Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and today is the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIV) and the Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (21 September). Later this morning, I am leading the intercessions at the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Matthew 9: 9-13 (NRSVA):
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ 12 But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’
Today’s Reflection:
Saint Matthew the Evangelist (מתי/מתתיהו, Gift of Yahweh; Ματθαίος) is one of the Twelve and is identified with both the author of the first of the four gospels and with Levi the publican or tax collector in the Gospels according to Saint Mark and Saint Luke.
According to tradition, Saint Matthew was the son of Alpheus, a publican or a tax collector by profession. He was the Levi in the Gospels according to Saint Mark and Saint Luke, and was called to be a disciple while he was sitting in the tax collectors’ place at Capernaum.
We know little about Saint Matthew’s subsequent career – what we do know is little more than speculation and legend. Saint Irenaeus says Matthew preached the Gospel among the Hebrews, Saint Clement of Alexandria claimed that he did this for 15 years, and Eusebius maintains that, before going into other countries, he gave them his Gospel in his mother tongue.
Some ancient writers say Matthew later worked in Ethiopia to the south of the Caspian Sea – not Ethiopia in Africa; others say he worked in Persia, Parthia, Macedonia or Syria. According to Heracleon, who is quoted by Clement of Alexandria, Matthew did not die a martyr, but other accounts, including the Roman Martyrology, say he died a martyr’s death in Ethiopia.
Like the other evangelists, Saint Matthew is often depicted in Christian art as one of the four living creatures of Revelation (4: 7) – in Saint Matthew’s case the winged man, carrying a lance in his hand. There are three paintings of Saint Matthew by Carravagio in the church of San Luigi del Francesci in Rome. Those three paintings, which are among the landmarks of Western art, depict Saint Matthew and the Angel, Saint Matthew being called by Christ, and the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew.
Caravaggio, in depicting the calling of Saint Matthew, shows Levi the tax collector sitting at a table with four assistants, counting the day’s proceeds. This group is lighted from a source at the upper right of the painting. Christ, his eyes veiled, with his halo the only indication of his divinity, enters with Saint Peter. A gesture of Christ’s right hand – all the more powerful and compelling because of its languor – summons Levi.
Surprised by the intrusion and perhaps dazzled by the sudden light from the just-opened door, Levi draws back and gestures toward himself with his left hand as if to say: ‘Who, me?’ His right hand is still on the coin he had been counting before Christ’s entrance.
Today, Saint Matthew is regarded as the patron saint of accountants and bankers. Given the unsaintly performance of many bankers in recent years, I do not know that I would be particularly happy with the prospect of being the patron saint of bankers being put to me as a good career move in heaven. But then Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to salvation.
Perhaps Saint Matthew should be the patron saint of those who answer the call to ministry. I hope none of us will be worried about how we are remembered, whether people get it right about where we worked in ministry and mission, or whether they even get my name right. As long as I answered that call when it came, and abandoned everything else, including career prospects and the possibility of wealth, to answer that call faithfully and fully.
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 21 September 2025, Saint Matthew, Trinity XIV):
The theme this week (21 to 27 September) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is been ‘Malayiaha Jesus: The Co-Sufferer’ (pp 40-41). This theme is introduced today with Reflections from the Revd Rajendran Ruben Pradeep, Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Nuwara Eliya, Diocese of Colombo, Church of Ceylon (Sri Lanka):
‘I would like to tell you about the ‘forgotten people’ of Sri Lanka. The Malaiyaha Makkal, or tea plantation communities, were first brought to the country as indentured labourers in 1823 by the British. Over the 200 years since, this community has contributed massively to Sri Lanka’s economy. But still, they receive low wages, suffer health problems, and do not have access to adequate educational and transport facilities. The Malaiyaha Makkal have been cheated and deceived by authorities, and do not have an address to call their own.
‘Through my ministry, I see the suffering of the plantation community and it reminds me of Jesus. Malaiyaha Jesus: the co-sufferer with the plantation worker. Despised and rejected, without a place to call his own. I think of the bruised, dry hands of workers from long days picking tea leaves. These remind me of Jesus’ nail pierced hands. I think of the heavy baskets of tea that workers carry on their backs, supported by a headband. This reminds me of Jesus carrying the cross and the crown of thorns upon his head.
‘For the anniversary, I joined others in a commemorative walk. We retraced the 200km+ journey endured by the Tamil community when they arrived on the north shores of Mannar all the way to Matale in the hill country. Much like the biblical Exodus, it served as both a tribute to the past and a call for a more equitable future. My prayer is that Malaiyaha Jesus will give hope to the broken.’
The Revd Ruben is part of USPG's Fellowship of Anglican Scholars of Theology, a network of scholars with fresh perspectives on theology. Find out more: uspg.org.uk/feast
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 21 September 2025, Saint Matthew, Trinity XIV) invites us to pray as we read and meditate on Matthew 9: 9-13.
The Collect:
O Almighty God,
whose blessed Son called Matthew the tax collector
to be an apostle and evangelist:
give us grace to forsake the selfish pursuit of gain
and the possessive love of riches
that we may follow in the way of your Son Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost
sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:
by the power of the same Spirit
strengthen us to witness to your truth
and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
No comments:
Post a Comment