Just before our Gospel Reading for today Jesus heals a paraplegic by telling him his sins are forgiven. The Pharisees point out that only God can forgive sins but Jesus tells them that the son of man is authorised to do so. He then calls Matthew, a tax collector, from his tax booth to follow him. Matthew is his name in Greek and Levi his Hebrew name as he was Jewish. He was seen by his fellow Jews as a traitor and despised for working for the occupying Romans by collecting unfair taxes from the Jews plus probably his own cut. We don’t know a lot about Matthew but perhaps he desperately needed the work for whatever reason. Needs must. Perhaps he was on the margins of society to start with? Whatever his history Jesus embraced him and gave him a new start. We are all flawed but through God’s mercy can become, like Matthew, a disciple, evangelist and saint.

Calling: After calling Matthew, Jesus and his disciples followed Matthew to eat and celebrate in Matthew’s house with his colleagues and friends, people on the margins of society. The Pharisees scorned Jesus for eating with sinners but he replied: It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. God desires mercy not sacrifice. I have not come to call righteous but sinners. God desires us to show mercy to others, as we heard last week how Joseph showed mercy to his cruel brothers.

Research has shown that having a spiritual component to our lives aids our wellbeing. We are all composed of body, mind, spirit and emotions and seek to find balance (equilibrium) to flourish. We often find ourselves in vicious cycles, feeling as if we are on a treadmill we can’t get off. Perhaps Matthew was caught up in one? Our young families today often have vicious cycles of busy lives, careers, child care, mortgages, commuting and where in this is time to be still with God? Then there is the fear of being ill or mortgage rates rising. The homeless and mentally ill are caught up in vicious cycles, on the margins of society, they all have their story. I heard last week of an accountant who through a vicious cycle of illness and debt lost his home and became homeless.

Jesus calls us to go out into the world and take the good news of forgiveness and reconciliation with God to all creation and share what we have experienced by being in tune with God, creation and each other. Jesus goes ahead of us and it is often in small acts of kindness that we spread his kingdom. By prayer and being alongside people we bring Christ into the situation. We go from where we are, as Matthew went from his tax office. It must have been very difficult for him being on the margins but then Jesus was also! God sees into our core, our hearts and he saw something special in Matthew and what he could become through spending time with Jesus.

Wisdom: we are told that we will be at peace if we find wisdom and understanding. Wisdom is the ability to make wise choices in line with God’s choices for our lives. It is about how we live our lives, motivated by knowing God is in control and will guide us. The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding.' (Psalm 119:64)

Light in the darkness: In Corinthians we are told that God, who let light shine out of darkness, makes his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God. Our light is often blinded by our sin so we are in a fog and do not see God’s path for us. Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing, was known as the lady with lamp as she went on her rounds at night visiting soldiers in the Crimean War. Florence was called by God to devote her life to the service of others. She recognised the harm germs cause by multiplying and destroying healthy bodies. In the same way if we allow the spiritual germs of ego, pride, selfishness to separate us from God, we are destroying our abundant spiritual selves. Florence introduced hand washing and good nutrition. In the same way our Baptism and the Eucharist give us spiritual health through our church.

We are called, like Matthew, to follow Jesus. Matthew was healed from being a despised tax collector who cheated people out of money to acceptance in God’s sight as one of the twelve apostles. Perhaps he would agree that it is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn your statutes (Psalm 119: 71) There is debate amongst scholars if he wrote Gospel of Matthew or not but what is clear is that he became a new creation and we can too.

Angela Stewart, Lay Minister