3rd Sunday after Pentecost Date:06/05/05 Text:Matthew 9:9-13 Title: Missionaries Wanted: Only Sinners Need Apply.
3rd Sunday after Pentecost
6/05/05
Text: Matthew 9:9-13
Title: Missionaries Wanted: Only Sinners Need Apply
My fellow missionaries please join me in prayer. Eternal God, pour out your Spirit upon us that we might be aware of your presence in our midst, that we might be attentive to your Word, and that we might be faithful always to your way, through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
Our Gospel reading for this morning is commonly titled, “The calling of Matthew”. It immediately follows the account of Jesus forgiving and then healing a paralytic. When Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven the teachers of the law where indignant. Only God could forgive sins, how could this Jesus say that he forgave the man? In their opinion he had just committed blasphemy for only God could forgive sins and he certainly was not God, or so they thought.
Unknown to them Jesus knew what they were thinking, before they even said anything. He asked them, “Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven or to say, Get up and walk’?
What a question! I am sure he stumped them. They had no answer, but it did not make any difference for Jesus by his action and then question was showing them that he was not just any man, but God himself in human form. He then proceeded to heal the paralytic showing them that he had the power to not only to forgive sins but to heal broken bodies.
Needless to say that did not go over too well with the church authorities, for he had healed the man just by speaking to him. There might be something to his being able to forgive sins then. That could be a real threat to them if the people found out that they really did not need the teachers of the law to tell them what they needed to do to please God. Their whole livelihood could dry up. They were certainly going to have to watch him closely. You know, so that they could see if they could catch him committing any other blasphemous acts.
Jesus did not keep them waiting long for we are told that as he, his disciples, and probably other followers were walking along they passed by a despised tax collector, actually probably a toll collector, for it was common practice to collect a toll from merchants before they could take their goods through a certain area. Toll collectors were not popular people. In fact to the religious Jew they were listed with those who were considered sinners by the religious leaders.
To the surprise of everyone, and am I sure to Matthew too, Jesus stops and tells Matthew, “Follow me.” Matthew drops everything and follows Jesus. We next read in our text that Jesus is eating a meal with Matthew. As if that is not bad enough we see that they are joined by whole group of tax collectors and various other types of sinners.
If you thought the teachers of the law were upset earlier, well this really set them off. They couldn’t even bring themselves to talk to Jesus, for that meant that they would have to be near, maybe even touch one of those sinners. That would really be a pain because then they would have to go through a purification ritual before they could enter the temple.
So staying safely outside, they asked the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners.” Well they might not have wanted Jesus to hear them, but he did. He told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Matthew does not tell us, but I am sure the teachers of the law recognized that quote as coming from Hosea. It had to give them terrible heart-burn, for they knew that God speaking though Hosea was telling the people of Judah that they were only going through the motions of sacrifice. Their hearts were not in it, for there was no evidence of their love for God. You only had to look at how they were treating their fellow brothers and sisters in the faith, not counting those outside the faith. There is no doubt that hard feelings were being generated between Jesus and the teachers of the law.
It is well and good to know all this about our reading, but the question always has to be answered when one studies God’s teachings in the Bible; what do they have to do with me, with us today, as we gather together in worship of our God?
Well, we could compare ourselves to the teachers of the law, you know those self-righteous Pharisees. But I do not think that would be fair for we believe in Jesus, they did not.
Let see, we could compare ourselves to Matthew, but we certainly are not evil tax collectors. We are not despised by society. We are not classified as belonging to a group called sinners. No there must be another message for us in this story.
There is one thing that I think we could learn from the text. To find out, we need to look at the first part of our reading where Jesus calls Matthew, actually in the Greek he commands Matthew to follow him. Let’s see if we have a connection with that event.
Jesus has called Matthew to follow him because Jesus is seeking disciples. Jesus has a choice, he can either call those who are righteous either in their own minds, or in the eyes of society, or he can call those to follow him who are seen by themselves or society as being sinners. The choice is his, and he chooses sinners.
We might ask, and rightfully so, “Why would he call sinners to be disciples, when he had all those righteous religious leaders to choose from, the ones with power and money, why would he not chose them?”
Well, the answer lies in the fact that he did not call those who saw themselves as being righteousness, because they did not think they needed him. They kept the laws, they did what was needed, and they gave a tenth of everything for God’s work. They just did not need to do anymore for they were righteous before God, or so they thought.
Jesus continues calling disciples today. He has called each one of you just as he has called me. He called you through your baptism where he made you his own. The question is, “Have we responded to that call as he desires us to, or have we ignored it?” If we are not doing his will, why are we not? Maybe it is because we do not see ourselves as really being sinners, at least not bad sinners in need of forgiveness, and have become self-righteous? I wonder.
