The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine our need for healing of our attitudes towards others and our response to act in support of others in need.
The reading from the Prophet Amos relates the Fourth Vision of The Summer Fruit.
* [8:5] Ephah: see note on Is 5:10. (Amos, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 119 praises The Glories of God’s Law.
* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. (Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew proclaims the Calling of Matthew.
* [9:9] A man named Matthew: Mark names this tax collector Levi (Mk 2:14). No such name appears in the four lists of the twelve who were the closest companions of Jesus (Mt 10:2–4; Mk 3:16–19; Lk 6:14–16; Acts 1:13 [eleven, because of the defection of Judas Iscariot]), whereas all four list a Matthew, designated in Mt 10:3 as “the tax collector.” The evangelist may have changed the “Levi” of his source to Matthew so that this man, whose call is given special notice, like that of the first four disciples (Mt 4:18–22), might be included among the twelve. Another reason for the change may be that the disciple Matthew was the source of traditions peculiar to the church for which the evangelist was writing.
* [9:10] His house: it is not clear whether his refers to Jesus or Matthew. Tax collectors: see note on Mt 5:46. Table association with such persons would cause ritual impurity. (Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)
Edward Morse comments that serving the god of self-love is common in our times, too. We regularly see self-love adherents bragging about their successes. It can seem like you are missing out for not joining their merry band and living according to their self-love terms.
We cannot live by bread alone – by material gains and all the fleshly comforts they can bring. We need God in our lives and the collective experiences of life together in the Church in order to truly flourish.
Christian people need to remind one another of this truth. Apart from the strength, guidance, and encouragement that comes from the Church and our fellow pilgrims who are on the journey with us, we are prone to follow the god of self-love. If we are serious about flourishing, we need to commit to regular fellowship and participation in the sacraments, which illuminate the reality of God and his love and mercy for us, as well as our need for God’s love and mercy. (Morse, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Matthew did not delay when called by Jesus,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).
"The Lord, about to give salvation to all sinners believing in him, willingly chose Matthew the former publican. The gift of his esteem for Matthew stands as an example for our salvation. Every sinner must be chosen by God and can receive the grace of eternal salvation if one is not without a religious mind and a devout heart. So Matthew was chosen willingly by God. And though he is immersed in worldly affairs, because of his sincere religious devotion he is judged worthy to be called forth by the Lord ("Follow me"), who by virtue of his divine nature knows the hidden recesses of the heart. From what follows, we know that Matthew was accepted by the Lord not by reason of his status but of his faith and devotion. As soon as the Lord says to him, "Follow me," he does not linger or delay, but thereupon "he arose and followed him." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 45.1)
[Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him as a "most learned and most holy man."] (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 9:9-13 comments that we can learn a lot from Jesus’ approach to people! Everyone we meet is our brother or sister. Everyone was made by God to know him in this life and live with him forever in heaven. We follow Jesus’ example. He gained peoples’ trust by loving them and treating them with respect. He acknowledged where they were in their lives, and he invited them into his kingdom.
Treating people with respect is a lot more challenging than dismissing the ones we see as different or difficult. In fact, following Jesus’ example will require that we put aside the subtle—or not-so-subtle—judgments we hold so that we can show his love to other people. It will call us to consider how Jesus viewed the people everyone else shunned and to ask him to help us see them with his eyes. And that’s always something he’s ready to do in us.
So think about who the “tax collectors and sinners” in your life might be. How can you “eat with them” and, like Jesus, bring the kingdom of God into their lives?
“Lord, I want to see other people the way you see them. Help me to show your love to everyone I meet today.” (Meditation on Matthew 9:9-13, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler explains the techniques suggested by Amos that were used by the rich to cheat the poor and serve as the background for the prophet to declare a judgement from God to cease to guide them. Jesus recognized the brokenness and needs of the tax collectors for healing. Friar Jude reminds us that the Pharisees avoided contact with sinners in fear of the contagion of sin.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes how practicing contemplation moves us beyond dualistic thinking.
The contemplative, nondual mind is not saying, “Everything is beautiful,” even when it’s not. However, we may come to “Everything is still beautiful” by contemplatively facing the conflict between how reality is and how we wish it could be. We must face dualistic problems, name good and evil, and differentiate between right and wrong. We can’t be naive about evil, but if we stay focused on this duality, we’ll become unlovable, judgmental, dismissive people. I’ve witnessed this pattern in myself. We must eventually find a bigger field, a wider frame, which we call nondual thinking.
Jesus doesn’t hesitate to name good and evil and to show evil as a serious matter. Jesus often speaks in dualistic images; for example, “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). He draws a stark line between the sheep and the goats, the good and the wicked (Matthew 25:31–46). Yet Jesus overcomes these dualisms by what we would call the contemplative mind. We must be honest about what the goats fail to do, but we can’t become hateful, nor do we need to punish them. We keep going deeper until we can also love them, as Jesus did. (Rohr, n.d.)
We contemplate the need for healing in our environment and invoke the Holy Spirit to assist our healing through our action to recognize and address the brokenness of others.
References
Amos, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/amos/8?4
Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9?9
Meditation on Matthew 9:9-13. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/07/05/1016676/
Morse, E. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/070524.htm
Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Balancing Heart and Action. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/balancing-heart-and-action/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). I Desire Mercy - Not Sacrifice. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jul5
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