PERFECTION OF UNITY THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST

FEAST OF ST. MATTHEW, APOSTLE, EVANGELIST

Eph 4:1-7,11-13; Ps 19:2-5; Mt 9:9-13

Maturity in the knowledge of Jesus Christ

We celebrate the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist. We bring our reflection this week on faith and work to a close. The passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians offers a closing insight into the theme. He repeats what we have already seen within the week about the different gifts of the Holy Spirit given to each Christian and how these gifts work together to build up the Body of Christ. The point or aspect worth stressing is the unity required as a hallmark of the Church of God. According to Paul, the source of the unity is the Trinity of God and is the defining and identifying mark of the Church. So, we must sacrifice every other thing to preserve it. “Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.” There is no better way to preserve the unity of the Church than by meditating on all that we share in common. The first set of ones, Body, Spirit, and hope are to be realised since they are goals. The second set is evident, for they are in our experience of becoming Christians.

The second set of ones is to lead us to the first set that makes the perfection of the Church. Hence, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God the Father must be our practical guide to the perfect unity of the Church in identity and operation. One Lord is to be the gate we enter into the growing understanding of our faith, the meaning of our baptism into the mystery of Jesus Christ, which has its meaning in our understanding of the Son’s total obedience to the Father’s will. Recall that Paul recounted the mystery of our faith as consisting of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. As Christians, our vocation is to Jesus Christ. Hence, we must read and study, meditate, and contemplate the word of God to be better acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Way into the truth of our faith in God, our salvation. The Holy Spirit is within the Church and in each of us to guide us into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Knowledge of this mystery is necessary for knowledge of the one Father and the one Spirit. It is the content of one faith of the Church. It also gives an understanding of the one baptism we have all received. The gifts he mentioned are to facilitate this knowledge of Christ. “To some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ.”

Subsequently, the perfection of the unity of the Church comes with each member coming to perfection in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. “In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.” The source of the problem of divisions in the Church is our ignorance of Jesus Christ. Many Christians do not understand our vocation to follow Jesus Christ. We miss the path because we do not take our time to know Jesus Christ. As he called Matthew in the gospel, he called each of us to follow him. “As Jesus was walking on, he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.” Matthew ended whatever else he was doing by celebrating with his companions in a sinful lifestyle and made an occupation of following Jesus Christ. He recognised and acknowledged his sinfulness, which enabled him to stick with Jesus Christ. We must understand our need for Jesus Christ, not for a day, a month, a year, or a decade, but rather a lifetime and daily. We cannot drink from the fountain of life if we are not thirsty for divine life. We must become aware of how sick we are and seek the doctor daily. “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick.” We must never forget our sinfulness so that Jesus may remain relevant to us daily. Matthew sought him daily as an apostle and an evangelist until the end. May his prayers help us remain steadfast on this path until we come to the maturity of his knowledge.

Let us pray: O God, who with untold mercy were pleased to choose as an Apostle Saint Matthew, the tax collector, grant that, sustained by his example and intercession, we may merit to hold firm in following you.