Ezekiel 2:8-3:11/Ephesians 4:7-16/St Matthew 9:9-13
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
When Christ ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. St Matthew, the former tax collector, is among our Lord’s gifts to His Church. Not only was St Matthew one of our Lord’s disciples, he was also privileged to be called an Apostle, and to be named in high honor as one of the four Holy Evangelists. Thus he was given not only to preach, but also to write the Holy Gospel for the posterity of the Church, even to the close of the age. And with and by that Word of the Gospel, Christ Himself is present with His Church.
There is a benefit to the anonymity of the Gospels. The pseudo gospels, the false writings, bear the names of Apostles in an attempt at veracity. Not the real ones. And yet, St Matthew cannot help include himself here in the ninth chapter. He remembers where he was, who he was, what he was, when the Lord Jesus saw him, found him, and called him to follow: to become a disciples of the One who makes His way to the Cross.
He was a “Levi” as the other evangelists attest. But he sought his inheritance not in the Lord, as the Levites of old were ought to do. Rather he finds his heritage in collecting taxes, in the making of money and worldly wealth. All that he calls elsewhere, mammon. This was his god and content of his worship.
Yet the Lord had mercy on him and his motley crew. He sought him ought and called him to the newness of life, a true and real life found only in Christ Jesus.
So it was the Levi became a new man. And he was called “Matthew,” meaning a gift of the Lord, not on account of himself, but on account of what he received and what he was given to be. What he freely received in the compassion of Christ Jesus he freely delivered and bestowed on others. A brief example is given in the Gospel text where his house became an occasion for the table fellowship and teaching of our Lord Jesus with Levi and other tax collectors and great sinners. As the Lord had mercy on him, so he mercifully invited others.
By the gift of St Matthew the Lord Jesus has sought and found others and called them to Himself, to follow Him through death to life everlasting. Not only by His written Gospel, to be sure, which was recorded by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has been copied, published, and distributed in countless ways to all the nations of the earth to the praise and glory of God. But also in the Apostolic Office of the Holy Ministry to which St Matthew was called and ordained.
This is the perpetual gift of Christ Jesus to His Church, His Office of the Gospel, by which and in which He is active to seek and save the lost, to call sinners to repentance and faith in His forgiveness. At the risk of being accused of self-aggrandizement, I will say with the utmost humility that pastors are Christ’s gift to you, His Church.
Is this not what St Paul proclaims? When Christ ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors/shepherds and teachers to equip the saints. Yet as children do not often appreciate their parents as gifts from God, nor spouses one another as God’s good gifts, so the people of God are apt to struggle to think of their pastors as gifts.
You are grateful and generous in your thanksgiving, supporting the work of the Church, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the livelihood of your pastor and his family. But there are times when what you see most clearly in your pastor is his frailties and failings, weaknesses and mistakes. In fact, the better you get to know him, the more and more aware you are of his sins and mortality. The devil would have you sneer and condemn your pastor, and the Lord Himself for giving you such a pastor; in much the same way as the scribes and pharisees grumbled and complained concerning Jesus and the company He keeps.
Believe me, your pastor is more painfully aware of his sins and shortcomings than you are; and the Lord knows even better. And if it were up to your pastor, the work the Lord has given him to do would have failed long ago. But our Lord demonstrates His mercy for sinners in calling His very servants to daily repentance and faith in His Gospel. And in this way teaches them such mercy and compassion for you. You have heard of the shepherd who rejoices at the finding of the lost sheep. So does your pastor learn to have such joy for the salvation of lost souls, as he is a recipient of the Lord’s mercy.
As it was for St Matthew, so it is for your pastor and all pastors of the Church, he must first become a disciples of Christ Jesus before he can “go and make disciples” of others.
