I Desire Mercy not Sacrifice

Sermon for St. Matthew’s Day

Proverbs 3:1-6

Psalm 119:33-40
2 Timothy 3:14-17
Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."

Today we are celebrating the feast day of our Patron Saint – Saint Matthew.  One of the twelve disciples.  And like most if not all of the disciples that followed Jesus on his earthly journey Matthew is not who we would pick.  I mean look – if I was in charge would I pick a bunch of stinky fisherman and tax collectors to bring the kingdom of God to fruition. The Jews where looking for a successor to King David who would raise an army to defeat Rome.  This messiah Jesus is picking an unlikely group to overthrow Rome!

To put the grumblings of the Pharisees in perspective it is helpful to understand why tax collectors were despised. The occupation of tax collector is not what we would think of today.  It was not some bureaucrat sitting behind a desk!  Tax collectors in Jesus’ time are more like we would see in the movies of the mafia!  They were enforcers.  They were traitors and sellouts. 

Tax Collectors were Jews who worked for Rome.  They collected the taxes – and to make it worse they added a surcharge.  They took in extra that went into their pockets.  And they collected whatever they could get away with and knew they had an army to protect them – the Roman Army. 

In our Gospel Jesus comes across this tax collector sitting in his tax booth.  I am guessing collecting taxes for the road.  And Jesus says to him “Follow me”.  And Matthew does just that.  He leaves a lucrative job and follows an itinerate preacher.  Scandal!

 But then the real scandal happens.  Jesus follows Matthew into a house and sits down to dinner with a bunch undesirable people – at least undesirable to the “good people” - the Pharisees and observant Jews.  And that is when the gossip starts.

The Pharisees grumble that Jesus – who dares to teach in the temple – is eating with sinners!  Scandal!  And Jesus says the phrase that I have heard many time used to describe the church.  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”  But the phrase that jumped out at me is what comes next.  Jesus says, `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'

Wow! “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”  That should be painted on our foreheads if we are going to call ourselves Christians.  And for many churches – who today look more like the church of the Pharisees in our Gospel story than the church of Jesus -  this comment should take them and us back.  Many times the church feels like a place of sacrifice and not mercy. Our call is to have Mercy.

Who are shunned as tax collectors today?

Who act like these Pharisees today?  

What does mercy look like today?

I am sure you can name many people and groups who the dominant society shuns as unclean – treats as tax collectors.  Our society treats homeless people like the Pharisees treated tax collectors.  Our society often  treats immigrants like tax collectors.  Our society treats trans-persons like tax collectors.  Our society frequently treats people of color as tax collectors.  They are all to be shunned.  That is all too often the message we hear.

And I bet you can name many who act like these Pharisees today too!  In this crazy political season that we are in it is perhaps too easy to see this at work.  We hear politician’s scapegoat entire cultures.  We hear of proposals to build walls to keep people not like them out. 

Unfortunately we also see churches who act like these as Pharisees.  When we do not welcome the stranger or “the other” into our hearts – we are acting as Pharisees. Unfortunately all of us can suddenly start acting like the Pharisee’s in our gospel.

But our call is not to act like we heard the Pharisee’s act.  Our call is to have mercy.  And mercy is more than just providing food and clothing.  Don’t get me wrong.  That is important too.  But mercy is also sitting and listening.  Mercy is sitting down and eating with people who society thinks are sinners.  Mercy is opening our hearts to people who are not like us.

Mercy also requires that we work to change the system.  Mercy requires us to look and see how systems keep people down.  Mercy means calling out as perverted a system where corporations are making record profits but the poor are getting poorer.  Mercy means that we have to identify the problems and work to change them.

There is good news today!  The good news is that I see St. Matthew’s Church as a place a mercy.  I see you welcoming people in and caring for them.  I hear your leaders wondering how this place cannot only provide food and clothing but how can St. Matthews work to change the system. 

The good news is that Jesus did not call only the righteous of his day.  He called the tax collectors and fisherman.  He dined with tax collectors and sinners.  That is our call too.  We are all called to follow Jesus.  Even when we feel like tax collectors and sinners.  We are called to follow.  Jesus said,  “Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."

And to that I say Alleluia!