The Feast of St. Matthew
This Friday morning, Deacon Barbara helped us celebrate the feast of Saint Matthew. Matthew, we learned, with the help and interaction of some of the students in the pews, was a normal, average man. He was no political leader or public figure, but more important than what he was not is what he was: he was a tax collector, one of the most despised professions of his time. Though taxes are still a hated part of life for many people today, especially in Jesus’ time, tax collectors were especially known for being dishonest and greedy. Those who did not feel an allegiance to Rome also considered tax collectors to be traitors. However, Jesus still made Matthew, or Levi as he was sometimes called, one of his disciples. Jesus called for people from tax collectors to fishermen to follow his path, just as he calls us to take up a life of service and love. He came for the hated and the despised, not the proud and the wealthy.
Jesus came for the lost and the weary, the sort of people who often find their way into recovery programs: “normal” people who have lost sight of what’s truly important and become greedy or dishonest: in short, every evil the populace of the time believed tax collectors to be an incarnation of. This typical man, Matthew heard his call and heeded it, becoming one of the twelve apostles, and eventually writing a book of Scripture that we still enjoy today. We closed our time of worship by singing, “Thy Word is a Lamp Unto my Feet,” in celebration of the enlightenment and beauty that the scripture brings into our religious and spiritual lives.Rich Text AreaToolbarBold (Ctrl + B)Italic (Ctrl + I)Strikethrough (Alt + Shift + D)Unordered list (Alt + Shift + U)Ordered list (Alt + Shift + O)Blockquote (Alt + Shift + Q)Align Left (Alt + Shift + L)Align Center (Alt + Shift + C)Align Right (Alt + Shift + R)Insert/edit link (Alt + Shift + A)Unlink (Alt + Shift + S)Insert More Tag (Alt + Shift + T)Proofread WritingToggle fullscreen mode (Alt + Shift + G)Show/Hide Kitchen Sink (Alt + Shift + Z)Embed a SlideDeck
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The Feast of St. Matthew
This Friday morning, Deacon Barbara helped us celebrate the feast of Saint Matthew. Matthew, we learned, with the help and interaction of some of the students in the pews, was a normal, average man. He was no political leader or public figure, but more important than what he was not is what he was: he was a tax collector, one of the most despised professions of his time. Though taxes are still a hated part of life for many people today, especially in Jesus’ time, tax collectors were especially known for being dishonest and greedy. Those who did not feel an allegiance to Rome also considered tax collectors to be traitors. However, Jesus still made Matthew, or Levi as he was sometimes called, one of his disciples. Jesus called for people from tax collectors to fishermen to follow his path, just as he calls us to take up a life of service and love. He came for the hated and the despised, not the proud and the wealthy.
Jesus came for the lost and the weary, the sort of people who often find their way into recovery programs: “normal” people who have lost sight of what’s truly important and become greedy or dishonest: in short, every evil the populace of the time believed tax collectors to be an incarnation of. This typical man, Matthew heard his call and heeded it, becoming one of the twelve apostles, and eventually writing a book of Scripture that we still enjoy today. We closed our time of worship by singing, “Thy Word is a Lamp Unto my Feet,” in celebration of the enlightenment and beauty that the scripture brings into our religious and spiritual lives.
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