Called From the Booth
"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”"
— Matthew 9:9-13
Many churches keep 21 September as the feast of Matthew. As Jesus walked on, he saw Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. At the time, tax collectors took money for the authorities and could charge more than was owed, so people saw them as cheats. Jesus said to him, "Follow me," and Matthew got up and followed him. Later Jesus had dinner at Matthew's house, and many tax collectors and sinners ate with him. The Pharisees asked the disciples why their teacher ate with such people. Jesus heard this and answered that the healthy don't need a doctor, the sick do. He told them to go and learn what "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" means. It means that God cares more about mercy toward people than about offerings at the temple. He said he had not come to call the righteous, but sinners. So the call reached Matthew while he was still at his booth, and the change came when he answered it.