The Gospel today begins with a man sitting at a tax collector’s post. His name is Matthew.

Tax collectors in the time of Jesus were often despised because the system of tax collection was associated with exploitation and collaboration with Roman rule. And yet, when Jesus saw Matthew, He did not say, “You are hopeless.” Jesus simply said: “Follow me.” And the Gospel tells us: “He got up and followed him.”

That is perhaps the most beautiful part of Matthew’s story. He got up. He left behind an old way of life and began again.

And this makes me wonder: What if all our corrupt officials in the Philippines would “do a Matthew”?

What if those who have stolen public money would one day hear Jesus saying, “Follow me”—and actually get up?

What if they admitted what they had done? What if they returned what did not belong to them? What if they stopped using public office for personal enrichment and began using it for genuine public service?

Imagine what could happen.

Money intended for classrooms would reach our children.
Funds for hospitals would reach the sick.
Resources for farmers, workers, roads, housing, and flood control would actually serve the people for whom they were intended.

But before we point our fingers at government officials, Matthew’s story must also speak to us. Because corruption does not begin with millions of pesos. It begins in the heart.

It begins when the heart says:
“I want more for myself.”
“Nobody will know.”
“Everybody does it anyway.”

That is why real reform requires more than laws and investigations. Accountability and institutions matter greatly, but the Gospel also calls for conversion of heart.

Jesus says, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” And that is our hope.

No sinner is beyond conversion. No corrupt person is beyond repentance. But genuine repentance cannot remain in words. It must bear fruit—in truth, restitution where possible, accountability, and a changed life.

So today, on the Feast of St. Matthew, perhaps our prayer for our country should be very simple: Lord, give us more Matthews. Give us public servants who can get up from greed and choose service. Give us citizens who refuse to participate in corruption. And when there is a little Matthew sitting at the “tax collector’s post” inside each of us, give us the courage to hear Jesus say: “Follow me.”

And like Matthew, may we have the courage to get up—and follow Him.