What soil is your heart?

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you have ears, hear!”

Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:

‘You will indeed listen but never understand, and you will indeed look but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing and they have shut their eyes, so that they might not look with their eyes, and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.’

“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

“Hear, then, the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Matthew 13: 1-23

Jesus attracted huge crowds, especially when He went about outside. Some were believers and followers. Some were curious. Some had heard about Him and wanted to see for themselves. Some were there to report to the Pharisees what He was doing and saying. The multitudes had many, many motivations for being there and we need not dwell on their reasons because the important thing was that they were there in great numbers, waiting to hear His words.

So Jesus got into a boat and sat. Jesus often did this and it was a practical act for several reasons: – with such a large number in the crowd all jostling to be close to Him, it gave Him space to teach, a place where the crowd could all see and hear Him and He could see and hear them. Jesus didn’t just send out His disciples to proclaim The Word – He did it Himself and so to reach the people the outside was a perfect place. He still entered and taught in the synagogue. This was not “an instead of” but an “as well as”. Preaching both inside and out.

In a complete opposite to us today, we are told that Jesus the Teacher sat whilst the crowds stood. This was their custom that a teacher sat in order to signal the start of the teaching and the audience would remain standing as a mark of respect. Similar to standing when a judge enters or leaves a courtroom. It gave a clear signal that He was ready to start. Spurgeon, a Bible commentator, claims that there would be less sleeping in congregations if we (still) used this arrangement.

Jesus often taught in parables and He does so again here. These are often described as “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning”. The idea being that it is a story alongside the truth used with the intention to teach. This method of teaching has several advantages. It makes it easy for the crowd to remember as we are good at remembering stories. It makes them think about and study the meaning of what they have heard. In general, parables mainly teach one main point or principle and use scenarios that the people are familiar with.

Today’s parable is about a sower who scattered seed onto the ground. In those days the seed would be scattered first and then the land would be plowed.

As the sower scattered the seed it fell on four different types of ground:

The Wayside
Stony Places
Among Thorns
Good Ground

The wayside is the path the people walked on where nothing could grow because the ground was too hard.

The stony places were places where the soil was thin and lay upon a rocky shelf. Here the soil was warm so the seed would spring up quickly but because of the rock it was unable to plant roots and quickly died.

Among the thorns was fertile soil but so fertile that thorns grew there as well. The thorns grew faster than the grain and choked it out before the harvest.

Good ground was just that. Soil that was fertile and weed free enabling a good productive crop to grow.

Jesus told the parable to the crowd with the instruction “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. Jesus was not telling an unresponsive crowd to pay attention. This was a call for those who were spiritually sensitive to pay special attention; which makes more sense when put into context with the next few verses within which Jesus explains why He teaches with parables. And Jesus explains this because the disciples ask Jesus why He spoke to the crowd in parables.

Jesus taught the disciples in a different way to the way He taught the multitudes. Jesus would spend time alone with His disciples explaining the parables, revealing deeper meanings, providing personal guidance, practical lessons and clear instructions. He corrected their misconceptions, challenged them and prepared them.

Jesus explained that He used parables so that the hearts of those rejecting Him would not be hardened further.

Just like an oven can both set or harden clay yet melt plastic, so can the message of Jesus’s teachings both humble an honest heart leading to repentance yet harden the dishonest heart leading to disobedience.

Teaching with parables puts the responsibility on the individual to see the truth revealed within it or to block it out if they do not wish to see it. It challenges the hearers of The Word.

In life you gain more or lose more. Weakness, like strength, is an increasing thing.

Those who have open hearts and minds and who are more sensitive to spiritual truth will gain more but those who don’t … won’t.

By teaching the crowd through these parables, those spiritually sensitive could understand but those who rejected Jesus’s teaching would just hear a story without receiving additional condemnation for rejecting The Word – another example of God’s mercy. Consequently, those who understand Jesus’s parables are genuinely blessed.

Jesus then explains that the parable with the different types of soil represents the condition of our hearts and our response to The Word of the Kingdom. The seed is The Word.

The Word of God must be understood before it can bear fruit. The wayside soil represents those whose hearts are hardened and who do not understand The Word they hear. The Word has no effect because it never penetrates and is quickly snatched away by Satan; whose aim is to keep as many as possible in darkness regarding their understanding of the Gospel.

The stony places represent those who initially receive The Word enthusiastically but this enthusiasm and acceptance of The Word quickly dies because they are not willing to endure trials or tribulation because of The Word. This is not because the growth or conversion was sudden but because of their lack of depth.

