THE FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW – September 21, 2008

SCRIPTURES – Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:11; Ephesians 4:7-16; Matthew 9:9-13 

 Centuries ago the western Church set aside September 21 as the day to remember St. Matthew (the Eastern Church remembers him on September 16). The Catholic Church has made St. Matthew the patron saint of bankers and accountants. Has he been asleep on the job? Boy, do we need him now! Perhaps the problems our banks have been experiencing are because he’s been given the wrong job. For, when Jesus called Matthew, he jumped up, followed Jesus, and left behind the financial business for good. Someone who is not concerned about money, who had plenty of it but then left it all to pursue another path, is probably not the person you want watching over your money and investments! 

Actually, I don’t think that Matthew would be comfortable being any group’s  patron saint, the one whom they would call upon in prayer and to whom they would look for help. We get this clue from his Gospel, which was probably the first book written which recorded for us the words and works of Jesus. How often does Matthew refer to himself in his Gospel? Just twice, and both times he refers to himself simply as Matthew the tax collector. You know, the great sinner who was so concerned with money and all that wealth could obtain that he turned his back on his family, his friends, his community, his nation, and even his God. A despicable man in whom there was really nothing good or admirable – this is how Matthew refers to himself. he wanted people to praise, not him for changing his life, but Jesus for His mercy in calling such a sinner. 

Matthew throws a huge challenge at us who say we are also followers of Jesus. If you’re looking for affirmation from Jesus, if you come here to listen to Him and feel good about yourself and your life, then you’ve come to the wrong place. Did you listen to Matthew? He tells us about a dinner he had at his house after Jesus had called him to be His disciple. It seems that the Pharisees got upset because Jesus attended the dinner. “What’s he doing eating with those riff-raff, those sinners? They’re unworthy of a Rabbi, a holy man!” Jesus responded,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” So, Jesus not only agrees that Matthew and his friends are riff-raff. He even says they’re sick! As a matter of fact, Jesus says that He has not come for the healthy – namely, those who claim to be righteous, be good – but only for the sick. So, if you want Jesus to be with you, you had better be sick, sinful. They are the crowd He chooses to be with, Matthew tells us. 

Are you looking for Jesus to bless your life and your work with prosperity? Again, you’re following the wrong person, says Matthew. He got up and left everything behind when Jesus called him! So, gambling at the casino’s, buying lottery tickets and promising that, if you win, you’ll give the church a large check – Jesus doesn’t want to hear about it. These are not things that please Him or gain His blessing! Later in his Gospel, Matthew tells us about a rich man who came to Jesus because he considered Him to be a good teacher and asked Him what he had to do to go to heaven. Jesus tells him, “Go, sell what you possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." (Matthew 19:21) Jesus is so disinterested in money that He doesn’t even want it Himself, even though He could surely do a lot of good with it! “Give it away to the poor” He tells the man. Don’t tell Jesus, then, about how much you’ll do for Him and His Church if He will only bless you with prosperity. Christ doesn’t want your money, nor does He care about giving you a lot of it, Matthew tells us.  

In the man Matthew we see who Jesus wants, who He came for. He came for sinners. He came for those who are so weighed down with their sins that they see no way out, no way to change, no hope for their lives. The day that Matthew was called was probably not the first time Matthew had seen Jesus. The town of Capernaum, where Matthew lived and worked, was where Jesus lived during His ministry. He preached in its synagogue and He performed a number of miracles there. In Capernaum Jesus received a Roman army officer, a man who would have been hated by the common people and rejected by religious Jews as unclean and unworthy of God’s help, and helped him by healing his servant. He even praised the man’s faith as being greater than any in Israel! In Capernaum Jesus cast demons out of many people, thus helping those who were the most unclean, the most oppressed, and whom no one else could help. Shortly before Jesus called Matthew, He had forgiven the sins of a paralyzed man who was laid before Him. When He was accused of blasphemy for claiming to have the authority to forgive sins, something only God could do, Jesus then healed the man of his paralysis to prove that He had the authority over both sin and the suffering it brings. Undoubtedly Matthew heard of these things, and may even have seen them himself. He may have been drawn to Jesus, to the love of God and the forgiveness of sins He proclaimed, and yearned to follow Him. But, his sins were too great to be forgiven. A man who had betrayed his own family and his own nation; a man who put money before God; a man who nobody would ever trust or help – this was Matthew, the collector of taxes for the Romans. He had chosen this life, and he could be nothing else. He could not choose and follow Jesus. 

But then, Jesus called to him: “Follow Me.” And, to those who were shocked at this, He said: “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” It is precisely such unworthy sinners as Matthew, and only such unworthy sinners as Matthew, that Jesus calls as His followers. He is closest to us when we are the most sinful – not when we go out and sin without thought or care, for this is being hard-headed and rebellious, and is offensive to God; but when we know we are unworthy of God and confess that there is nothing good in us. Jesus is the Savior of sinners, and this is why we humbly confess our sins. He is closest to us when we so confess. Jesus is also most honored by our simple confession of sins and trust in His death for our forgiveness. The one who most honors God:

q   Is not the football player who in a TV interview gives thanks to God for his victory;

q   Nor the lottery winner who publicly thanks God and then gives millions to charity.

It is the simple Christian who bows his head, confesses his sin, and gratefully receives in the pastor’s words of absolution and in Christ’s Sacraments the forgiveness Jesus died to gain. 

On this Feast of St. Matthew – and on every Sunday, and during the week as you wake in the morning or when you go to bed at night – give honor to your Savior by confessing your sins to Him and rejoicing in His forgiveness. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, the heavenly Physician and Savior of sinners.