"As Jesus was having a meal in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners arrived and began eating with Jesus and His disciples." (Matthew 9:10)
During this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Althea made a salient point (paraphrased here): There is no real accolade in self-boasts of being a Christian forty years, when in deed one is still conducting their spiritual life as if they are a selfish infant. Conversely, there are those in the community of faith who have only been Christians a short period of time, but who are faithful, evangelism-minded, and maturing rapidly.
We see the latter in the life of Matthew. Canon asserts that he, at some point after his conversion and call, invited Jesus to dinner. It seems that Matthew was intentional in including other tax collectors and persons deemed sinners by the local community. According to Matthew 9:10, "many" of these people came to the home for food and fellowship.
What does it mean to be called by Jesus? There is the aspect of leaving where we are in order to follow where He leads (discussed in yesterday's post). There is also the aspect of not keeping good news to ourselves, but being open and eager to include as many persons as possible. The Christian faith is grounded in community. Matthew understood this.
One drawback of the hymnody and lyricism of the past two hundred years is that it has reinforced focus on the Christian walk as individual experience, yet not as much focused on individual salvation as a gateway to salvation for families and communities. God so loved the world. Let us heed the example of Matthew, who bore the cost of feeding the "many" so that they, too, could access the saving presence of Jesus.
Lord God, help us to understand that You take interest in the souls of the lost. Give us grace to introduce them to You, by whatever means You allow.
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