Readings:
Hosea 6, 3-6
Romans 4, 18-25
Matthew 9, 9-13
Today is the 10th Sunday in what we call Ordinary Time. This is not to say that one liturgical season is ordinary, in the usual sense of the word… and another extraordinary. The word ‘ordinary’ in Church usage means ‘counted’ or ‘numbered’.
That word ‘counted’ or ‘numbered’ gave me insight into one possibility of what today’s readings might mean. The question: “Who’s in and who’s out?” came to mind. Or “Who’s to be numbered?” Or “Who’s to be counted among the chosen?” “Who’s on the team and who isn’t?” “Who made the cut and who didn’t?” “Whom should we promote and whom should we hold back?”
 I’m sure you will agree that breaking the social circle is risky business. Neighbors frequently cannot understand why some are invited to outings and others are not. Some persons question why certain people are asked to serve on certain committees and others aren’t. Some clubs and organizations even have unspoken agreements
that it would not be proper to admit persons of a particular racial or ethnic or religious background.
It seems to me that what made Jesus so attractive …(and controversial) was his willingness to risk censure; …his willingness to risk censure in challenging the exclusion of people from the circle of God’s hospitality.
Today’s Gospel selection of the calling of Matthew is a good example. Jan Sanders’ painting (on the cover of our worship aid) highlights this calling. Sanders was a Flemish painter who was born near Antwerp around 1500, which at the time was the financial center of Northern Europe.
As a painter he was active during the height of the Reformation era. He was among the earliest Netherlandish artists to exploit the genre character of biblical subjects— often for moralizing effect. His painting of the Calling of Matthew was used to explore the vice of greed… and the power of money…that distracts one from doing what’s right.
Sanders’ paintings were done in a down-to-earth realistic style. They all feature his typically muscular figures, a densely packed foreground of abruptly cropped forms, and vigorous, even flamboyant gestures. These are elements that became the hallmarks of his style.
Sanders’ painting of “The Calling of St. Matthew” shows Matthew among a group of townsfolk and other tax collectors in a village tax office. Jesus, on the right, and Matthew, on the left, create parentheses for the money-counting action between them. All, except for Jesus and Matthew, seem preoccupied with other pursuits. They are all totally unaware of what is going on in this encounter. Only the eyes of Jesus and Matthew meet. The gestures of their hands indicate “the call” and “the acceptance”.
[Perhaps the woman in the center is a subtle comment on the role of women in Jewish society…she can’t count the money. As you know, even back then women were second-class citizens. (Things don’t change much, do they?) But you’ll also note that she keeps her hand on the ledger…no cheating will take place on her watch.]
Somehow or other… Jesus saw in Matthew the possibility that people can change the direction of their lives. That’s why Jesus was so at odds with the Pharisees whose only concern was the scrupulous observance of the Law. Their attitudes and practices drew distinctions between people…like the righteous and sinners…between who’s clean and who’s unclean? Who’s worthy and who’s not?
Jesus, on the other hand, constantly invited people to follow him. And he even ate with those who could not, or would not, observe the Law. The graciousness of Jesus disturbed some people. It was attractive and inviting to others. Jesus was willing to reach out to alienated people, like the outcast Matthew. Matthew made his living collecting money from his own people to satisfy the needs of the occupying Roman authorities. That lifestyle upset the status quo that grows up in any community that has decided who’s in and who’s out.
We may sneer at what we regard as the ‘unenlightened’ qualities of these people. But these qualities are still maintained in certain societies.
When you think about it, we too have our own taboos in terms of who is acceptable and who isn’t…of who can be trusted…and who can’t. Sometimes those taboos cross the boundaries of race, ethnicity,
religion or economic status. Sometimes they have been the occasion for being socially ostracized, as well as objects of violence, abuse, even torture.
This kind of situation is real in many places in our world. We see it played out today in the Middle and Far East, in Africa, South America, and the other trouble spots of our planet.
It is even present here in the United States. We have our own histories of strife between European Americans and Native Americans, between whites and blacks, between immigrants and rival ethnic groups.
In the terrorist world in which we live today, we see it played out in various forms of torture for detainees: Beating, punching, forced renunciation of religion, dietary manipulation, sleep deprivation, "water-boarding", sexual abuse, …to name but a few.
And so, into this mix we try to insert true Christianity …a religion and value system that strives to follow the example of Jesus.
A religion and value system that strives to reach across boundaries and that risks the misunderstanding and hostility that such behavior usually entails.
As you well know, hospitality begets hospitality. This is the pattern and example we see in today’s Gospel reading. Matthew, who in his day was considered a cheat, an extortionist, and a collaborator,
…is ‘counted’ or ‘numbered’ among Christ’s chosen ones. It is the pattern and example that we as Christians strive to implement in our own lives. If we reach out to the outcast and the abused, and the word gets around, there is no telling how quickly and how widely that word of graciousness will spread.
When you really think about it, the basic mission of the Church depends on crossing borders: Crossing the borders of our preoccupation with self… and our personal biases…and our judgment and mistrust of others.
That mission takes the kind of faith and trust that Abraham and Sarah had in leaving all to follow God’s call. That mission entails the kind of love and knowledge of God that the prophet Hosea calls for:
It is love, not sacrifice that God wants.
Our calling in life is to go to all the nations…to all peoples…
whoever, wherever… and whatever they are…regardless of who’s in and who’s out.
May this Eucharist help us to never be ‘so worldly’ that we are
unwilling to see the dignity and worth of every human being …and to risk who we are called to be for others.
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