Once there was a man named Matthew.

He was sitting at his tax collector booth when Jesus walked by.

Jesus said, ‘Follow me,’ and he did.

A few things stick out.

First, who does that?

Second, how hard was this, really? 

After all,  as a tax collector, Matthew was a three-strikes loser: his friends, family, and religion had tossed him out, they probably hated him. But the worst bit was how much Matthew must have hated himself.

George Bernard Shaw famously said that, ‘In the beginning God created man, and ever since, man has not ceased to return the favor.’

Shaw articulates our propensity to make God in our own image, and in Matthew’s case, that’s not a pretty God.

So what I love about Matthew is that he was able to get over what is probably our biggest hurdle: ourselves.

Let’s face it, we are all smarter, better looking, kinder, more helpful, and more beloved by God than we suspect. And God is calling us, just like Matthew, to do something bigger and better than we usually imagine (nb bigger and better in God’s eyes, not always our own).

This week we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew. So if you know any Matthews buy them a pop, and toast them, for their very name reminds us we’re better than we know.