Saint Matthew, the Apostle:

Feast day : 21 September

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Matthew (meaning "Gift of Yahweh"), the Apostle, Evangelist and author of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. The Scriptures bear witness to his instant conversion of heart when he got his Divine Call and immediately followed the Lord. He willingly gave up his position of power and wealth in exchange for a life that was contrary to the ways of the world; a life of poverty and sufferings. His conversion of heart was complete that very minute and he remained faithful to his calling till his death, never even once returning back to his profession. After the Ascension of the Lord, he is believed to have preached the Gospel in Judea, Persia, Ethiopia and neighbouring parts of eastern and southern Asia till his martyrdom in Parthia. Centuries later his sacred remains were brought to Salerno, in Italy and are till date kept at the Salerno Cathedral. He is the patron saint of accountants, actors, bankers, book keepers, customs officers and tax collectors.

Scriptures:

The Gospel according to Saint Luke and Saint Mark call him by the name Levi before his conversion. He was a Galilean by birth and a tax collector for the Romans. During his time the profession of a tax collector was a post of both honor and power and usually given to Roman knights. Tax collectors were employed in provinces to extract taxes for the Government, which they did most often through oppression. Hence they were mostly denounced by the Jews as traitors and sinners as most of them were corrupt too. Levi usually sat by the lake Genesareth and collected a toll from the passengers who came by boats till the day when Our Lord Jesus saw him and said to him “Follow me”.

His Divine calling and acceptance are narrated in the Gospel of Mark 2:13-14 “Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. 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”. When he got his Divine Calling, he did not hesitate for even a moment. He was willing to give up his position of power and wealth and all worldly concerns in exchange for a life contrary to the world; a life of poverty and sufferings. His conversion of heart was complete that very minute and he remained faithful to his calling till his death, never even once looking back to his profession. After his conversion, he was called by the name Matthew meaning ""Gift of Yahweh", the Publican (tax collector, in remembrance of his sinful past and the great mercy that Our Lord had shown to him).

After his conversion of heart and acceptance of his divine calling, Saint Matthew invited our Lord and His disciples to his home for a dinner. The guests were mostly people of his earlier profession and seeing Jesus dining with the tax collectors, the scribes of the Pharisees looked down on Him with contempt. We read about it in the Gospel of Mark 2:15-17 “ And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples-for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.””; thereby showing them that God prefers to show mercy and charity to sinners rather than judgment and punishment.

Preaching & Martrydom:

After the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, it is believed that he preached the Gospel for several years in Judea and neighbouring countries till the dispersion of the Apostles. He wrote the Gospel of St. Matthew during these years for the newly converted Jews and it was the first to be written. He later went on to preach the Gospel to the nations of the East. According to several accounts of scholars of the early Church, he travelled to Persia, Ethiopia and was martyred in Parthia. He was laid to rest at Hierapolis in Parthia. Later his relics were brought to Salerno, in Southern Italy where they are kept till date at the Salerno Cathedral. He is the patron saint of accountants, actors, bankers, book keepers, customs officers and tax collectors.