Let’s look in on a social gathering, taking place two thousand years ago, in the spacious home of Levi the tax collector. He is just now welcoming his guests…
“Good evening everyone. Most of you know me as Levi. I am the popular Jew who collects taxes for the nation of Rome.” The humor was not wasted on his fellow publicans. “This is my home and you have been invited here to meet Jesus—the man who has become the big story in our nation. He and Zaccheus will be arriving shortly. Before they do, I want to tell you how I met him or, shall I say, how he ‘called’ me. I’m not really sure which happened first but I would like to tell you my story.”
Levi proceeds, “It was just a few week ago, I was tending my booth when Jesus approached. I was stunned. What would the Teacher have to do with me? Had he come to make things right with the Emperor?” The crowd laughed. Levi was putting his guests at ease with hard-bitten publican sarcasm. “You know, in our line of work, we can get to the point pretty quick, but I’m telling you, we don’t hold a candle to Jesus. We were barely in voice range, when he simply said, ‘Follow me Matthew.’”
The evening’s host continued, “I was on my heels—Matthew? How could he have known my childhood name? That is what my father called me. There are so many things about Jesus that mystify me. Did you know Matthew means ‘gift of the Lord?’ Jesus tells me Matthew suits me better than Levi, which means—not surprisingly, ‘to take.’ Going for the laugh, another taxman said, “Can Jesus give us all new names?” The crowd roared at this joke, but Matthew just smiled. As his guests warmed in the humor, he was recalling that Jesus had just told him he was to become a fisher of men. He was making his first casts.
Matthew let the good will flow among his guests for another minute or so then ask if he might continue. It was no problem. They wanted to know what he meant when he said Jesus had called him. Matthew continued;
“For whatever reason, it was quite easy to walk away from the booth that day. It was another thing altogether to process what it meant to follow him. What about my vocation? What would Pilate say? What about my home? My family?”
As his guests pick up on the dilemma of following Jesus, Matthew continues, “It turns out my apprentice will handle the business just fine. Pilate doesn’t care who runs the booth. As to my family—you can see I am still blessed to have one.” The crowd murmured their recognition. “And, you can also see that I still have a house. My wife, keenly aware of Jesus’ leave-everything-behind teaching, has informed me how handy she personally thinks walls and roofs are in raising our family. And I notice…this house is serving us quite well this evening.
“We know the Teacher told a rich landowner that, for him, to follow, it would require that he sell everything. Did this apply to all Jesus’ followers? This question is the elephant in the room, isn’t it? Friends, in the past weeks I have listened to Jesus teach numerous times regarding wealth and possessions. He sees them as snares capable of trapping a man. Jesus is walking me through this right now.”
Matthew’s passion builds. “I and the other eleven have given him permission to say whatever he wants to us. Truly, anything less would be insanity. He has wisdom and authority like you can’t imagine. I enjoy a free flowing dialogue with Jesus, and he has said nothing to me, as yet, regarding liquidating my assets. However, what has changed since meeting the Teacher is title.”
In the presence of a great deal of wealth, Matthew offers priceless advise: “I can see from his teaching and his leading that he is calling all men, not just twelve, to follow him. It is clear to me this means the relinquishing of our rights to all that we are and all that we own so that they do not own us. Jesus is laser focused on our hearts. He is inviting men to cede their personal and property rights to the kingdom of God. My sense, and I was not born yesterday, is that this is the best bargain, and the only sane response a soul can make to Jesus.
Matthew addresses those gathered with as much sincerity as he possess: “I don’t know what the future disposition of my holdings will be. Jesus is not big on telling us what is ahead. I do know that I trust him. It is nearly impossible not to. As he looks me in the eye, I know he is gazing at my heart. And perhaps the greatest mystery is this; as defiled as I know I am, he does not retreat like other so-called religious leaders. To me, this makes Jesus a shepherd in the truest sense of the word. He is what my heart has been waiting for.
“Jesus will be here in a few minutes. Allow me to wrap this up. What does relinquishment look like? I have concluded this leave-all feature of following him will be literally applicable for some but legally applicable for all. Our hearts must be ceded to him and thus begins a process. I have already found my heart trying to back peddle. My career? Really? Yet, as I entrust this potential worry to him, I find an inner freedom I had not known existed. In responding to his call, I have inherited a windfall of life. As to these goods we so highly value—it is not foolish to relinquish our rights to things we cannot keep in order to gain that which we cannot loose. This, my friends, is the kingdom of God, and you will soon be hearing more about it. Excuse me while I welcome Jesus into my house.”
Father, it is you with whom we have to do, and this is not burdensome. May your kingdom government have increasing rule within us. We welcome you into our hearts – your home. Amen.