Saint Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Matthew, the apostle and evangelist. The Gospel According to Matthew masterfully makes that connection between the Old and the New Covenant.
Matthew was a “tax collector” a code word for a public sinner. Yet Jesus called Matthew from his toll booth and with no hesitation he affirmed the call and followed Jesus.
What an excellent beginning. In some sense Matthew’s name and the word for disciple are related and thus he represents the whole group of disciples. His call is a kind of healing. This part of the Gospel according to Matthew is all about Jesus’ ministry of healing.
Matthew’s “healing” is an interior event. The down-deep healing of Matthew reminds me of the magnificence of God’s love through Jesus. Can I respond to the call with as instant and positive response that the apostle Matthew exhibited? His journey from sinner to disciple can be a mirror of my own response to Jesus. The grace of recognizing my own sinfulness and opening myself up to the rescuing presence of Jesus in my life truly is a miracle wrought by a merciful and gracious God.
And so the “newness” perdures as Jesus continues to call and invite each of us: as Matthew found his roots in the Jewish Bible, we find our roots in Matthew’s response as well as the other disciples who said and continued to say “yes” to Jesus.