A Reflection for the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him. (Mt 9:9)

I appreciate the juxtaposition of today’s first reading and today’s Gospel. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he writes, “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received” and then elaborates on the many ways in which to live out this call. We are able to find our unique responses to this call because we know that “grace was given to each of us” according to the measure of Christ’s gift. It is comforting to hear that our gifts work in unison in order to build up the kingdom of God together.

But it’s easy to forget this. It is all too easy to think that there is a singular way to be holy, that there is only one way to follow this call—and that we are not doing it right. That we are too flawed and sinful to be of use to God. And we are flawed and sinful. But the story of Matthew in today’s Gospel shows us that we still can be used for good. We don’t have to be perfect to be of use to the Kingdom. So often, as we consider what talents and skills we hope to use to serve God, our minds leap first to grand ideas of holiness, great gestures and sacrifices. Matthew shows us another way: Get up. Jesus asked him to follow him, and Matthew simply did exactly that. He didn’t say, “But first…” He didn’t say, “Well maybe, but…” And then he got together with a group of other sinful people and talked with someone who wanted them to be better, sure, but who also loved them just as they were.

Following Christ does not require perfection; it requires action. It requires us to pay attention and to listen for that call that leads us to closer community with other imperfect people with whom we can work together to build up the kingdom of God.

Kerry Weber joined the staff of America in October 2009. Her writing and multimedia work have since earned several awards from the Catholic Press Association, and in 2013 she reported from Rwanda as a recipient of Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship. Kerry is the author of Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job (Loyola Press) and Keeping the Faith: Prayers for College Students (Twenty-Third Publications). A graduate of Providence College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she has previously worked as an editor for Catholic Digest, a local reporter, a diocesan television producer, and as a special-education teacher on the Navajo reservation in Arizona.