The heavens declare the glory of God. Rarely do you hear a homily based on the responsorial psalm; but it reminds me of a beautiful sunset I saw last Friday night.

It had been raining all day; the sky began to clear just before supper. I suggested to my host that we go down to the beach to see the sunset. They agreed to go to the beach but told me I was too much an optimist to expect a sunset. As we neared the beach I said: See the red in the sky. They replied see the black in the sky. I insisted there could be no red if there wasn't some sun.

Sure enough we arrived just in time to see this huge magnificent ball of fire descending into a cloud bank on the horizon. It was a magnificent sunset; it didn't have all the pinks and purples that we often see, but it was a nice end to a dismal day but as it turned out, it was not the end. As people had started walking back to their cars someone screamed: Look: The fiery ball reemerged at the bottom of the clouds before descending into the ocean waters of the horizon. Within a few moments time we had witnessed not only one but two sunsets. Yes, I am the eternal optimist.

Perhaps my attitude and that of my friends reflects the attitude of the early Christians gathered but not united.

In today's gospel we have a similar situation. Jesus called the Roman tax collector Levi Matthew to be an apostle; as if being an IRS agent wasn't unpopular enough, he was a collector for a foreign government that invaded occupied and oppressed his people.

Matthew says: The Pharisees resented this. In fact, some of the Apostles themselves resented it. If you recall Zefferelli's Jesus of Nazareth, there is a very vivid scene played out between Jesus and Simon Peter, who is resentful of Matthew's choice. At which Jesus reminds him. Simon when I called you, did you consider yourself any more worthy. When you prayed: Leave me Lord for I am a sinful man.