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Vigils Reading
July 5
THE TAX COLLECTOR
ABANDONED EARTHLY WEALTH
From a homily by St Bede the Venerable6
◊◊◊
Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to
him: Follow me. Jesus saw Matthew, not merely in the usual sense, but more
significantly with his merciful understanding of men.
He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of
mercy and chose him, he said to him: Follow me. This following meant
imitating the pattern of his life – not just walking after him. Saint John tells us:
Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which he
walked.
And he rose and followed him. There is no reason for surprise that the
tax collector abandoned earthly wealth as soon as the Lord commanded him.
Nor should one be amazed that neglecting his wealth, he joined a band of men
whose leader had, on Matthew’s assessment, no riches at all. Our Lord
summoned Matthew by speaking to him in words. By an invisible, interior
impulse flooding his mind with the light of grace, he instructed him to walk in
his footsteps. In this way Matthew could understand that Christ, who was
summoning him away from earthly possessions, had incorruptible treasures of
heaven in his gift.
As he sat at table in the house, behold many tax collectors and sinners
came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. This conversion of one tax
collector gave many men, those from his own profession and other sinners, an
example of repentance and pardon. Notice also the happy and true anticipation
of his future status as apostle and teacher of the nations. No sooner was he
converted than Matthew drew after him a whole crowd of sinners along the
same road to salvation. He took up his appointed duties while still taking his
first steps in the faith, and from that hour he fulfilled his obligation and thus
grew in merit.
To see a deeper understanding of the great celebration Matthew held at
his house, we must realize that he not only gave a banquet for the Lord at his
earthly residence, but far more pleasing was the banquet set in his own heart
which he provided through faith and love. Our Savior attests to this: Behold I
stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.
On hearing Christ’s voice, we open the door to receive him, as it were,
when we freely assent to his promptings and when we give ourselves over to
doing what must be done. Christ, since he dwells in the hearts of his chosen
ones through the grace of his love, enters so that he might eat with us and we
with him. He ever refreshes us by the light of his presence insofar as we
progress in our devotion to and longing for the things of heaven. He himself is
delighted by such a pleasing banquet.
6 The Liturgy of the Hours: Vol. IV. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1975. 1418-1419.13