Saturday after Ash Wednesday
The church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome has a side chapel dedicated to St. Matthew with a set of three paintings of the saint by the Renaissance master known as Caravaggio. In the one on the right wall of the chapel is the depiction of Matthew’s moment of greatest witness to Christ, the moment of his martyrdom, his last moment on this earth. In the middle, above the altar is Matthew at work in writing the gospel, recalling the words and deeds of our Lord so that others may come to know Him as well. Finally, the painting on the left shows today’s Gospel passage: the moment which led to Matthew’s life of apostolic and ultimate witness to Christ.
In this last painting, our Lord enters a partially lit room and raises His hand to point at one of five men seated around a table. The two closest to Christ turn more and more towards Him, the bit of light in the room thus illuminating their faces. The two furthest from Christ remain with their faces pointed down, eyes fixed on the coins of the taxes they have collected and are counting, their faces covered in the shadows caused by their hunched posture. And in the middle of them all is seated a man whose eyes are fixed on our Lord, and who points his hand in the same direction as Christ, seemingly unsure of whether our Lord could possibly be calling him…
As we sit, lured by many things that are ultimately unworthy of desire, Christ walks into our gloom, to call us from the following of our own pursuits, to call us to follow Him! What a gift! A gift treasured by St. Matthew throughout his remaining years of life. The gift that gave ultimate meaning to his life and to his death. May St. Matthew intercede for us, that like him, we may listen to the Lord who calls us to follow Him and so find true rest.