Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 / Matthew 9:9-13
Almost everyone likes to be with a saintly or holy person.
We just have to recall the throngs that crowd around the late Pope John Paul II or the late Mother Teresa.
Yet somewhere in the lives of the saints or holy people, there was a moment of conversion. There was the experience of the divine.
The fact is that no one is born holy ; in fact everyone is born a sinner.
And no one likes to sit next to a sinner or even talk with one, especially despicable sinners.
But that was what Jesus did. He knew why He came into the world.
He came as a Saviour, a Saviour for sinners.
He didn't reject sinners or give up on them, no matter how despicable they may be.
Because He came to offer them the hope of a new life, just as He offered it to Matthew.
And Matthew turned from sinner to saint. We now call him St. Matthew.
And those whom we think are rotten sinners can become glorious saints, if only we can be Jesus to them.
May the celebration of the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist help us to understand why we are Christians.