Every Sept. 21, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist—a man whose life reminds us that Jesus Christ does not wait for us to become worthy before He calls us.
Matthew was a tax collector when Jesus found him.
In the time of Christ, tax collectors were often despised by their fellow Jews. They collected money on behalf of the Roman authorities and were associated with corruption, greed and cooperation with an occupying power. Matthew, also called Levi, would hardly have seemed an obvious choice to become one of the Twelve Apostles.
Yet Christ saw something that others did not.
The Gospel records the moment with remarkable simplicity: “As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9).
There is no lengthy negotiation. Matthew does not ask Jesus to return tomorrow. He does not first attempt to make himself worthy of the invitation.
Christ calls, and Matthew rises.
The Mercy That Changed Matthew’s Life
What happens next reveals something essential about the heart of Jesus.
Matthew welcomes Christ to a meal where other tax collectors and sinners are present. The Pharisees question why Jesus would associate with such people.
Jesus answers with words that continue to speak to every sinner who longs for His mercy: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:12–13).
Christ does not approve of sin. He comes to rescue us from it.
That distinction lies at the heart of Matthew’s story. Jesus meets Matthew where he is, but Matthew does not remain where he is. Encountering Christ demands a response.
Matthew gets up.
He leaves the customs post behind.
He follows Jesus.
This is what conversion looks like.
Christ Still Passes By Our Customs Post
Most Catholics will never sit at an ancient customs booth collecting Roman taxes. Yet every one of us has something we can cling to when Christ asks us to follow Him more completely.
It may be a habitual sin we have excused for years. It may be resentment we refuse to surrender, pride that prevents us from admitting we are wrong, attachment to possessions, unhealthy ambition, impurity, gossip, anger or simply spiritual laziness.
Sometimes the most dangerous attachments are the ones we have learned to consider normal.
St. Matthew challenges us to ask a difficult question: If Jesus said to me today, “Follow me,” what would I have trouble leaving behind?
The Christian life is not merely about admiring Christ. It is about following Him.
And following Him inevitably means leaving some things behind.
A Sinner Became an Apostle
Matthew’s past did not prevent God from giving him a mission.
The man once associated with tax collectors and sinners became one of the Twelve. Catholic tradition venerates him as an Apostle and Evangelist, and the Gospel bearing his name has proclaimed Jesus Christ to countless generations.
There is profound hope in that transformation.
We can sometimes believe that our past disqualifies us from holiness. We remember sins already confessed. We remember years we wasted, choices we regret and moments when we knew what God wanted but chose something else.
Christ knows all of it.
And still He calls.
The saints were not people who never needed mercy. They were men and women who allowed God’s grace to transform them.
Matthew’s life demonstrates what can happen when a sinner stops running, gets up and follows Christ.
Get Up and Follow Him
On the Feast of St. Matthew, the Church gives us more than the memory of an Apostle. She gives us an invitation to examine our own response to Jesus.
Perhaps it has been a long time since Confession.
Go.
Perhaps prayer has slowly disappeared from daily life.
Begin again today.
Perhaps there is a sin you have been rationalizing because surrendering it seems too difficult.
Bring it to Christ.
Perhaps you believe you have wandered too far from God to become the person He created you to be.
Remember Matthew sitting at the customs post.
Jesus knew exactly who Matthew was when He approached him. He knew his past, his weaknesses and his sins. Yet Christ looked at him and saw not merely the man Matthew had been, but the saint he could become through grace.
Christ looks upon us with that same merciful love.
The question is whether we will rise when He calls.
St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, pray for us. Help us to leave behind whatever separates us from Jesus, to trust completely in His mercy, and to follow Him faithfully wherever He leads.
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