Responding to the Call

The Call of Matthew has always intrigued me.  "As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.  He said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him." (Mt 9: 9).
Was Jesus wearing a magnet?  Did he know Jesus before?  Had he observed him and been wrestling in his heart with the message and personality Jesus presented?  We don't know, but we do know he left his job, and found joy and peace with Jesus.  At some point he was hosting dinner at his house where his cronies, "tax collectors and sinners" came and ate with Jesus.  A motley crew, it would seem, whom, however, Jesus defended as the object of his mission.  "I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." (Mt. 9:13).  These too responded to an invitation and, though we don't know, we presume their lives were changed.  Matthew went on as a faithful member of the Twelve, and later wrote the Gospel which gives us such insight into Jesus that readers over the centuries have become followers of him as well.  A word, a gesture, and lives are changed.  It still happens today.  A student makes a retreat and asks to become a leader at the next one, to give to others what he or she has received.  A student wakes up one morning and chooses to come to Central Catholic and enters into a life-changing experience.  "The Call" is all around us and comes to us in surprising and unexpected ways.  What call is each of us hearing today?  How are we responding?
Bro. Rene