“TRUST IN GOD”

Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Eph 4:1-7, 11-13; Mt 9:9-13

There was a man in France named Charles de Foucauld. He lost his faith as an adolescent. He was a young military. When he went to Morocco, he saw the way Muslims expressed their faith. And, he began to question, “My God, if you exist, let me come to know you.”

Finally, he discovered God and he felt that God called Him. He became prayerful. He became a Trappist monk. And when he was ordained as priest he went to the desert as hermit. He lived a holy life.

He wrote a beautiful prayer as an expression of his great trust in God. It says: “Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I Accept all. Let your will be done to me, and in all your creatures – I wish no more than this, O Lord.”

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Matthew. He was born at Capernaum. He was called by Jesus to be one of the twelve apostles. He became the author of the first gospel in the bible. The story of Charles de Foucauld is very similar to the story of Matthew. It’s the story about following Jesus without any condition. It is the story of TRUST.

Matthew is telling us of his own story in the gospel he wrote. He is sitting at his office when Jesus calls him, “follow me.” He stands up and leaves his work behind and follow Jesus. We know that Matthew is a tax collector. He can stay there in his office and enjoy his wealth. But, he leaves his good position as tax collector and joins the group of Jesus who has no money at all. Matthew follows Jesus without any condition. Matthew trusts Jesus. In his great trust, he responded to God’s call.

Jesus came to save us because he loves us so much just like how he loves Matthew. He came to call us. He came to call us back to God. He calls us to abandon ourselves to God, to put our trust in God, to surrender ourselves to God. St. Paul urges us to recognize this call “to live in a manner worthy of the call we have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience…”

God loves us and he constantly calls us - to trust in Him. Matthew is our model of trust in God. And now, Matthew challenges us to follow Jesus with our whole heart, with great trust. Matthew is an Apostle, who followed the call of Jesus. He is an Evangelist, who proclaimed Jesus. As an apostle and evangelist, he is grounded in our deep trust to God.

So, like Matthew, we will stand up and leave our sinfulness behind to follow Jesus. We have to trust God - trust in His love. With our deep trust, we can offer ourselves and entrust ourselves to God. The prayer of Charles de Foucauld will become ours too as it saying, “Into your hands I commend my soul, I offer it to You with all the love of my heart, for I love You, Lord. So need to give myself, to give myself into your hands; without reserve, with boundless confidence; for you are my Father.”