An Inconvenient Gospel

And so we begin the Season after Pentecost by returning to the story of the call of the disciple Matthew. But our gospel and other texts (Proper 5 [10], Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Romans 4:13-25: and Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26) speaks to an already radical and rather inconvenient gospel message – that the life giving truth is being shared with those who are dubious, that Jesus enjoys the company of those on the edge of proper society, and that membership is simply to know and admit that we are in need of healing and to join in what Jesus is doing. 

Sentence:

‘ … “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  But when Jesus heard this, he said: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Matthew 9:11-12

Collect:

Gracious God,

Our Creator and Restorer,

Grant us an appetite for your Son’s company and the meal that heals,

And set us free to sing and dance, laugh and serve, hope and welcome,

Until we are One in your name. Amen.

Reflection:

At the beginning of this season after Pentecost it is good to return to this foundational story of the call of the disciple Matthew. We find ourselves between the stories of the provocative tendency of Jesus to enjoy the company of those on the edge of acceptable society and his readiness to heal those who were in desperate situations. From the beginning, we seem to be told, Jesus was welcoming and liable to shake up our assumptions about who and what are priorities!

So, given this humble and edgy mission statement why has the church spent so much of our history presuming to declare who is in and who is out as though our Saviour and Founder had never said that he was for those who needed a physician (and did not identify as righteous)?

Maybe in part because we still struggle with Paul’s assertion that we are saved by faith and not by righteousness. While many of us have confessed that we are in need of grace because we are not righteous, it seems that once we are convinced of our inclusion in the community of grace, part of us rushes to a position of finding ways to seek being worthy (if only because we try so hard)! And this infers that others are not worthy of belonging because they don’t try hard enough, or believe the right things, or love the right people, or prefer the same spiritual practices.

You may like to read what I have written about St Paul and the letter to the Romans.

Paul's letter to the Romans

Many of us, including myself at times, find our founder, our teacher, our saviour, inconvenient and troubling. It is one thing that Jesus should look for the lost among the least but surely once healed we are all meant to be nice, middle class and compliant? Why does Jesus seem to so enjoy the company of sinners, and choose those among the ordinary to be the bearers of his gospel? It is not the religiously successful who are called to be disciples! And often the healed and preached to are encouraged to return to their village and everyday lives and live out the gospel where they are.

The good news, as we are being reintroduced to in the gospel of Matthew, is not a path that leads people out of ordinary life into an exclusive and holy enclave – a gated community for the now safe – rather than the healing of our eyesight so that we can see our way to the holy where ever we are!

However, that does not mean we do not need to respond to the gospel! Abraham is called to leave behind his own country and kindred to find the promised land; Matthew is called to follow the itinerant preacher Jesus physically as well as spiritually; the woman who had suffered for many years from a flow of blood needed to reach out and touch Jesus; and the girl who is raised from apparent death needs to follow the instruction to get up.

It would seem to be, as so often, not one thing or the other but both! We are called into healing and restoration, promise and purpose, life abundant and of service, both right where we are and this may take us to who knows where. The good news meets us where we are and will lead us toward healing, deeper into our own life. And life lived according to the gospel will be beyond our personal control as we follow rather than command. And maybe we in the church need to also hand over our sense of control of who is in and who is out. These are not easy challenges which is I suspect why we come back to stories of being called season after season and still find something new to encourage and convict.

Even so, come Lord Jesus Christ, come lead us out of the predictable and into the life giving gospel for all.

Intercessions:

Gracious God, Creator and Restorer of all you have made

Heal our hearts and minds, our bodies and our communities that we may celebrate your gifts and honour all your creatures and peoples.

We particularly pray for those most in need of healing – of creatures at risk of extinction, of those injured and heartbroken by war, famine, displacement …

We pray that all peacemakers be strengthened and protected and all agencies of care and restoration be empowered in their holy work.

Creator and Restorer of all,

Hear our prayer.

Jesus, in whom we are reconciled and healed,

Hold us and all your broken ones in your healing embrace.

We particularly pray for those who are struggling in body, mind or spirit and all those who care and support … we pray for our health workers, and all who serve in the name of the church

Jesus, Reconciler and Healer,

Hear our prayer.

Spirit that sustains and inspires,

When we are weary or prescriptive tantalise us with hope and imagination

Until we dream as you dream of the world as it can be.

We particularly pray for those who lead, may you inflame us with desire for mercy and compassion.

Spirit that sustains and inspires,

Hear our prayer.

Living God,

Creator, Reconciler and Sustainer,

Call us into life, heal us, and set us free to love and be loved. Amen.

This is my work informed by all that I have heard, read and experienced. I am indebted to the wisdom of others.