Saint Matthew, apostle and evangelist - Feast
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew9:9-13.
The preamble to the dignified title, Saint Matthew, apostle and evangelist – Feast, leads from less to more.
Mt. 9:9 gives the brief mention, ‘Jesus saw Matthew and Matthew followed him.’
That was all to it – except from the Harmony of the Gospels.
Mark. 2:14 gives a link, ‘Jesus saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus.’
Then Luke gave the opener to the story, Lk. 5:25., ‘Levi made a great feast.
The plot thickens.
Matthew is the apostle and evangelist.
Was he the Gospeler, the writer of his Gospel?
It cannot be proved that Matthew was the author, but it figures from all that comes together.
For this morning we are given the best indicator of Matthew/Levi character and role, ‘he mad a great feast.’ He expresses the life of communion.
And at this man we are united in the communion of Matthew and the Apostles. . .
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Around 1900, William Hole travelled to Palestine in order to study the background for biblical painting. There he began working on the 80 watercolours that would eventually appear as illustrations in his book "The Life of Jesus of Nazareth."[3] In April to May 1906 these pictures were shown at an exhibition at the Fine Art Society in London.[4] He also painted scenes from the Old Testament.
Welcome to the Online Home of William Hole.
SAINT MATTHEW
Apostle and Evangelist
Feast
Apostle and Evangelist
Feast
]
Pope Benedict XVI
Homily (from Osservatore Romano)
- It is Saint Matthew, the apostle and evangelist whose feast we are celebrating today, who tells the parable of the owner of the vineyard who calls laborers to work in in his vineyard (20.1f.). I like to emphasize that Matthew had personally had this experience. Before Jesus called him, he exercised the function of publican and, as a result, was thought of as a sinner, excluded from «the Lord's vineyard». However, it all changes when Jesus, passing by his tax-collector's table, looks at him and says: «Follow me». Matthew stood up and followed him. The publican had changed immediately into a disciple of Christ. He was one of the «last» who found himself to be «first» (Mt 20,16) thanks to God's way of thinking, which – happily for us! - is different from the world's. «Your thoughts are not my thoughts,» as the Lord says through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, «nor are my ways your ways» (55,8).
- Saint Paul, too, experienced the joy of feeling himself called by our Lord to work in his vineyard. And what a great work he accomplished! But, as he himself testifies, it was the grace of God working in him, that grace which transforms the persecutor of the Church into the apostle of the gentiles (1Cor 15,9-10).
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