• "St. Matthew the Evangelist - an Appropriate Patron Saint for Us"
• Sermon for the Feast of St. Matthew
• September 21, 2003
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

St. Matthew is, by tradition, one of the four gospel writers, or "evangelists," along with Mark, Luke and John. Matthew was a publican, or tax collector, before he was called by Jesus to be a disciple. One web site said that St. Matthew is the patron saint of accountants, brokers and various financial and investment professions.

St. Matthew is an appropriate patron saint for us. We live in a wealthy area and St. Matthew's conversion involved a renunciation of his wealth. The collect says, "Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ."

But, just how are we to do what he did? Matthew walked away from his profession to become a disciple. But we are most often called as Christians to keep on doing what we are doing. A similar question is posed by the story of the rich young ruler. Jesus said, "Sell all that you have and give it to the poor...and follow me" (Luke 18:22). It is a distinct minority of Christians who are issued a similar call. How, then, are we to "forsake all covetousness and inordinate love of riches"?

First Timothy 6:9 is an important passage on the subject of money. It says, "Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (NKJV).

The accumulation of wealth is not to be the primary goal of a Christian life or work. Yes, we know a business cannot continue if it does not make money. We know people need money to buy food and the necessities of life. But these are to be seen as the by-products of good work done well for the good of others and to the glory of God. As Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

This means that we should ask questions other than, "How much money will I make?" First, we should ask, is the work we do good? The early church had lists of professions that were deemed to be inconsistent with the faith. When we examine our vocations, we should ask, "Is what I do a good thing? Do I provide a product or service that is good?

Second, do I perform the work I do as unto God and for the benefit of others? As Jesus said, "The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:28). Do I slack off when no one is looking? Is my effort mostly aimed at right appearance and self-promotion? Am I aware of my impact on those I work with and the witness for the faith that my approach to work provides? (These same kinds of questions can be asked of motherhood and other vocations for which one is not paid a wage.)

When we have to do work that we do not like in order to eat and support our families, we can still serve God in our struggle. We can still do the best work we can and offer the labor to God. Many early Christians were slaves-workers who labored under unjust masters. St. Peter gave them this advice, "If you do well and suffer for it, this is commendable with God... because Christ suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21).

Moving beyond our vocation and work habits, we must keep watch over our attitudes towards the money and possessions of others. No single thing robs Christians of peace and joy more than the almost inescapable tendency to compare. We look at those who have or make more with the envious and covetous eye. And those who have or make more are tempted to pride, to think that because the world esteems them more highly, God does also.

Both attitudes are based on lies. The fact is that we would not be happy if we had the possessions we covet, for two reasons. One, covetousness is never satisfied. Having acquired one thing, it wants another. And two, the thing itself is unable to make us happy. I know of no one who was unhappy when poor who became happy when rich. Money, more often, ruins people. Observe, for example, the effect of a contested inheritance on children who are the heirs.

And God does not esteem those with money more highly than those who do not have money. In God's sight, money is but one of many things committed unequally to our individual charge for which we shall give an account of our stewardship. We say, "Look at what I have!" God says, "Let's see what you have done with it!"

We combat covetousness by cultivating the virtue of contentment. The challenge of the Christian life is not to acquire more; the challenge of the Christian life is to be content with what we have. This enables us to focus our energies on growth in faith and virtue-the things that really matter for eternity. 1Timothy says, "We brought nothing into this world and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content" (6:8).

We also combat covetousness by practicing generosity, by learning to give to those who are in need and not just accumulate more for ourselves. As we practice giving, we become less attached to our money. And, paradoxically, money becomes a greater source of blessing. As Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (quoted from Acts 20:35). This is why the first thing we do when we get money is to give our tithe to God, a discipline by which we dedicate our money to him.

As 1 Timothy says, "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up a good foundation for the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life" (6:17-19).

St. Matthew walked away from his job and his wealth to follow Jesus. We follow his example by giving attention to the nature and quality of the work we do; by being watchful for envy, covetousness and pride; by learning to be content and generous. All of which take much labor and prayer. Thus, on the feast of St. Matthew we pray, "Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ."