Gospel MT 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Reflection:
“As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.”
It’s fair to assume that Matthew would have known of Jesus’ message of God’s forgiveness. Now, as Jesus was passing Matthew’s tax collector’s booth, he issued an invitation to Matthew to “follow me.”
Jesus was on the move when he extended his invitation. Matthew had little time to decide whether to hold on to his wealth and position of power or to cast it all away and grasp at this chance for a new life.
Matthew decided to Carpe Diem, to seize the day. “And he got up and followed him.”
I think of my friend, Erich, and his wife, Jodi. As a newly married couple from Indiana, they were full of excitement at the prospect of heading to Oregon to begin their life together.
Totally unexpectedly, God extended them an invitation to “follow me” and settle in Massachusetts to devote their lives to serving the poor at My Brother’s Keeper.
After a brief period of prayer and contemplation, they like Matthew, cast aside their own plans and decided to “seize the day.”
Their first child, a boy, is named Matthew.
Nearly twenty years have passed. Erich is now President of My Brother’s Keeper, and is doing an extraordinary job of keeping the ministry focused on its mission, “To bring the love and hope of Jesus Christ to those we serve.”
Am I willing to let go of that which holds me back from possessing the life that Jesus envisions for me?

“Carpe, Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”
Robin Williams – The Dead Poet’s Society