Psalm 34:18 does a good job describing the qualifications for being a disciple. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” Or we could just look at our reading for today, where we read that he desires mercy, not sacrifice.
Do you meet those qualifications? Is your heart broken, do you have a contrite spirit? Or are you spending so much time making sure others are doing church properly that you have forgotten that God desires mercy, not sacrifice?
I cannot speak for you, but I can speak for myself. I am afraid that too many times I act more self-righteous than broken and contrite. Too many times I am afraid that I have ignored Jesus’ call to me, that call for me to trust in him so that I will become stronger in my faith, so that I will become more loving in my relationships with my fellow sinners who so desperately need to hear of God’s mercy.
It is hard for us to believe that we are sinners. We seem to have a built-in mechanism which makes us to look down on other people who we label as sinners. The person who gossips cannot see why other people steal. The person who steals the pen, paperclips, or stamp from the office cannot see how people murder. The active church-goer who tells dirty jokes, or curses on the job cannot see why others do not become church-goers. Parents, who gripe about the church, who do not see the need to attend Bible class, cannot understand why their teenager does not see the connection between God and their daily life.
We are all sinners, miserable sinners. Fortunately for us Jesus does not just call us once, and then move on when we ignore him. He continues to pursue us with his Word, with his wonderful call to forgiveness.
He continues to call us time and time again, because you see God uses sinners as his disciples, as his missionaries. Just take a look at Jesus’ twelve disciples. We know that one of Jesus’ top twelve disciples was a tax collector; another betrayed him. They all cut and ran when he was arrested. James and John tried to manipulate Jesus into making them number two and three in his kingdom. When the other ten found out about it they were furious because each of them wanted those positions. Peter, when questioned, denied that he even knew Jesus. For the most part we know very little about the rest of the twelve.
They were not a remarkable group, nor were the individuals that made up the group. He knew their limitations, but he still entrusted them with his work for he knew that it would be by his power, not theirs, that his work would be done. When you really take a close look at them Jesus used their weakness in faith to strengthen them in his love. That is what made them effective in their work.
Remember you did not seek out Jesus; he called each one of you through your Baptism and the Word to be his disciple. He knows your weaknesses and struggles with sinfulness, but he still daily calls you to repentance and faith. He continues to renew you through his Holy Supper. My fellow missionaries remember this; our God is “An Awesome God” for he will give us tongues of fire and hearts of love to share God’s Word with those who do not know of his love. Amen
6/05/05
Text: Matthew 9:9-13
Title: Missionaries Wanted: Only Sinners Need Apply
My fellow missionaries please join me in prayer. Eternal God, pour out your Spirit upon us that we might be aware of your presence in our midst, that we might be attentive to your Word, and that we might be faithful always to your way, through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
Our Gospel reading for this morning is commonly titled, “The calling of Matthew”. It immediately follows the account of Jesus forgiving and then healing a paralytic. When Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven the teachers of the law where indignant. Only God could forgive sins, how could this Jesus say that he forgave the man? In their opinion he had just committed blasphemy for only God could forgive sins and he certainly was not God, or so they thought.
Unknown to them Jesus knew what they were thinking, before they even said anything. He asked them, “Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven or to say, Get up and walk’?
What a question! I am sure he stumped them. They had no answer, but it did not make any difference for Jesus by his action and then question was showing them that he was not just any man, but God himself in human form. He then proceeded to heal the paralytic showing them that he had the power to not only to forgive sins but to heal broken bodies.
Needless to say that did not go over too well with the church authorities, for he had healed the man just by speaking to him. There might be something to his being able to forgive sins then. That could be a real threat to them if the people found out that they really did not need the teachers of the law to tell them what they needed to do to please God. Their whole livelihood could dry up. They were certainly going to have to watch him closely. You know, so that they could see if they could catch him committing any other blasphemous acts.
Jesus did not keep them waiting long for we are told that as he, his disciples, and probably other followers were walking along they passed by a despised tax collector, actually probably a toll collector, for it was common practice to collect a toll from merchants before they could take their goods through a certain area. Toll collectors were not popular people. In fact to the religious Jew they were listed with those who were considered sinners by the religious leaders.
To the surprise of everyone, and am I sure to Matthew too, Jesus stops and tells Matthew, “Follow me.” Matthew drops everything and follows Jesus. We next read in our text that Jesus is eating a meal with Matthew. As if that is not bad enough we see that they are joined by whole group of tax collectors and various other types of sinners.
If you thought the teachers of the law were upset earlier, well this really set them off. They couldn’t even bring themselves to talk to Jesus, for that meant that they would have to be near, maybe even touch one of those sinners. That would really be a pain because then they would have to go through a purification ritual before they could enter the temple.
