Recently, I read through the Gospel of Matthew. Since Matthew was St. Dominic’s favorite gospel and the one he carried with him everywhere, I kept wondering what was so special about Matthew for Dominic. Why not the other gospels? Two things came to mind. First, Matthew highlights the kingdom of heaven and second, it is the only gospel to reference the church and its authority explicitly.
The Kingdom of Heaven
In the midst of the beatitudes (Matt 5:3), we hear blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Being poor in spirit means, you recognize your need for God and his grace. The poor in spirit detach from this world and rely on God. God is their security. This was definitely Dominic and what he encouraged in his followers. Happiness, or blessedness, is found in God alone. If you attach to things of this world, this world will be your kingdom, but if you detach from this world and attach to God – heaven will be your kingdom.
Many of Jesus’ parables have to do with the kingdom of heaven.
· The Sower 13:1-9; 36-43
· The Weeds among the Wheat 13:24-30
· The Mustard Seed 13:31-32
· The Yeast 13:33
· The Buried Treasure 13:44
· The Fine Pearl 13:45-46
· The Unforgiving Servant 18:23-35
· The Laborers in the Vineyard 20:1-16
· The Two Sons 21:28-30
· The Wedding Banquet 22:2-14
· The Talents 25:14-30
· The Judgment of the Nations 25:31-46
Reading these together as a way of understanding the meaning of a particular theme reveals that not everyone will be admitted to the kingdom. The Kingdom is desirable above all, but there are things that must be done to be in God’s kingdom, like forgiving, emptying yourself, and preparing your soul for life in the kingdom. St. Dominic and his followers won many souls for the kingdom through open debate. This debate was grounded in the teachings of the Church, which brings me to the second reason this gospel would be so appealing to Dominic.
The Church and Her Authority
Matthew is the only gospel to make explicit reference to the Church and in giving authority to Peter and the apostles as a group. (Matt. 16:18 and 18:17) This would be huge for Dominic and his battles with heresy, for it gives a guide for where to look for proper interpretation and where to find truth. Reading through this gospel, you find many ‘hard sayings’ of Jesus like how mandatory it is to forgive others (5:22-24) or how essential detachment is for our ability to completely follow Christ and receive our heavenly reward (19:21, 23-24). We must accept and follow Christ’s hard sayings. We cannot accept the teachings we like and ignore the teachings we do not like. Some people walked away from Jesus because they could not accept the hard sayings. How many people today pick and choose the teachings of the Church they like and ignore the teachings they do not like? Seems to me not much has changed for Jesus and his Church. People are still turning away because of the hard sayings. Our society is filled with contraception, co-habitation and divorce among other things. The Church has something to say about each of these and it usually opposes what society in general says. Our job is to find out what it is that Holy Mother Church says and choose to follow Jesus or walk away. As Dominicans we are called to defend, follow and live the whole gospel by living and teaching Jesus under the authority of the church he established.
What kind of disciple are you?
St. Dominic, pray for us!