A view of the plan

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today chooses texts to mark the feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. A view of part of the plan for evangelism is revealed in the readings. Paul exhorts the Ephesians and us to lead lives worthy of calling to which we have been called.The motion to be active in evangelism is a call to our indwelling Spirit in resonance with the Spirit of God. The gifts to be nurtured and presented to others are lowliness, meekness, forbearing, and patience. The call is to be inservice of the Body of Christ as apostle, prophet,evangelist,pastor and teacher. The goal is the unity of faith, knowledge of the Son of God, and maturity in relationship with the Divine. The psalmist declares the continuous proclamation of the glory of God in the universe observable all around. The passage from the Gospel of Matthew raises the question about the calling of people to be evangelists. Is that not the tax collector? Those who respond to the call are very often not the ones human logic would choose. Great impact has been made in building up the Body of Christ over time by those who we would least expect to lead us to a deeper relationship with God. How wonderful a plan!