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and
sinners?" (Mt 9:11).
The Need of a Physician for
the Sick Jesus, making use of the opportunity, teaches a great
lesson to the so-called elite group of the Jewish community, namely the
Pharisees. Jesus made his mission on earth clear to them: "Those who are
well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what
this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the
righteous but sinners" (Mt 9:12-13). Society at the time of Jesus looked
down upon tax collectors and sinners, as both practiced degrading professions
often based purely on dishonesty.
Sitting with Sinners at the
Table The law also prohibited sitting at the table with
sinners (Ps 1). Normally, sharing a table was a holy affair where the word of
God was shared. But Jesus, instead of keeping his distance from the sinners and
not allowing them to come closer to God, sat with them, enjoyed a meal, and
preached the word of God to them. This was scandalous behavior to the Jews: a
Jewish rabbi sitting with tax collectors. Since the tax collectors—sometimes
Jews themselves—collected money for Roman-occupied Palestine, the Jewish people
not only hated them but considered them sinners. It is precisely at this time
that Jesus takes a stand and tells them that he is a physician catering to the
needs of so-called sinners. He had, in fact, incarnated for sinners and called
them to conversion. The Pharisees, considering themselves self-righteous,
rejected the person and message of Jesus.
St. Matthew, a Different
Tax Collector The very call and vocation of Matthew tell us that he
was a different kind of tax collector because he was forgiven and much loved by
Jesus. This helps us understand that the vocation of an Apostle consists in
realizing the depth of God’s mercy and love. Yes, it is first of all a
recognition of the Lord's mercy. Although in the writings of the Fathers of the
Church the Apostles are often spoken of as "princes," Matthew does
not present himself as a prince, but as a forgiven sinner. And this is what
forms the fundamental basis of any apostolate: to have received the Lord's
mercy, to have understood one's poverty and littleness, and to have accepted it
as the "place" from which the immense mercy of God is poured out.
I Have Not Come to Call the
Righteous, but Sinners Remember what Jesus said: “I desire mercy, not
sacrifice. For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." So the
call and life of St. Matthew tell us that a person who has a deep experience of
divine mercy, not in the abstract, but for himself, is prepared for an
authentic apostolate. Those who do not possess it, even if they are called, can
hardly touch souls deeply, because they cannot communicate the love or mercy of
God. A true Apostle, as Saint Paul says, is someone who is full of humility,
meekness, and patience, and someone who has personally experienced patience,
meekness, and divine humility—the divine humility that bends over sinners,
calls them, and patiently raises them. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to
have this profound feeling of our littleness and the experience of his great
mercy, so that we too can touch the lives of people like St. Matthew did. We
are forgiven sinners and much loved by God.
Points for Personal
Reflection
- Am I a sinner forgiven by God?
- Do I realize that I am much loved and forgiven by
God?
- The call of Christ in my life suggests that he
has looked upon me, his lowly servant—does this idea fill me with great
enthusiasm for my discipleship?
- Do I separate myself and keep aloof from people
because of their past or social status?
