Matthew 9:9-13
June 8, 2008 at NPMC
Romans 4:13-17
Wendy Harder
Thank you for showing up!
I have spent some time this past week contemplating the notion of “sinner”. Who is a sinner? I thought maybe I should hang out with some sinners this week so that I really understood what Jesus meant. Thank you to all of you who showed up this morning! But seriously, who should be classified as a sinner and where do you go to hang out with sinners? The local bar, downtown on 20th, with my beach volleyball team, with my neighbours, at the Salvation Army or at the local correctional facility or at church? Where would you go to hang out with sinners? I find it hard to go out of my comfort zone but I know that when I do, I just might encounter Jesus. Tony Campolo is a well know speaker and he tells the story of a pastor ….. (Meeting Jesus, p. 28 in Let Me Tell You A Story)
We don’t know that when we encounter stranger what will happen. Marlene Froese told me a story about when Donna Driedger and another cook were here making food in the kitchen and a man walked in and demanded food. He was a First Nations man and he said he was a diabetic. Donna was caught off guard and not quite sure what to do so she got a hold of Marlene on the phone and Marlene said to just feed him. So that is what they did. The man’s hands were shaking as he ate. After he was finished, he said thank you and he left. Is that not what we are called to do? I think it was the Pharisees that were so busy classifying the people that Jesus was hanging around with that they forgot to see the people for who they were. Bible commentaries really stressed the bad company that Jesus kept. It was scandalous to be seen eating and drinking with people that were in the same category as murderers and swindlers. “Tax collectors were frequently shunned because of their links to the government, their link with Gentile money and commerce and for their reputation for dishonesty.” (Believers Bible commentary, p. 155) Knowing all of this, it is quite astonishing who Jesus chooses to hang out with. The Pharisees didn’t hang out with sinners or outcasts and they avoided them as much as possible. It must have been different in the time of Jesus, to meet your tax collector face to face. To actually know who is taking your hard earned money instead of just a click of a button and your tax form is emailed through cyber space. Jesus would have had a harder time to reach across the wires to tell the tax person to follow him and then to even invite himself over for dinner. In our present day, our technology is keeping us at arms length but I am sure if Jesus was here, he would find a way to get around all of that. It is easier to stay in our isolated corner then to venture out. As I was working on my sermon at church last night, Dave and Marlene were leaving the church and asked if they should lock up. I told them to leave the door open because maybe there is someone in need that might walk through the door. No one walked through the door last night but I hope that when they do, I will be able to see Jesus.
It is a Greek proverb that really gets to the Pharisees. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Jesus is not saying that he is willing to be the doctor for the sick, only if they recognize that they are sick. (Interpretation Bible Commentary, p.101) Instead, Jesus is the physician for the sick. Jesus does not discriminate, he knows that people are sick and in need of his mercy and grace that only he can give. He is there waiting with open arms for people to recognize their need for him.
It is interesting that the word “sinners” is in quotation marks. I wonder what that means? Does it mean that the writer is an uncomfortable about using that word as I am? Or is it highlighted because it is a generic word that applies to all of us? I think it is a hard word for me to use because it calls for judgement. Calling someone a sinner brings us face to face with our own mistakes that we have made. But we are different. We are here knowing that our sin does not have to weigh us down and consume us. You need to know that the mistakes that you make, can be wiped clean. We are both saints and sinners.
Jesus goes on to say that he has not come to call the righteous but the sinners. Thanks once again for showing up because that means all of us. Myself included. His call is for all of us. Before you start looking around and thinking, oh that is really good that that person is here listening, they really need to hear this sermon and straighten out their ways, the message is for you too. Each person has their own personal struggles that plague them, for some it is open and laid out for everyone to see by the choices that they make and for others it is an inner hidden battle.
