Collect and Readings for First Sunday after Trinity – Genesis 12.1.9, Hosea 5.15-6.6, Psalm 33.1-12, Psalm 50.7-15, Romans4.13-end, Matthew 9.9-13, 18-26
The Prayer for today
O God, the strength of all those who put their trust in you, mercifully accept our prayers and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without you, grant us the help of your grace, that in the keeping of your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
This week we are looking at the danger of going through the motions of following God, but without our hearts being in it, and without any real acknowledgement of the sacrificial cost involved.
What was basically wrong in the story of Matthew’s calling? At one level we can accept that the religious leaders are justified in pointing out to Jesus that he is associating with those whose lives appear to have deliberately rejected God’s values. Surely these people are a disgrace to the name of the chosen race of Israel. How are they a light to the rest of the world? The speakers know that they themselves have deliberately chosen to keep the sacred law and follow all the teachings to the letter. They know they are doing their bit to uphold the values of a chosen people set apart for God. So far, so understandable. If we are honest, how would we feel if Jesus came and spent more time with a gang smashing into our church and spray-painting it, than with us in our specially prepared Bible studies or services?
The crunch comes with the attitude of the religious leaders to what Jesus is doing with these ‘sinners. Had they been genuinely seeking to uphold God’s values of mercy and justice; they would have had an openness which looked curiously at what Jesus was doing and tried to understand it. They would have noticed the gradual change in the ‘sinners’ and suddenly realised with excitement and delight that although Jesus was acting unexpectantly, he was actually helping these people to healing and wholeness. They would then have been there rejoicing with Matthew and the others, and nothing could have given Jesus greater joy.
As it is, they disassociate themselves from the healing work of God; they are, in a sense, selling their true birth right for a bowl of broth. Jesus listens to their complaints, and we can imagine his heart aching at their blindness. He gives them a clue as to what he is doing, by talking about sick people and doctors. They must have reacted to that, not with sudden insight and joy but with supercilious self-righteousness which told Jesus they knew better; these people were evil, not sick, and if he was really a religious teacher, he would know they should be avoided and rejected for the purity of the nation. Such an attitude was an appalling insult to the God of mercy and compassion and brought out Jesus’ passionate response: ‘Go and learn what this text means.... and start getting your priorities right!’ The whole point of Jesus coming was to do this work of loving sinners into a right relationship with the God of their making.
The story is a sobering one. What had begun as well-intentioned ways of lavishing true worship on the living God had become distorted into worship of empty systems and rituals, to the extent that, when faced with the genuine active presence of God, it was not even recognised. We need to come back, constantly, to the heart of worship, to the feet of God, and listen intently to what he is saying, so that our worship expresses our loving service to the loving God.
Some things to think about:
1. How does ritual of any kind (or the absence of it), originally a genuine expression of worship, sometimes turn into an empty shell, and how can we avoid this happening?
2. What assumptions does Jesus question in the call of Matthew, the healing of Jairus’ daughter and healing en route?
God bless Rev’d Fiona Robinson