Sermon - St. Matthew 2025 - Matthew 9:9-13
The Calling of Saint Matthew , Caravaggio, 1609 Filled with the Word Empty yourself of worthless wealth Be filled with God’s Word Follow Jesus despite the world’s enmity A blessed feast of St. Matthew to you my brothers and sisters! Today we give thanks to God for the apostle and evangelist Matthew. Through his local ministry in Ethiopia he proclaimed the Gospel to many, and through his book of the Bible he proclaimed the Gospel to many more millions and millions of people. According to tradition, he was martyred in Ethiopia during the Divine Service by a soldier sent from the king, since Matthew had rebuked the king for his sins. So Matthew fulfilled Christ’s command, and rose and followed Jesus through life and death, and one day shall follow Him to rise from the grave. Indeed, as we heard Matthew write of himself: “ As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. ” Our Lord Jesus call...