THE MEASURE OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE

The list of the twelve apostles, according to Matthew’s version, is unique in that the evangelist chooses to introduce himself to his readers in this way: “The names of the twelve apostles are: first, Simon…and Matthew, the tax collector” (Mt 10:2–3). Only Matthew, unlike Mark and Luke, who give only the name, attributes this title to himself—a title we know was certainly not an honorific. As is well known, Jesus had called him, and he had promptly left the tax booth to follow him. The gaze of the Master of Nazareth and the power of his word had literally uprooted him to place him in a rather unique and unprecedented following. But when the time comes to tell his story, after the events of Easter, from that incredible encounter that changed him forever, he will leave (and he could have chosen not to) next to his name, as we were saying, the mark of shame: tax collector. Why? Because the past cannot be cut away, erased, or removed. The past is precisely the measure of what God has done, the mercy he has shown. And if there is nothing from which to be saved, there is nothing to tell. This was Matthew, and this is the lesson he leaves us as an authentic disciple. In other words, even a story marked by errors, sins, and faults (the mark of shame, as we said) is taken up by God, in Jesus, thus becoming the measure of his merciful and saving faithfulness. Another note. Jesus did not merely forgive a man by restoring him to communion with God, but he recreated him, making him a new creature. His mercy does not merely restore but creates. Paul will express this masterfully: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). A story by Rainer Maria Rilke comes to mind, The Forgiven Disciple. The Poet addresses the theme of repentance and faith in the liberating experience of a God who does not judge but accepts the limitations of his creature. Forgiveness is what allows the disciple—every disciple of the Gospel—to rediscover the meaning of life and the bond with the divine.

Commentary by d. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Praglia (Italia)