Our Gospel for today is the simple but magnificent story of
the conversion of Matthew. I urge you to read it and meditate upon it
this week, for it’s about you. The Bible says that Jesus told Matthew,
“Follow me.” The call of Jesus is meant to get into your mind, and then
past your mind into your body, and then through your body into your life
into your most practical decisions.
And then we hear that “Matthew got up and followed him.” The
verb used here in the Greek is the same verb used to describe the resurrection
of Jesus from the dead: Matthew rose. Conversion means a transition into
a higher life, arising from a preoccupation with the goods of the world
and a reorientation to the things of God.
Then we hear what happened after Matthew’s conversion: “And
as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came
and were sitting with him and his disciples.” This deeply annoys the
Pharisees, who ask of Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with
tax collectors and sinners?” The answer is that Jesus loves sinners, and
he doesn’t require perfection before he approaches them.
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