We had a post about St. Luke a couple of days ago. The other Evangelist mosaic that I got a picture of from the cupola is the one of St. Matthew. You can tell it is Matthew because he is usually pictured with an angel or winged man. This is because his Gospel opens with the human ancestors of Jesus. (I wish now that I had taken the time to take more pictures when I was up there)
Little is known about Matthew's early life. In the Gospels he is identified as the son of Alpheus and he was likely born in Galilee. He is shown in Scripture being called by Jesus while he is working as a publican or tax collector. Tax collectors were always lumped in with prostitutes and sinners, so he would not have been seen by the "good" Jews of his day as a good man. But Jesus saw him, not for what he was, but for what he was created to be.
Many years after the death and resurrection of Christ, Matthew wrote his Gospel account. He wrote with his fellow Jews as his target audience, hoping to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah. Nothing is recorded of Matthew's passing. Various legends say that he traveled to Parthia and Persia or Ethiopia. Matthew's feast day is September 21. He is patron of accountants, bankers, tax collectors, perfumers and civil servants.
St. Matthew, Pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment