21 September 2020
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
The call of St. Matthew that we hear in today’s gospel serves to eradicate another common misconception we have about the faith, namely, that God’s love is something to be earned.
The Pharisees could not understand why Jesus would call out and eat with tax collectors and sinners. In their way of thinking, it is necessary to prove yourself to be righteous and holy, then you can earn God’s closeness and companionship.
Jesus takes this mentality and turns it on its head. “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” This is not to say that sinners will not change their ways. What it does mean is that Christ with his closeness and his love will transform their lives. For this he came, that we might not be alone in our endeavors of righteousness which so easily lead to a lonely sense of despair or pride.
This is the one hope of our call: that every human soul may abandon the loneliness of sin and know the love and companionship of Christ. May this message go out through all the earth.