So staying safely outside, they asked the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners.” Well they might not have wanted Jesus to hear them, but he did. He told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Matthew does not tell us, but I am sure the teachers of the law recognized that quote as coming from Hosea. It had to give them terrible heart-burn, for they knew that God speaking though Hosea was telling the people of Judah that they were only going through the motions of sacrifice. Their hearts were not in it, for there was no evidence of their love for God. You only had to look at how they were treating their fellow brothers and sisters in the faith, not counting those outside the faith. There is no doubt that hard feelings were being generated between Jesus and the teachers of the law.
It is well and good to know all this about our reading, but the question always has to be answered when one studies God’s teachings in the Bible; what do they have to do with me, with us today, as we gather together in worship of our God?
Well, we could compare ourselves to the teachers of the law, you know those self-righteous Pharisees. But I do not think that would be fair for we believe in Jesus, they did not.
Let see, we could compare ourselves to Matthew, but we certainly are not evil tax collectors. We are not despised by society. We are not classified as belonging to a group called sinners. No there must be another message for us in this story.
There is one thing that I think we could learn from the text. To find out, we need to look at the first part of our reading where Jesus calls Matthew, actually in the Greek he commands Matthew to follow him. Let’s see if we have a connection with that event.
Jesus has called Matthew to follow him because Jesus is seeking disciples. Jesus has a choice, he can either call those who are righteous either in their own minds, or in the eyes of society, or he can call those to follow him who are seen by themselves or society as being sinners. The choice is his, and he chooses sinners.
We might ask, and rightfully so, “Why would he call sinners to be disciples, when he had all those righteous religious leaders to choose from, the ones with power and money, why would he not chose them?”
Well, the answer lies in the fact that he did not call those who saw themselves as being righteousness, because they did not think they needed him. They kept the laws, they did what was needed, and they gave a tenth of everything for God’s work. They just did not need to do anymore for they were righteous before God, or so they thought.
Jesus continues calling disciples today. He has called each one of you just as he has called me. He called you through your baptism where he made you his own. The question is, “Have we responded to that call as he desires us to, or have we ignored it?” If we are not doing his will, why are we not? Maybe it is because we do not see ourselves as really being sinners, at least not bad sinners in need of forgiveness, and have become self-righteous? I wonder.
Psalm 34:18 does a good job describing the qualifications for being a disciple. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” Or we could just look at our reading for today, where we read that he desires mercy, not sacrifice.
Do you meet those qualifications? Is your heart broken, do you have a contrite spirit? Or are you spending so much time making sure others are doing church properly that you have forgotten that God desires mercy, not sacrifice?
I cannot speak for you, but I can speak for myself. I am afraid that too many times I act more self-righteous than broken and contrite. Too many times I am afraid that I have ignored Jesus’ call to me, that call for me to trust in him so that I will become stronger in my faith, so that I will become more loving in my relationships with my fellow sinners who so desperately need to hear of God’s mercy.
It is hard for us to believe that we are sinners. We seem to have a built-in mechanism which makes us to look down on other people who we label as sinners. The person who gossips cannot see why other people steal. The person who steals the pen, paperclips, or stamp from the office cannot see how people murder. The active church-goer who tells dirty jokes, or curses on the job cannot see why others do not become church-goers. Parents, who gripe about the church, who do not see the need to attend Bible class, cannot understand why their teenager does not see the connection between God and their daily life.
We are all sinners, miserable sinners. Fortunately for us Jesus does not just call us once, and then move on when we ignore him. He continues to pursue us with his Word, with his wonderful call to forgiveness.
He continues to call us time and time again, because you see God uses sinners as his disciples, as his missionaries. Just take a look at Jesus’ twelve disciples. We know that one of Jesus’ top twelve disciples was a tax collector; another betrayed him. They all cut and ran when he was arrested. James and John tried to manipulate Jesus into making them number two and three in his kingdom. When the other ten found out about it they were furious because each of them wanted those positions. Peter, when questioned, denied that he even knew Jesus. For the most part we know very little about the rest of the twelve.
They were not a remarkable group, nor were the individuals that made up the group. He knew their limitations, but he still entrusted them with his work for he knew that it would be by his power, not theirs, that his work would be done. When you really take a close look at them Jesus used their weakness in faith to strengthen them in his love. That is what made them effective in their work.
Remember you did not seek out Jesus; he called each one of you through your Baptism and the Word to be his disciple. He knows your weaknesses and struggles with sinfulness, but he still daily calls you to repentance and faith. He continues to renew you through his Holy Supper. My fellow missionaries remember this; our God is “An Awesome God” for he will give us tongues of fire and hearts of love to share God’s Word with those who do not know of his love. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 12:53 PM
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