Jan 15: The Call to Discipleship

Caravaggio: The Calling of Matthew (detail)
The Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, 1599-1600

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Mk 2:13-17

As he was walking along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him (NRSV, Mk 2:14).

Father, all four gospels tell of Jesus summoning his twelve close disciples. The choice often seems casual: the passing encounter and then the words, “Follow me.” Peter and Andrew, James and John, leave fishing boats and tackle without hesitation. Matthew, also known as Levi, the tax collector, gets up from his busy counting house table without question and invites Jesus to his home for dinner. All of these choices of Jesus seem almost arbitrary, Lord, but they might also suggest that certain individuals are being singled out to the exclusion of others. In Caravaggio’s painting of The Calling of Matthew, a reflection on the gospel account, Matthew looks up at Jesus, whom he clearly does not know, and points to himself as if to say, “Are you speaking to me?” Of the others at the table with Mathew, two, totally ignoring what is going on, continue their counting. A couple of other young men look bemusedly puzzled. Is Matthew the only one involved?

Father, Jesus invites twelve individuals to be his close collaborators. Surely the number is suggestive of the twelve tribes and hence of all Israel. As our understanding of Jesus’ message continues to grow in the Church’s encounter with him in his resurrection, we realize, Lord, that Jesus’ summons is universal: all are called.

Isn’t true, Father, in every moment of our lives, all of us feel uneasy with who we are and look to tomorrow hoping for something better? Usually we look merely for something more of what we are. We project our present into the future, our present that is always impoverished compared to what might be.

Peter and Andrew, James and John, Matthew, all of them let their past drop away, forgotten, with no suspicion of what could be. Ultimately, as tradition has passed it down (except for John who undergoes a martyrdom of his own), that future is passion, death and eternal life with Jesus. Even Judas could not have expected the future that he would choose.

To be human, finally, for all of us, is always to be called by you, Father, through your Word present to us, not just once but at every moment, even from the first moment in the womb. We are called to let the past drop away, to leave what we have been up to the moment, to embrace a new and unexpected future growing constantly in your life, Lord, that you invite us to accept.

With the apostles, may we too say “yes,” not just in this moment but in every moment to come through all eternity.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.