The Call of the Tax Collector: Mercy That Transforms

Eph 4:1-7.11-13, Psalm: 18, Mt 9:9-13

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

On this Feast of Saint Matthew, the Church invites us to contemplate a man who left everything to follow Christ. Matthew was a tax collector, a despised collaborator with the Roman oppressors. He was a sinner, an outcast, a man whom the religious leaders of his day would have considered beyond redemption. Yet Jesus looked at him and said, “Follow me.” And Matthew rose and followed him.

In the Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul writes, “I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received.” Paul speaks of the unity of the Church, the one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. He speaks of the gifts given to the Church to build up the Body of Christ. This is the call we have received: to live in unity, to use our gifts for the common good, and to grow in the knowledge of the Son of God.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus passes by the tax collector’s booth and sees Matthew sitting there. He says, “Follow me.” Matthew gets up and follows him. Then Jesus sits at a table with tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees are scandalized. They ask, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus responds, “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.”

The connection between the readings is the call to mercy and the call to unity. Matthew was a sinner, but he was called to be an apostle. He was an outcast, but he was made a member of the Body of Christ. The mercy of Jesus transformed him. The grace of Jesus empowered him. The love of Jesus gave him a new identity.

Pope Francis has said, “The Lord never tires of forgiving; it is we who tire of asking for forgiveness.” Saint John Paul II, in his apostolic letter Misericordia Dei, wrote, “The Church is the sacrament of mercy, the sign and instrument of God’s forgiveness.” And Saint Matthew himself, in his Gospel, records the words of Jesus: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

What does this mean for us? We are all like Matthew—sinners in need of mercy, outcasts in need of belonging, lost in need of salvation. Jesus calls us to follow Him. He calls us to leave behind our old lives, our old identities, our old sins. He calls us to be transformed by His mercy, united in His Body, and sent out to be witnesses of His love.

Today, let us examine our hearts. Are we like the Pharisees, scandalized by God’s mercy? Or are we like Matthew, open to the call of Christ? Let us ask the Lord to give us the grace to follow Him, to receive His mercy, and to extend that mercy to others. For He came not to call the righteous, but sinners. And we are all sinners in need of a Savior. Amen.

May God bless you all!