Christ the Cornerstone
Christ calls us, in our weakness, to lead others to him
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, says the Lord. (Mt 28:19-20)
The Italian artist Caravaggio is responsible for a famous painting, “The Calling of Saint Matthew” (1599-1601), that hangs in the Contarelli Chapel of the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. This Baroque masterpiece portrays Jesus summoning Levi the tax collector (St. Matthew) to follow him, using dramatic light and shadow to bridge the divine and the everyday.
Jesus points his finger at the man who will become one of his greatest evangelists, but Levi/Matthew appears to wonder whether Jesus hasn’t confused him with someone else. “Who me?” his expression seems to say. And the Gospel tells us that the other people who were present shared the tax collector’s doubt. They asked the disciples: “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mt 9:11) Jesus, overhearing them, responds: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mt 9:12-13).
Jesus calls sinners like St. Matthew, whose feast day we celebrated on September 21. In fact, no one called by Jesus (except his Mother Mary) is free from sin or without the need for a divine physician.
Looking back over the past 2,000 years of Christian history, we can see beyond any doubt that the followers of Jesus—including the greatest saints and martyrs—were women and men in need of God’s merciful forgiveness and his saving grace.
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do” (Mt 9:12), Jesus says. He is talking about us, the people he has chosen to be his witnesses and to carry his Gospel message to the ends of the Earth.
Just two days ago, our Church honored the memory of St. Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio). Born Francesco Forgione in Italy in 1887, he had a difficult childhood with much pain and suffering due to illnesses that appeared to be both physical and spiritual. At the age of 15, despite his numerous health problems, he joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and took the religious name “Pius” (Pio in Italian). Seven years later, in August 1910, although still in precarious health, he was ordained a priest and celebrated his first Mass.
The call of Padre Pio illustrates in a dramatic way the Lord’s statement that he calls the sick—those who need his physical and spiritual healing. Padre Pio suffered his whole life—even sharing in the wounds of Christ (the stigmata)—but he used his spiritual and physical disabilities as instruments of forgiveness and healing for others. At the time of his death in 1968, he was revered throughout Italy and beyond for his holiness and his ability to inspire others with God’s mercy and his healing grace.
The call to holiness is not restricted to those who are well—physically, morally or spiritually. It is extended to everyone. As Jesus says, he did not come to call the righteous but sinners. That means, of course, that he is inviting us here and now to respond to his call as Matthew did by letting go of our sinful preoccupations in order to follow Jesus. It also means that like Padre Pio, we are challenged to offer up our infirmities and weaknesses in order to allow the power of God’s grace to transform us from people who are self-absorbed to followers of Christ who give ourselves in service to others.
Tomorrow, Saturday, September 26, the Church invites us to remember Saints Cosmas and Damian, brothers born in Arabia in the third century, who were also physicians. They are honored both because of their healing ministry—offered free of charge to anyone who needed medical care—and their witness to their Christian faith as martyrs who suffered brutal torture and death because of their love for Jesus Christ.
Four different saints (Matthew, Cosmas and Damian, and Pius of Pietrelcina) representing diverse cultures, backgrounds and eras of Church history, remind us that the call to holiness is universal. It is given to all of us with the invitation to use all the gifts God has given us, and even in the most challenging circumstances of our lives to follow Jesus Christ and to proclaim with our lives that God’s love can heal us from all our troubles.
Let’s ask Mary, Health of the Sick, and all the saints, to intercede for us with her Son, the Divine Physician, as we respond to his universal call to holiness. †