And chiefly while he is going as the Lord has called and sent him, the making of disciples through Holy Baptism and the on-going teaching and catechesis in the Word of Christ, is according to the Word and work of the Lord, God the Holy Spirit, where and when it pleases him. It was so for Ezekiel. It was so for St Matthew and St Paul. It is no less true for your pastor and indeed the blessed good work of evangelism you accomplish within your own vocations. For whatever the calling in life in which our Lord has places you - father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, worker, student, pastor - the chief and greatest of His gifts is the Word of God, His Law and Gospel, by which He reveals and conveys His divine will for life and salvation. This is the particular heritage of those who are called “Levites” of His Church on earth, that is His servants who are given to care for the Tabernacle of His Body.
Yet the Word of God is the great heritage of all His saints. And His Word is not a mushy, sentimental address, but the deadly and life-giving Word of His Cross. It is the Word of Christ, the One true God who has become flesh and blood for us, crucified and risen from the dead. Such a Word is deadly because it crucifies and buries your old Adam with Christ Jesus. For each and every disciple must take up the Cross and follow after Him, even unto death. But it is also a life-giving Word by which you are raised up with Christ in His Resurrection through the free and full forgiveness of all your sins.
It is by the Ministry of the Word of the Cross, by the preaching of repentance and forgiveness, by the practice of confession and absolution, that you grow up into Christ, your Head; as St Paul writes, that you are conformed to the Image of God’s own beloved Son, crucified and risen from the dead. You pastor is likewise formed by the Cross of Christ, by and for the administration of the fruits of His Cross, for the breathing out of the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the Gospel, for the giving and pouring out of the Body and Blood of Christ for you here at His Table.
These are the works of mercy and acts of compassion which define and characterize the Office of the Holy Ministry and in turn define and characterize the Christian faith and life.
At the heart and center of this life is the Lord Jesus, who is not ashamed to call both you and your pastor His brethren; who graciously receives you to Himself and reclines at Table with you in peace, even as He stand to serve you and He kneels to wash your feet.
This Man receives sinners and eat with them! Yes! And what is more, He feeds them from His own hand, with His good gifts, with Himself, His Body and Blood. He is the best Gift of all.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
When Christ ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. St Matthew, the former tax collector, is among our Lord’s gifts to His Church. Not only was St Matthew one of our Lord’s disciples, he was also privileged to be called an Apostle, and to be named in high honor as one of the four Holy Evangelists. Thus he was given not only to preach, but also to write the Holy Gospel for the posterity of the Church, even to the close of the age. And with and by that Word of the Gospel, Christ Himself is present with His Church.
There is a benefit to the anonymity of the Gospels. The pseudo gospels, the false writings, bear the names of Apostles in an attempt at veracity. Not the real ones. And yet, St Matthew cannot help include himself here in the ninth chapter. He remembers where he was, who he was, what he was, when the Lord Jesus saw him, found him, and called him to follow: to become a disciples of the One who makes His way to the Cross.
He was a “Levi” as the other evangelists attest. But he sought his inheritance not in the Lord, as the Levites of old were ought to do. Rather he finds his heritage in collecting taxes, in the making of money and worldly wealth. All that he calls elsewhere, mammon. This was his god and content of his worship.
Yet the Lord had mercy on him and his motley crew. He sought him ought and called him to the newness of life, a true and real life found only in Christ Jesus.
So it was the Levi became a new man. And he was called “Matthew,” meaning a gift of the Lord, not on account of himself, but on account of what he received and what he was given to be. What he freely received in the compassion of Christ Jesus he freely delivered and bestowed on others. A brief example is given in the Gospel text where his house became an occasion for the table fellowship and teaching of our Lord Jesus with Levi and other tax collectors and great sinners. As the Lord had mercy on him, so he mercifully invited others.
By the gift of St Matthew the Lord Jesus has sought and found others and called them to Himself, to follow Him through death to life everlasting. Not only by His written Gospel, to be sure, which was recorded by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has been copied, published, and distributed in countless ways to all the nations of the earth to the praise and glory of God. But also in the Apostolic Office of the Holy Ministry to which St Matthew was called and ordained.
