#Magis: Day 4 Ignatian Reflection #Magis

July 4, 2014 - Matthew 9:9-13 “The Call of Matthew”

from left, the calling of Saint Matthew. The inspiration of Saint Matthew and the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599-19600) by Caravaggio.

⁹As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Reflection:

Matthew 9:9-13 is the account of the call of Matthew. When the Lord said to Matthew: “Follow me”, without any hesitation Matthew “got up and followed Him (Jesus).” It is very interesting to note that it was just the first time that Matthew met Jesus face to face and yet, right there and then, he decided to leave his post and followed Jesus. As a tax collector Matthew already have everything. Aside from money and riches, he also got a favorable post in the government. With his position as a tax collector, his future was secured. Yet, something very mysterious happened that day. At an instant all of these things Matthew left when, at first time in his life, he met Jesus. What was so special about Jesus that Matthew was persuaded to follow Him and suddenly took another course in life? A life that is not stable, secured and certain. Matthew saw something in Jesus. He saw the genuine goodness of God reflected in Jesus. He saw the genuine love and mercy of God slowly unfolded in Jesus who was ready to forgive all of his sins. And these have brought peace deep within Matthew that made him follow Jesus. Slowly he has recognized His master calling him.

Our God is a loving God, and I believe that out of this love, mercy overflows. God does not look on the number of times we commit sin and fall, rather, on the times we rise up and recover our dignity as sons and daughters of God. This could what Jesus meant when He said: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” He looks deeper into our hearts with so much love and He is always there, waiting for us to return to Him. Just like the case of the sinful tax collector, Matthew, in the gospel.

I believe that every day is a call – God calling me to follow His footsteps, a call to genuinely live out the Christian values of faith, hope and love. Everyday God is inviting me to exercise my faith in Him by participating in the Mass, pray and join the community of the faithful in prayer. He is calling me to hope in Him in the midst of a seemingly hopeless, troublesome and difficult times in life. And, above all, to love unreservedly and unceasingly my neighbors, especially those who are in great need – the poor and needy. God is calling me to become like Him, as truly son or adopted son of God whose very nature is love.

I may not be able to head God’s call all the time but by His grace, I know He has ways to make me hear and listen and be faithful to the call—God’s call to be loving, humble and forgiving.

Do you hear God’s call deep within you?

Reflection Questions:

What does God call you to do?

How do you respond to the call on a daily basis?