There is a wonderful painting by Caravaggio, cleverly called “The Call of St. Matthew.” In very dramatic lighting Matthew is sitting at his tax desk, dressed in Renaissance finery, surrounded by his companions. Jesus is pictured as entering the counting house and pointing at Matthew. It captures the moment in the gospel: As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” Matthew is portrayed with his finger point to himself, or maybe to the man next to him. You can almost supply the caption, “Are you sure you got the right guy? Don’t you mean him instead?” But of course Jesus had the right guy. Matthew was the one he called. That is our story as well. Jesus has called us, not the other guy. Jesus counts on us to bring his message of love, joy, forgiveness, peace into the providence of our everyday life. Yes, we are sinners, inadequate to the task. But with the the call of Jesus and filled with his Spirit we can play our part as apostles to a hurting world.