I often have youth come and ask me questions about what constitutes a sin. Is having sex before marriage a sin? What about drinking? What about pornography or doing drugs? What about wanting what my neighbour has? Movies, TV and what is happening in our schools has greyed the lines of anything being absolute. One youth asked me a few years ago what I would do if she got pregnant. I told her I would still love her and I would come and visit her. In the past, the girl would have been hauled up in front of the church and told to confess her sin. So because we don’t do this anymore, does that mean we have become too lenient on people or is about grace? “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.
The reality is that we are all sinners. We all have fallen short of the calling that is given to us by God. We will make mistakes. (Story – We leak – p. 96 in Let Me Tell You A Story)
In spring, I was outside chatting with some of my neighbours and we decided that we should have a block BBQ. I agreed to host it in my backyard, others agreed to bring over their BBQ’s since I only have a fire pit, one person made up the invitations and another person took the RSVP’s. We had the BBQ last week and it was a huge success. Not everyone was able to make it but those that were there were so happy to meet their neighbours. Once we were finished eating, I invited everyone to introduce themselves a bit more and to share one thing that they had done that was meaningful in their lives. I was amazed at the stories that were shared and the enriched lives that the people around me had led. One person called and thanked me for hosting and for leading the sharing time. I had the sense that the space that was created that evening was a new experience for some people. I realized what a blessing that I have in this church. The youth and I share together each week and we pray together. We challenge each other to reflect at the end of the day to think about where we encountered God that day. I realized that I take it for granted the safe and sacred space that we create here. Many people in the secular world don’t have these kind of encounters and don’t realize that it is God that they are missing. As we hear about illness and death of loved ones, it causes us to draw even closer together and to cry and laugh together as we journey together. We know that we are not without suffering and we need to be open with each other in our hurts to have the strength to weather the storms. And there will be times when we will leak and need to be reenergized. I realized from my neighbours that it is really easy to feel isolated. People are longing and thirsting for human contact that is genuine and caring. We have that here. We have that here and so it is our job to go out and tell others how good we have it. And do you know why we have it so good? Because Jesus loves us. Simple as that. Jesus loves you Parker, you Dave, you Hanna, you and you and you. If we are rooted in Christ, we can share with others this love because it is ours to give away. We can’t keep love to ourselves.
The Romans passage is about the promise that God gave to Abraham. “The
promise comes by faith so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed….” The
passage goes on to say that God has the power to do what he promised. Prayer
should not be taken lightly. Abraham prayed for offspring and was given children
in such a way that gave glory to God. God’s timing requires patience on our
part. I have often wondered why I am still single and have not had the same
opportunities to get married as my friends around me. It is not that I have
given up but actually quite the opposite. My faith has been strengthened through
my singleness because I firmly believe that I will be married. If my life is
guided by God, I need to be patient and do what I am called to do at this
moment. And this moment is to be here, on the pastoral team of this church and
to have your sacred trust to lead the youth. I don’t take that lightly. It all
started when I was doing a prayer walk at youth pastors seminar. At the end of
the prayer walk, I was at the center, crying in my frustration with all the
things that were weighing heavy on me and I heard God say – Follow me. Don’t
worry about all that other stuff. All you need to do is follow me. Sounds so
simple but we complicate it with some many other things as our lives become a
frenzied pace. But here you are this morning. Sinners and saints together. Some
of you may be seeking for something more in your life. Well you have come to the
right place. Some of you may be feeling empty and drained, you have also come to
the right place. Some of you would rather have stayed in bed this morning but
you know what, this is where you need to be right here. Following God. God’s
invitation is for all of us to put our hands in the middle as they do for a team
cheer and to say, we are in this together. We will build each other up, carry
each other when we stumble, and see that all hands are needed. No one is to be
left out. We need the children in the back row, the rowdy youth writing notes to
each other in the front row, young adults that are facing so many decisions in
their lives, our elders that have seen so many transitions in their lives and
those in the middle that are not sure which direction that they should be going.
We are called to make a difference in the lives of people around us. Tony
Campolo has many stories where he has been called to help people feel special.
This one took place when he was doing missionary work in Haiti.
(Party in Room
210, p. 47 in Let me Tell You a Story)
This is where Jesus would have been hanging out.