Follow Me

Today is the Feast of St. Matthew. In a moment, Matthew goes from being a tax-collector to a disciple of Christ. We too are called to leave our old way of life behind and follow him. It sounds so easy but I am sure it brought about many trials for Matthew as well. His life as he knew it was turned upside down because of a single decision he made. More will be expected of him and it will no longer be tolerated that he put money or anything else before the Lord. When we turn away from sinful behaviors we often have to turn away from people in our lives that participated in that sinful behavior with us. And these people may have a reaction similar to the Pharisees’. “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Matthew 9:11) Sometimes these taunts come from within rather than from someone else. You, a sinner, now call yourself a disciple of Christ? But I know you; I know the things that you have done. I tell myself that I am not worthy; that I need to get my act together before I go claiming to be a disciple of Christ. But Christ’s words bring me comfort, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). God is calling me to follow him now. He knows I am a sinner in need of his healing and love. This is why he died on the cross. His are the arms that were nailed to a cross, to break our chains and set us free.

In the first reading, Paul urges us to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace…” (Ephesians 4:1-3) Christ is our example of how to live in a manner that is worthy of the call we have received. We only need to look to him.