Friday 13th week in ordinary time
"Mt 9:9-13"
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."
The Gospel today describes St Matthew's conversion. What did he do after joining Our Lord? He brought his friends (sinners like him) to Jesus. That was the first mission of St Matthew, do you see? Before he set out to find souls for God, he addressed those who were close to him: relatives and friends. Then he became an instrument in God's Hands for the conversion of many others.
That's our mission too. Before we set out to meet souls who can come to Christ, we should look around and go first to those who are closer to us. Our family, our friends... That's what the first Christians did. The Church was expanded not only by preachers who proclaimed the Word, but especially by Christians who brought their family members and friends to Christ. God can likewise bring others to Him using us as His instruments.
There was a beggar playing the violin in front of a train station when a renowned violinist passed by. The artist couldn't help asking the beggar, "Would you mind if I tuned the violin for you?" As he plucked the strings with his fingers, people started to gather around. Then the master started playing a classic and more and more people stopped. The beggar couldn't believe it! He started passing the hat round, saying to everyone, "It's my violin! It's my violin!"
That's what we are, instruments in God's Hands. It wasn't the violin's merit, but the musician's. If the violin is in tune, the violinist can play wonderfully. Mary, Queen of the Apostles, help me to be in tune, to become a good, docile instrument in the Hands of your Son so that He can bring many souls to Him through this poor instrument that I am.