This is the perpetual gift of Christ Jesus to His Church, His Office of the Gospel, by which and in which He is active to seek and save the lost, to call sinners to repentance and faith in His forgiveness. At the risk of being accused of self-aggrandizement, I will say with the utmost humility that pastors are Christ’s gift to you, His Church.
Is this not what St Paul proclaims? When Christ ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors/shepherds and teachers to equip the saints. Yet as children do not often appreciate their parents as gifts from God, nor spouses one another as God’s good gifts, so the people of God are apt to struggle to think of their pastors as gifts.
You are grateful and generous in your thanksgiving, supporting the work of the Church, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the livelihood of your pastor and his family. But there are times when what you see most clearly in your pastor is his frailties and failings, weaknesses and mistakes. In fact, the better you get to know him, the more and more aware you are of his sins and mortality. The devil would have you sneer and condemn your pastor, and the Lord Himself for giving you such a pastor; in much the same way as the scribes and pharisees grumbled and complained concerning Jesus and the company He keeps.
Believe me, your pastor is more painfully aware of his sins and shortcomings than you are; and the Lord knows even better. And if it were up to your pastor, the work the Lord has given him to do would have failed long ago. But our Lord demonstrates His mercy for sinners in calling His very servants to daily repentance and faith in His Gospel. And in this way teaches them such mercy and compassion for you. You have heard of the shepherd who rejoices at the finding of the lost sheep. So does your pastor learn to have such joy for the salvation of lost souls, as he is a recipient of the Lord’s mercy.
As it was for St Matthew, so it is for your pastor and all pastors of the Church, he must first become a disciples of Christ Jesus before he can “go and make disciples” of others.
And chiefly while he is going as the Lord has called and sent him, the making of disciples through Holy Baptism and the on-going teaching and catechesis in the Word of Christ, is according to the Word and work of the Lord, God the Holy Spirit, where and when it pleases him. It was so for Ezekiel. It was so for St Matthew and St Paul. It is no less true for your pastor and indeed the blessed good work of evangelism you accomplish within your own vocations. For whatever the calling in life in which our Lord has places you - father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, worker, student, pastor - the chief and greatest of His gifts is the Word of God, His Law and Gospel, by which He reveals and conveys His divine will for life and salvation. This is the particular heritage of those who are called “Levites” of His Church on earth, that is His servants who are given to care for the Tabernacle of His Body.
Yet the Word of God is the great heritage of all His saints. And His Word is not a mushy, sentimental address, but the deadly and life-giving Word of His Cross. It is the Word of Christ, the One true God who has become flesh and blood for us, crucified and risen from the dead. Such a Word is deadly because it crucifies and buries your old Adam with Christ Jesus. For each and every disciple must take up the Cross and follow after Him, even unto death. But it is also a life-giving Word by which you are raised up with Christ in His Resurrection through the free and full forgiveness of all your sins.
It is by the Ministry of the Word of the Cross, by the preaching of repentance and forgiveness, by the practice of confession and absolution, that you grow up into Christ, your Head; as St Paul writes, that you are conformed to the Image of God’s own beloved Son, crucified and risen from the dead. You pastor is likewise formed by the Cross of Christ, by and for the administration of the fruits of His Cross, for the breathing out of the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the Gospel, for the giving and pouring out of the Body and Blood of Christ for you here at His Table.
These are the works of mercy and acts of compassion which define and characterize the Office of the Holy Ministry and in turn define and characterize the Christian faith and life.
At the heart and center of this life is the Lord Jesus, who is not ashamed to call both you and your pastor His brethren; who graciously receives you to Himself and reclines at Table with you in peace, even as He stand to serve you and He kneels to wash your feet.
This Man receives sinners and eat with them! Yes! And what is more, He feeds them from His own hand, with His good gifts, with Himself, His Body and Blood. He is the best Gift of all.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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