St. Mathew’s Day Sermon
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 our patronal feast day. Usually Sunday’s take precedence over other
feast days but the exception is churches are allowed to move the feast of their
patron saint to a Sunday and celebrate their patron. And that is what we have done. We are celebrating the feast of St. Matthew
today.
What an unlikely disciple is our St. Matthew – at least in the
eyes of the Pharisees and others in that society. Jesus is calling a tax collector. One who is despised because he has, in the
eyes of many, betrayed his people. He is
collecting taxes to support the Roman Empire.
To support the occupation force.
And unlike today, where tax collecting is a very regulated function, in
Jesus day a tax collector was allowed to collect whatever he could and keep the
extra. So tax collectors where not
popular and where considered sinners.
And why Matthew left his lucrative position on Jesus’ simple
request to “follow me” is baffling.
Perhaps Matthew had already heard Jesus teach or witnessed Jesus healing
those around. We don’t know. But Jesus’ call to follow was strong enough
for Matthew to leave a lucrative position and follow. Jesus called and, as we see in the next
portion of the Gospel reading, happily dined with those considered unworthy and
sinners by those in power.
Unworthy. I think that is
one of the descriptors I have heard too often when people are called to follow
Jesus. They say they are unworthy. They are not high enough up the societal
ladder to be called as leaders in the church.
God must really be calling someone else not me. Society too judges those called to ministry
and has an idea of what that ministry should look like.
Ministry should look like a mainline church back in the 1950’s
when everyone showed up to church in their finest clothes and all the men wore
ties and the women wore dresses and the kids – in the words of Garrison Keeler –
are above average. Yes, some churches
where in the slums doing good work – helping people who were poor but that was
the exception. Some church leaders
worked for racial desegregation and equality.
But I think most people felt that those working for social justice where
good examples but they did border on the scandalous to the good church going
families when they hung out too much with racial minorities and the poor.
But Jesus says he didn’t come to call the polite people in the
pews to ministry. He came to call the
outsiders – the sinners and the outcasts to ministry. Perhaps it is because being outside made the
people more open to see the promise of our God.
A promise of love and reconciliation.
The comfortable and those in society who have positions of power are
happy with things the way they are.
St. Matthew’s is one of those places where we welcome our neighbors
and strive to love God and love our Neighbors.
And it isn’t always easy. It is
hard to love people who deface the buildings.
It is hard to continue this worshiping community as the neighborhood
demographics have shifted. But I see St.
Matthew’s living up to their patronal saint.
You keep hearing Jesus calling you to “follow me”.
It would have been easier a couple of years ago to say to the
Bishop and diocese that with dwindling resources it was time to close St.
Matthew’s. Instead you all looked to
ways to serve the community. You all
looked at developing partnerships that would be able to continue to serve a
diverse and ever changing neighborhood.
To serve a neighborhood that I read this week is even poorer on a year
to year comparison with the influx of refugees.
And now the community is being served on this campus with the
Charter High School for those who have English as a second language. A vital service in neighborhood that is
increasingly home to new refugees. Katie
has quietly continued a small unadvertised clothes closet to provide clothing
to those in need. And I see this
community continue to welcome those who the Pharisees of our day would
shun. To provide a venue that feeds this
community – and soon that will host a satellite campus of River City Food
Bank.
I see people who care deeply about those who could be deported by
the changing policies in our nation. Who
understand and know the real human costs when families are separated – not as
an abstract but as a real hurt to our neighbors and our members. I see people who welcome in the hungry and
the homeless. You open the campus to
community dinners for the whole community not just those who might become
members.
This is a community that is recognizable to Jesus. When confronted with the company he was
keeping at dinner Jesus confronted a society that over valued the importance of
sacrifice and structure. A community
where everyone was in their place by saying “Go and learn what this means, ‘I
desire mercy, not sacrifice’”.
You the good people of St. Matthew’s don’t need to go and learn what this
means as you live it on a daily basis.
This community desires mercy to those who society rejects. This community makes personal sacrifices to
ensure that there is a place for people to go.
This community strives to use its resources to provide and to serve.
This community is one that has heard the call from Jesus to “follow me” and
continues to follow Jesus and live the great commandment to Love God and Love
our Neighbors. And for that I give
thanks.
Amen.
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