Today is the Feast Day of St. Matthew the Evangelist

September 21, 2023

Each of the Evangelists have a particular audience for whom they are writing and a particular message that they need to bring. For Matthew, his audience is the Jewish people. His task is to teach the Jewish people that what they have studied in the Hebrew Scriptures has now been fulfilled in Jesus the Christ. In other words, following Jesus does not mean that they will be changing religions, but rather that what Jesus taught fulfills the Law given to their ancestors.

Matthew’s Gospel focuses on transforming the emphasis from living the Law to living in Covenant with God and neighbor. It is quite easy to get caught up in following the letter of the Law, while missing out in what the spirit of the Law intends. Matthew challenges us to first look at the Commandments in light of the Beatitudes. While the Commandments focused on the negative, the prohibited action, the Beatitudes prescribe the ways in which to act.

Matthew had a difficult task in helping the Jewish people understand that Jesus wasn’t asking them to turn away from what they had always believed. Rather, the teachings of Jesus were asking them to take a closer look at what they already had learned, and to challenge them to consider how they were living those teachings. The challenge being given to them was to consider how they were living out the Law.

It is quite easy to take on a legalistic understanding of Law. We see this quite clearly as we unfold the teaching stories of those who approach Jesus to let Him know how well they are living the Law. They are quick to point out how well they are following the Commandments. However, each time Jesus challenges the person to take a closer look at some aspect of their life: for each person, it is different, but the common thread is that it is something that is preventing the person from completely following God. In each case, the person is asked to consider the obstacle in their life that is preventing them from following God, fully and without hesitation.

Perhaps the most striking part of Matthew’s Gospel is found in Chapter 25, when he gives an account of Final Judgment. The criteria given is not whether or not the person followed the Law, but rather, whether or not the person lived the Covenant which asks us to follow God out of love. Living the Law keeps us bound up in acting out of fear of punishment; living the Covenant invites us to do things out of love for God and neighbor, holding nothing of ourselves back from the God who gives us everything.