St. Matthew, Child of God
By Karla Bellinger – Reading: Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 ;
Brothers and sisters,
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
Urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received
With all humility and gentleness, with patience,
Bearing with one another through love,
Striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
Through the bond of peace:
One Body and one Spirit,
As you were also called to the one hope of your call:
One Lord, one faith, one baptism;
One God and Father of all,
Who is over all and through all and in all.
But grace was given to each of us
According to the measure of the Christ’s gift.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
Others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers
To equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
For building up that Body of Christ
Until we all attain to the unity of faith
And knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
To the extent of the full stature of Christ.
And he gave some as Apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, and teachers: which one are you? What’s your role in building up the kingdom of God?
Today is the feast of St. Matthew. We name him apostle. We name him evangelist.
But did he name himself apostle and evangelist?