The Calling of St. Matthew

The calling of St. Matthew is one of the most outstanding pictures that Caravaggio ever painted for himself. He places himself in the picture with some interesting figures that reflect the lives of the people that surround his life. The two young men hear the words of Jesus, but his words have no affect in their lives. As for the man pointing himself, he is Matthew, as known as the Levi or tax collector. Caravaggio puts himself in the shoes of St. Matthew. He hears the words of Jesus and feels the impact by questioning whether he was the only one listening to the words that Jesus was uttering. Next to Matthew are two men obsessed with money and their job; they neither see Jesus or hear his words. The one astonishing thing about Caravaggio's painting is the fact that the table he painted has not legs underneath. He intentionally painted the table without no legs to emphasize the openness and freedom to respond to the call. Most of the time Christ calls each person by name to follow him and seek his heart. At times, there are many things, like the two men obssessed with money and worldly affairs, that distract people from seeing Jesus and listening to his voice. The two young men that listen to Jesus have no desire to obey his command or put his words into action.

Today, in the Gospel of Luke 13:22-30, Jesus travels through many towns and villages proclaiming the Kingdom of God. In reality, not many people listen to his words or believed in the miracles he wrought before them. In the Gospel of John, he tells us that the multitude that follow Jesus turned away the moment he challenge them to eat of his body and drink of his blood; this was a hard saying to accept. There was another time when Jesus went into a town proclaiming the Good News and performed miracles, but not one soul was converted because of his wondrous deeds and words. He even cursed the towns by saying, "Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsiada! For if the miracles done in you have been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."(Mt. 11:21). Jesus challenges once again his listeners knowing that his disciples will encounter the same kind of crowds of non-believers.

Moreover, Jesus talks about a narrow way that everybody is called to follow. He avoids the question about who can be save because of his hard teaching of total renunciation. The narrow way to follow Jesus is the way of the Cross. Jesus calls each person to follow him down this difficult path of suffering, trials, and persecution. He demonstrates the consequences of not following him and not repenting, such as loosing eternal life.

However, there are two kinds of path that lead to Jesus in this life. For instance, the saints chose the path that enters directly into paradise. They sanctified their garments with their own blood; others sanctified their garments with trials and persecutions and not having to shed their own blood. Yet, their path to follow Jesus led them to eternal paradise.

On the other side, there is the path that has a long period of waiting; this line is like waiting for your number to called or standing in line trying to get a seat on a roller coaster. These people stay on the path, but they refuse to follow Christ through the narrow gate that requires a lot of self-denial and union with His Divine Will. The people face the consequences of not entering paradise; however, the chance of entering paradise still allows them to enter through the back door of paradise. The back door is considered to be purgatory; a state of purgation where the mercy of God shines upon their souls. This is the only way to enter through paradise. On the contrary, what about the people living today? Chances are that people who experience the last Judgement will not have the opportunity to enter purgatory, since judgement will already take place.

Jesus does not give a definite answer of who will be saved because he does not come into the world to judge the world but to save it from perdition. He knows that people may not chose him or follow him to mount calvary. However, he continues to reach out and knock at the door of the person's heart to repent and believe him; it only takes a leap of faith to do so! As Caravaggio elaborates in his painting, the table is an invitation that remains open. Jesus gives the opportunity to follow him and to listen to his words.