Memorial of Matthew, evangelist and/or apostle

After reading the article on him from Wikipedia, this is what I conclude:

- Christian tradition credits him with writing the Gospel of Matthew, though some use the designation "Matthew the Evangelist" to refer to the anonymous gospel author, and "Matthew the Apostle" to refer to the Biblical figure described in that gospel
- Virtually nothing besides his apostleship can be determined from the gospels of Mark and Luke as well as in the Acts of the Apostles, and he is not mentioned at all in the gospel of John or subsequent epistles
- The Gospel of Matthew names Matthew as the tax collector Jesus called whom the other gospels name "Levi"- Christian tradition holds that these two names describe the same person
- Matthew (called the "Son of Alphaeus") is described as being a toll collector who was called by Jesus to follow him, and his calling leads into a scene where Jesus is confronted by Pharisees for eating with tax-collectors and sinners
-Like the other evangelists, Matthew is often depicted in Christian art with one of the four living creatures of Revelation 4:7; in his case, the creature is a winged man

Today's Bible Readings (21 Sep, Sun - 25th Week)

Isaiah 55: 6-9
Seek the Lord while he makes himself available;
call to him while he is nearby!
The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle
and sinful people their plans.
They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.
“Indeed, my plans are not like your plans,
and my deeds are not like your deeds,
for just as the sky is higher than the earth,
so my deeds are superior to your deeds
and my plans superior to your plans.”

Philippians 1: 20-24, 27
Brothers and sisters: My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body. Only conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Matthew 20: 1-16
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When it was about nine o’clock in the morning, he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace without work. He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and three o’clock that afternoon, he did the same thing. And about five o’clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go and work in the vineyard too.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and give the pay starting with the last hired until the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each received a full day’s pay. And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage. When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner, saying, ‘These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.’ And the landowner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me to work for the standard wage? Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last man the same as I gave to you. Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”