I have never been completely happy with the Collect for the Feast of Saint Matthew. It does not accurately represent the importance of his witness to the Jewish roots of our faith. The organic unity of both the Old and New Testaments. Or the continued relevance of our relationship with what St. Bernard of Clairvaux called “our Mother, the Synagogue.”
I have no desire to rewrite the Book of Common Prayer, but I offer this Collect as a means of drawing together those threads in prayer:
Gracious God, creator and redeemer of humankind. We thank you for the apostle and evangelist, Matthew. For his witness to your enduring mercy. For the children of Israel who received your promises. For the Covenant, Law, and Temple.
For the witness of Patriarchs and Matriarchs. For the Witness of Priests and Prophets. And above all for Matthew’s witness to the ministry and teaching of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who as the Second Moses taught us the importance of Torah, as a window into the transformed nature of our relationship with you and with one another.
Let the words, “You have heard it said, but I say to you” remind us not just of what we are called to do, but of what we are called to be. Make us mindful of the ancient vision your Son fulfilled, writing the Law on our hearts and calling us into ever deeper water as the children of your Covenant and Kingdom. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit, reign one God, now and forever.
Amen.
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