Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

Lectionary: 643


I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you 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:



Saint Paul describes himself with a variety of names. To the Romans he is "a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God..."  In other letters he seems to prefer "an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God." 

He was, in fact, often "a prisoner for the Lord." Not an auspicious title. Not what his parents dreamed of when they sent him to Hebrew School. But it fit him well. The man who would worship and adore a crucified messiah should get used to imprisonment and hard times. 

We know little of Saint Matthew but we can suppose he also knew the darker sides of Roman life. As a tax collector he must have been familiar with arguments, cursing, swearing, resentment and hostility. As an Evangelist he treasured the Word of God. 

Preparing for the MSF picnic

We honor Saint Matthew especially for the Gospel of Saint Matthew. It is always placed first among the documents of the New Testament, probably because it gives such mature, considered advice on the operations of the Church. The author is familiar with the conflicts, divisions and feuds that beset enthusiastic people. Carried away by their zeal for the Lord, sometimes "projecting" their own shortcomings onto one another, occasionally demonizing one another, they need sound authority to govern them. 

Especially they must be prepared to forgive one another seventy times seven times -- before breakfast. Matthew's is a gospel of forgiveness and atonement. He gives us the Lord's Prayer (forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us), the immediate explanation, 

If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

and the brilliant parable of the Unforgiving Servant.  

Preparing for the MSF picnic

Saint Paul and Saint Matthew demonstrate by their lives and in their teaching that the Christian should travel lightly. We cannot afford a lot of baggage, especially of the resentment kind. We might face hostility, suspicion, resentment or jail time -- as Doctor Martin Luther King did -- so we should be prepared to take nothing personally. 

As Mr. Chesterton said, "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly."