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It is understandable that for people who are wealthy and living comfortably, it is very difficult to give up their possessions and life of ease to follow the Lord. And yet in the Gospel, Matthew, the tax collector, once called by Jesus, readily stood up and left everything behind, and followed Jesus.
He was leaving behind his livelihood, a secure future, and his family. He was leaving behind so many assurances of financial stability.
The question needs to be asked, “Why did Matthew give up all these things?” Because before Matthew received the call, Jesus also gave up something. He gave up a prejudiced mind. He left behind a mind that would judge people and put people in boxes.
In other words, before Matthew left behind his money, his tax collector’s table, he had already been inspired by Jesus who had left behind his prejudiced thinking, a closed mind that was quick to judge people as public sinners.
The reality is that sometimes it is very easy to give up money. It is very easy to give up a friend. What is more difficult to give up is not money, nor a career, nor a good house. Sometimes what is more difficult to give up is a prejudiced mind, an anxious heart that is unreasonable. Sometimes what is more difficult to let go of is narrow-mindedness and shallow commitments.
What is more difficult to let go of is our pattern of prejudiced thinking.
Today we are being asked to let go again. Perhaps not our money or bank accounts, not even our stable financial future.
What we are being asked to let go of is the more difficult one: prejudice, bias, favoritism, judgments of one another. If we can let go of that, then we can join Matthew’s company.
MATTHEW’S INSPIRATION
Mt 9:9-13
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