Painting: Calling of St. Matthew ... CaravaggioWhat can we learn from Jesus in this particular reading on the feast of the apostle, Matthew, the tax collector? Very simply: Jesus is teaching that he calls a wide variety of people to follow in his mission. He intentions are not driven by social conventions or preferences. Prejudice has no place in his selections --- although some may say that he always favors sinners and the poor.
Here he is seeking someone with a good heart. He is not trying to build an impressive board of trustees. What a person did earn a living -- in ways not unethical or immoral -- did not matter to Jesus. Calling a tax collector would be akin to calling a thief.
St. Paul's words, "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift" should remind us that each of us is different, each of us in entrusted with skills and talents very different from the people around you. So God calls some to be missionaries in far-away land. Some men and women are gift with remarkable mind. Some are blessed with abilities to paint, other to write, others to be farmers, others builders, and some to be quiet house keepers. Regardless of the way we work out our lives, we need to realize that we are most likely called to be what we are, not something else.
There is one common vocation, however. All of us are called to be faithful preachers of Christ Jesus through the lives we live and the work we do.
Have a great weekend as the Fall comes upon. I trust you have some time to enjoy God's nature. We are, all of us, called to partake of the beauty of God's creations.
