Matthew with Mercy

Paul addresses the Church at Ephesus in the passage today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary and speaks of the life style of humility, gentleness and patience which facilitates the struggle to maintain unity in the Body of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. The gift given by God to believers to take on the tasks of equipping the saints for the work of ministry and building up the Body of Christ is in different measure to all recipients. FriarJude Winkler has often commented that our judgement of the actions of others needs to be tempered by our understanding that we respond to the call of God to act in accordance with the gift we have been given. The Gospel of Matthew today tells of the scandal seen by the Pharisees when Jesus dines with the tax collectors who gather with Him at the house of Matthew after former tax collector accepts Jesus invitation to follow Him. Friar Jude reveals that scholars consider that the depth of Jewish reference to the Hebrew Testament in the Gospel of Matthew suggests a second author who was likely a converted Pharisee who added these links at a later time. The directive of Jesus, in the text, to go and learn about the desire of God for mercy not sacrifice points to directly to the Prophet Hosea and is in the themes of the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah. The effort we bring to the evangelism of people will be shaped toward the Divine will. Our humble expectation to give and receive mercy will join our experience to the work of the Holy Spirit.