Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the First Sunday after Trinity. Our Church Services today are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find today's Gospel reading, a reflection and prayers below.
Our first hymn this morning is "The Peruvian Gloria"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26The Calling of Matthew
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.”
While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district.
Reflection
The gospel passages contain a calling of one of Jesus’s disciples and two miracles of healing. For today, I will reflect on the calling of Matthew. Perhaps that’s fair, since after all it is Matthew who wrote this Gospel. Interestingly if you look at the accounts of Matthew’s calling in Mark and Luke, both refer to him as Levi, son of Alphaeus. However, from the accounts of Mark and Luke, it is pretty obvious that this is one and the same person and we know of many other instances that encounters with God or Jesus are often followed by a change of name, such as Abraham, Sarah and of course Simon, who was renamed Peter.
The calling of Matthew occurs shortly after Jesus has called His first disciples, the fishermen Simon, Andrew, James and John. But the calling of Matthew is distinctively different. Matthew was a tax collector.
In our times, a tax collector is often the butt of humour, but in reality it is a an honourable profession. If you are a law abiding citizen paying your taxes, there is no logic in spurning people who work for the Inland Revenue. So perhaps the derision associated with tax collectors is inherited from times past. Certainly in the times of Jesus the situation was very different.
As a tax collector, Matthew would have been despised. They were considered amongst the lowest people in society. To start with they worked for the Romans who were an occupying and oppressive force in the region, and anyone associating with the Romans would have been scorned. In addition, many of the tax collectors were often corrupt, they stole from the Israelites who they collected taxes from and also the Romans.
In short, they were considered to be unpatriotic, dishonest sinners.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, considered themselves to be a cut above the rest of society. Many were self-righteous, religious zealots who often used the scriptures and ancient laws for their own advantage. They interpreted the laws of the Old Testament and often made new laws to suit their own purposes. It would not be unreasonable to assert that many of the Pharisees considered themselves, ‘holier than thou’ and as such would never associate with or go anywhere near sinners for fear of contamination. Imagine their horror when they saw Jesus, a respected teacher, eating and mixing with not only sinners but also tax collectors.
Jesus’ response was, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.
Take a few minutes to think about what must have been going through Matthew’s mind when Jesus called him and said, “Come follow me”.
Here is someone who is considered a pariah of society being called to follow a well respected rabbi, who had a considerable and growing reputation amongst the Jews. How must Matthew have felt at that moment? How absolutely powerful must that call have seemed to him as Jesus not only acknowledges him but also asks him to be one of his followers? Can you begin to imagine the wonderful experience that Matthew was going though? It must have been overwhelming. How merciful is that?
Next we hear that Jesus is eating and drinking with Matthew and also surrounded by other tax collectors and sinners. I am inclined to believe that Matthew was so overjoyed and proud to be called by Jesus, that he threw a party and invited his friends around to share in the experience and the mercy he had received.
We come back to Jesus’s words, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. The Pharisees were so focussed on the old teachings and rituals dating back to Moses, that they failed to see the obvious. They put rituals such as sacrificing animals and making burnt offerings to please God above the need to love one another.
The Old Testament reading for today (Hosea 6:6), says; For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Jesus is bluntly telling the Pharisees to ‘Go and learn what this means’.
He is telling them that love is paramount above all other things. We need to appreciate and respect everyone, no matter what walk of life we come from and no matter what we have done wrong in the past. We are to first of all show mercy and compassion, because that is what Jesus desires of us, just as He loves us no matter how sinful we are at times. Paul
Our Prayers
Father God, your son Jesus,
taught us to show mercy.
We pray that you will forgive us,
for the times when we have sinned.
Give us the strength and compassion,
to love our neighbours,
including those who are despised by others,
or who have done wrong
and to forgive them too.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Come, Thou Almighty King"
Notices
We're really busy right now, planning for the 175th Anniversary of St Thomas' Church. There is a full programme of events taking place throughout the weekend from Friday 30th June to Sunday 2nd July.
