Here is today’s Gospel, from St Matthew: ‘As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.  And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”’

Chromatius of Aquileia commented: ‘Matthew was chosen willingly by God. And though he is immersed in worldly affairs, because of his sincere religious devotion he is judged worthy to be called forth by the Lord (“Follow me”), who by virtue of His divine nature knows the hidden recesses of the heart. From what follows, we know that Matthew was accepted by the Lord not by reason of his status but of his faith and devotion. As soon as the Lord says to him, “Follow me,” he does not linger or delay, but thereupon “he arose and followed him.”’

Christ addresses these words to us too: ‘Follow Me’. Today. Can we too rise up, leaving all that does not belong? This ‘rising’ is a kind of resurrection, a moving into new life, which God desires for us all. May we indeed rise up this day, and know God’s blessing.