Christ is Passing By

Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; Matthew 9:9-13

The gospel story for the Feast of St. Matthew is a valuable lesson in discipleship.

We know it well. Jesus passes by the customs post, looks at Matthew, and says: “Follow me.” Matthew gets up and follows him.

The response is so sudden, so unreflective, it might look like he had no choice. What explains it? After working with many people coming to faith over the years, I think I know. Matthew was filled with that same restlessness Augustine spoke of later; he had everything the world could give, but not what his heart wanted most.

That came when Christ passed by; the moment he realized he hadn’t been searching for something but someone, and that One was now standing right in front of him.

In the joy of that discovery, what else would Matthew do but open himself to Christ? This he did: he opened his home, his table, his friends… his whole world.

And that’s not all. Matthew also opened his mind to that creative energy of the Spirit – logging events of the ministry, ordering and arranging them as only someone used to keeping records could, ultimately painting such an eloquent, unforgettable portrait of Christ that it became the first book of the New Testament.

In all this, we learn from Matthew that true discipleship doesn’t mean leaving our old life behind when Jesus calls, but bringing him into the life we already have.

That may be difficult. Like Matthew, our corner of the world might be a place where others never read Scripture, step into a church, or even think about looking for God.

So, how do we do it? Do we preach to people? Tell them about Christ?

In a way, yes. We bring him, as St. Paul reminds us, according to the measure of Christ’s gifts to us. How is that? By the way we live our lives: with humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

And we will have done well if people ask themselves, “What is it that makes that person different?”

We know what it is. It’s Christ doing with us what he did with St. Matthew – walking with us, teaching us, transforming us, making our lives living examples of what it means to be the disciple he calls us to be. 

Our life is our customs post. Every day Christ is passing by, asking us to follow.

And every day the question is, where and to whom will we take him?

St. Matthew, pray for us.

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