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Fellow Pilgrims in Christ,

Picture this: a busy customs post on the road out of Capernaum. Travelers shuffle by, grumbling as they pay their tolls. Behind the table sits a man in fine clothes, carefully counting coins, his reputation stained by his profession. He is Levi, a tax collector—someone despised by his fellow Jews for collaborating with the Roman occupiers.

And then it happens. Jesus passes by, stops, and looks straight into Levi’s eyes. “Follow Me,” He says. No lecture. No conditions. Just an invitation. And Levi does something astonishing—he gets up, leaves the money on the table, and walks away to follow Christ. From that moment, Levi becomes Matthew the Apostle, his name meaning “Gift of God.”

Matthew would go on to write the first Gospel, presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets—the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. His Gospel opens with the genealogy of Jesus, connecting Him to Abraham and David, showing that salvation history has reached its climax.

Matthew records the Sermon on the Mount, the parables of the Kingdom, and the Great Commission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” He wrote for a Jewish audience, but his words continue to echo for the whole Church.

Matthew lived during a time when Judea was under Roman occupation, marked by political unrest and spiritual longing. Pharisees, Sadducees, and zealots all wrestled with what it meant to be faithful to God under foreign rule. Into this world came Christ, and Matthew’s Gospel offered hope that God’s promises were being fulfilled in their very midst.

Tradition holds that after Pentecost, Matthew preached in Judea before traveling to Ethiopia and beyond, spreading the Good News until his martyrdom.

Matthew’s story is deeply personal for anyone who has ever felt unworthy of Christ’s call. His life reminds us that God does not wait until we are perfect to call us—He calls us now, in the middle of our mess, our failures, even our sin.

So today, as we honor St. Matthew, let’s ask: what “tax table” do we need to leave behind to follow Jesus more closely?