Saint Matthew, the first-century tax collector turned Apostle, who chronicled the life and ministry of Jesus in his Gospel, is celebrated by the Church today, September 21. Although relatively little is known about the life of St. Matthew, the account he wrote of Jesus’ ministry is of inestimable value to the Church, particularly in its emphasis on “Jesus as the Messiah.”
The Gospel accounts of St. Mark and St. Luke, like St. Matthew’s own, describe the encounter between Jesus and Matthew under the surprising circumstances of Matthew’s tax-collecting duties. Jewish “publicans,” who collected taxes on behalf of the Roman rulers of first-century Judea, were objects of scorn and even hatred among their own communities, since they worked on behalf of the occupying power and often earned their living by collecting more than the state’s due. Yet, Jesus called him to share in His work and to be counted among the Apostles.
Jesus most likely first encountered St. Matthew near the house of Peter, in Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee. The meeting of the two was dramatic, as St. Matthew’s third-person account in his Gospel captured: “As Jesus passed on,” the ninth chapter recounts, “He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ‘Follow me’. And he got up and followed him.” St. Matthew’s calling into Jesus’ inner circle was a dramatic gesture of the Messiah’s universal message and mission, causing some religious authorities of the Jewish community to wonder: “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus’ significant response indicated a central purpose of His ministry: “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Like 11 of the 12 Apostles (St. John being the exception), St. Matthew is traditionally thought to have died as a martyr while preaching the Gospel. The Roman Martyrology describes his death as occurring in a territory near present-day Egypt.
Reflecting on St. Matthew’s calling, from the pursuit of dishonest financial gain to the heights of holiness and divine inspiration, Pope Benedict said in 2006 that “in the figure of St. Matthew, the Gospels present to us a true and proper paradox: those who seem to be the farthest from holiness can even become a model of the acceptance of God’s mercy and offer a glimpse of its marvelous effects in their own lives.”
Let us pray. “God of mercy you chose a tax collector, St. Matthew, to share the dignity of the Apostles. By his example and prayers, help us to follow Christ and remain faithful in your service. We ask this through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you forever and ever.”
