The collect for today, the Day of St Matthew, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

O almighty God, who by thy blessed Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and Evangelist; Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Matthew is included in several lists of the twelve disciples (Mt 10:3; Mk 3:18; Lk 6:15; Acts 1:13). Matthew 10:3 describes him as a tax collector, or as the KJV puts it, "publican". Jewish tax collectors in first-century Palestine were pariahs among their own people. They were considered untrustworthy, dishonest, and, because they had become agents of the Roman oppressors, traitors to the Jewish people.

All three synoptic gospels include the story of the call of a tax collector who is called "Matthew" in Matthew 9:9, "Levi" in Luke 5:27, and "Levi, the son of Alphaeus" in Mark 2:14. Thus, Matthew is to be identified with the "Levi" of Mark and Luke. Jesus called him to be a disciple while he was sitting in the tax collectors’ place at Capernaum.

From very early times, he has been regarded as the author of the first gospel. The Bible tells us nothing about his life after Pentecost. Later accounts of his life vary, some reporting that he was martyred, others that he died a natural death. The Christian church since early times has commemorated him as a martyr.

I know very little about art, but IMHO Caravaggio’s The Calling of Saint Matthew is one of the most remarkable and riveting paintings ever created. (Click on picture for larger view.)

The scene is one of mundane reality: Tax collectors are sitting around a dimly lit table counting money. Peter and Jesus intrude upon their quiet labour. A shaft of light over Christ’s head illuminates his hand and shines right in Matthew’s face. Jesus points at Matthew and says, "Follow me". Matthew’s surprised demeanor is priceless: he’s pointing at himself and, from the look on his face, you can tell he’s thinking, "Who, me?" But we know from the gospel that Matthew responds to our Lord’s call and is transformed from a despised social outcast into a holy saint among God’s people.

Caravaggio seems to be saying that miracles take place among the ordinary things of life—and then they change everything. Through divine grace and power, everyday people become saints doing our Lord’s work.