Homily for the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist

In Jesus' day, tax collectors were not popular people, as many of them at the time were presumed to be horrible sinners. Such was Matthew's situation when he encountered Jesus. 

As did other sinners, Matthew followed Jesus and ate with Him. The Pharisees objected to this because it disobeyed their laws about ritual purity.

In His response to them, Jesus recalled the prophet Hosea when He said, "Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'" Jesus was referring to the acts of Temple sacrifice. If mercy is above these sacrifices, how much more is it above the laws of ritual purity?

The Pharisees knew Scripture and the law quite well; they saw fidelity to these strict laws in every aspect of life as doing God's will. But Jesus put mercy and love above these laws and traditions.

St. Paul confirmed this saying, "If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind." (1 Corinthians 13:1-4a)

Mercy finds its source in love, not righteousness. Mercy is the voice of God's love for us and His wish that we have life in full measure on earth and in the kingdom to come. Exclusion and denigration of sinners – of those whom Jesus came to save – is not a response that reflects mercy.

Recall the words of Pope Francis: “None of us should look down at others from above. The only time we can look at a person in this way is when we are helping them to stand up."

As we seek to answer the call to spread the Good News, let us pray that the mercy and love of God may be the source of all our actions, words, and attitudes toward and on behalf of the people we are called to serve.