Homily the First Saturday of Ordinary Time (Mk 2:13-17) “Leaving it All”
Homily the First Saturday of Ordinary Time (Mk 2:13-17) “Leaving it All”
As far as I know, Matthew was the only tax collector that was called to be a disciple of Jesus. Matthew had a white-collar job. Jesus usually called blue collar people like fishermen and carpenters.
Matthew had a government job. He was entrusted by the Roman backed government to collect taxes from the citizens of Capernaum. No one else was empowered to do that in his area. The way he got paid was by adding a percentage to the take. That could be as high as he could justify. Tax collecting, then, was a very lucrative job. Matthew probably had a nice home and bank account.
We could say that Matthew gave up more than any of the other apostles of Jesus. Once he quit his job, he could not get it back. The fisherman could go back to fishing if things did not work out. The carpenters could go back to their labors as well, but Matthew could not go back. He truly left everything to follow Jesus.
We can also imagine that he was looked upon with scorn by the other Apostles. Maybe they did not quite trust this Roman collaborator. He probably lost his old tax collector friends as well. He would be a man who did not quite fit in anywhere.
He must have truly wanted to change his life and find a new reason for living when he left his tax collector post. He also must have loved our Lord a lot. Maybe Jesus was the first person who ever believed that Matthew could fulfill a noble purpose.
Isn’t in nice to have someone believe in us when we don’t quite believe in ourselves. Maybe we all have had that person, when we were young, who saw potential in us and challenged us to fulfill that potential. Jesus was that person for Matthew.
Reflection Questions:
- How do I view Matthew? Was he the apostle that changed his life the most?
- When I was young did somebody challenge me to reach for a higher goal? How did I respond? Do I give thanks, or do I have regrets?
Dear Parishioners,
Given the events of the past week we need to pray hard for our elected officials. Many of them are being threatened by scurrilous people. They are being pressured if they do not act in accord with the persons who are harassing them. Death threats are not unusual. The majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the House both had their homes defaced last week. The abuse that government leaders across the political spectrum are enduring is frightening.
The question becomes, are we going to get the best people to run our government? Who in their right mind would want to run for office and work as public servants?
These are very sobering questions. Jesus was threatened, insulted and beaten and martyred. Many leaders in history have followed in his footsteps. Hopefully, we as citizens will recognize those government officials who fulfill their duties as suffering servants and hold them up as examples of what we all should be.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark