THE FACE OF TRUTH
He said to him, “Follow me.” – Luke 5:27
In five simple verses of Luke, we read the call of Matthew. So much is going on and that if you blink, you’ll miss it. How is it that Jesus can convince Matthew so quickly that he leaves everything behind to follow Jesus? With two simple words, Jesus’ invitation is clear and direct. He doesn’t say to Matthew, “Follow me, and…” or “Follow me, but…”. He simply says, “Follow me.” Think about the amount of trust Matthew had to take that leap of faith. What was it that convinced him? Was it the way Jesus said it? Was it the look on Jesus’ face? Was the invitation accompanied by a supportive hand on the shoulder that signaled a sense of radical trust?
There have been dozens of artistic depictions of this very moment. From Caravaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew to the contemporary cinematic scenes in the series The Chosen, artists have been attempting to explain the extraordinary ability for someone who had temporal wealth, comfort, and power to leave all of that behind to follow a nomadic preacher like Jesus Christ. I believe that all these depictions have degrees of truth in them. Personally, I think Matthew saw in Jesus’ face, an all-encompassing truth that he could not ignore or dismiss. When Matthew fully turned his attention to Jesus, he saw for the first time, someone who loved him for who he is. In a single glance, Matthew recognized a truth so profound that it allowed him to put his ego and comfort aside to focus on something greater than himself. All it took was keeping his attention on Jesus. This Lent, we are given the same invitation as Matthew. How can we dare to do something so radical and selfless? We do it by keeping our eyes on Jesus, and by doing so, we too can let go of our pride to drop everything and follow him.
When you see the face of Jesus, what do you see? How is Jesus’ personal invitation in your life calling you to radical trust?
Alex Llanera, SJ
Photo credit: Caravaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew