Jesus saw a man named Matthew at his seat in the custom house, and said to him, “Follow me”, and Matthew rose and followed Him.
Matthew 9:9
Jesus spears Matthew with a beam of light as he enters the room, brightness flooding a dark place of fraudulently obtained money and collusion. The beacon illumines Matthew’s face as he quizzically points to his chest as if to ask, “You’re calling me? Seriously?”
I’ve been looking all winter at a print of this painting I hung by my desk after experiencing the original in Rome. Standing in the dim light, gazing up at the huge canvas, my heart stirred hearing how Carravaggio’s work motivated my friend Brian, one of Agape’s (Cru) national directors in Italy, to follow the Lord’s call to that country. Many, many people have stood in that same spot and found inspiration in Carravaggio’s representation of Matthew’s calling since it was first hung in the church San Luigi dei Francesi in 1600.
So much to notice. Jesus’s hand pointing to Matthew, just like the hand of God reaching out to Adam in the Sistine Chapel. Jesus’s bare feet, contrasted with the stylish clothes worn by the tax collectors. The young man with his head down, focused on the money in front of him, oblivious to the divine light.
Jesus called Matthew. Matthew was not worthy. None of us would have picked him. Yet Matthew helped found the Christian faith, penned the gospel bearing his name and died as a martyr for his devotion to Jesus.
Jesus called us. We were not worthy. Yet Jesus picked us. That beam of light pierced us at some point, and we pointed to our chests and said, “Who, me?” Let’s ask the Lord for a bit of the courage and faith of Matthew, and build on the legacy of this tax collector and sinner turned evangelist and saint.