The soil where the seed falls among thorns represents fertile ground for the seed but this soil is too fertile because it grows many other things that choke out The Word. These thorns choking The Word are the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. Like Esau, who thought little of the spiritual birthright, placing little value on spiritual things and instead valuing the material. Despite this spiritual birthright being full of treasure:

Every spiritual blessing
Being chosen by Jesus
Adoption into God’s family
Complete acceptance by God through Jesus
Redemption from our slavery to sin
The revelation and knowledge of the mystery of God’s will
True and total forgiveness
The riches of God’s grace
An eternal inheritance
The guarantee of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Finally, there is the good soil representing those who receive The Word and where it flourishes and bears much fruit.

At different times we can see bits of ourselves in all these soils. There are those times when we are the wayside declaring there is no room. There are times when we will have a flash of enthusiasm upon hearing The Word that quickly dissipates. There are times when the cares, toils and materialism of this world threaten to choke God’s Word and our fruitfulness. And then there are the times we must strive for when we are that good soil, nourishing The Word and bearing much fruit.

It is the same seed – the same Word – and the same sower who casts the seed. The only difference is the soil – the condition of our hearts and how we receive The Word.

For disciples, this parable also offers encouragement. Even if it seems like only a few respond, God is in control and the harvest will be plentiful.

The Sower scattering the seed. (Photo by George Vespakias Vlachopoulos on Pexels.com)

The Yoke of Life

‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.” For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’

At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
Matthew 11.16-19, 25-end

Matthew 11:16-30 is split into three parts:

Part 1 – verses 16 to 19
Part 2 – verses 20-24
Part 3 – verses 25-30

Our reading today misses out part 2; this is, of course, widely available in any good Bible. This whole section of teaching from Jesus starts off (at the beginning of Matthew 11) after the sending out of the disciples, which we have looked at over the past two weeks.

So, Jesus’s disciples have set off to proclaim and live the Gospel and Jesus gave them space to do this by going to other towns to teach when He is asked a question by the disciples of John the Baptist, who is now in prison. Jesus tells them to report back that the prophecy regarding the Messiah is being fulfilled. Jesus then speaks about John, likening him to Elijah and bringing us to part 1 of today’s Gospel.

Jesus rebukes, or if you prefer, sternly tells off, those who are displeased with or who do not accept the ministry of John the Baptist and Himself.

He points out how picky, choosy and uncertain His current generation were about receiving God’s message and His messengers … I imagine this would be much the same if He were instead addressing today’s generation.

He points out that those who want to criticise will do so no matter what; whether it was John the Baptist teaching them, Jesus Himself, or someone completely different – if they want to find fault they will and likewise if they want to refuse to listen to God’s voice both when it comes through in a serious way or a joyful way they will. Basically, if what is being said does not suit them and is not what they want to hear they will reject it.

Jesus then quotes some of the criticisms and insults that had been made about Him and in doing so turns them on their head. What started as a jibe and a condemnation becomes a title of honour and we praise our Lord, thanking Him for being our friend – a friend of sinners.

Jesus then highlights that those who are wise are proved so by their actions. These are those who accept both Jesus and John for who they were and who they were called to be.

Like Moses leading thousands of people out of Egypt towards God and preparing them for the promised land, John led thousands of people to repentance, preparing the way for the Messiah.

Like Moses taught the people to discern God’s will for their lives and to obey His commands, Jesus taught, worked, loved, and rose again to show us the way back to the Father.

Which brings us to the missing part 2. Here Jesus has stern rebuke for the cities which had witnessed both John’s ministry and mighty works and despite these still are unrepentant and disregarded Him. Neglect is just as bad as persecution.

And so we reach part 3, where Jesus praises those who do receive His message.

As Jesus communicates here with His Father there is a strong sense of joy. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit communicate and commune with each other with joy. Not happiness, which is nothing like joy and which is fleeting but true joy. Joy is a far deeper and enduring state of being centered around connection, meaning and purpose, and which can be maintained even during difficult times.

Jesus responds positively to God choosing those that the world would deem unlikely to respond to His message, but don’t forget the wider context of the rising rejection of Jesus and His messengers, especially by the elite.

This section of the passage shows us more about the relationship between God the Father and God the Son, between whom there are no secrets. No one knows the Son as well as the Father and no one knows the Father as well as the Son. There is a difference in the way the Son knows the Father to the way we know Him.

God the Son and God the Father are equal whereas we know God because He lowers Himself so that we might know Him.

Jesus has authority and this is shown as He calls us to Him with the words “Come unto me”. This invitation is open to all. None are excluded. Jesus calls those who are burdened and those who recognise that they need to come to Jesus and rely on Him instead of attempting to struggle on by themselves. By burdened Jesus refers to the burdens that we take on ourselves whereas by heavy laden He is referring to those that others have put upon us.

Jesus extends the invitation further saying take my yoke upon you and learn from me. We must come as disciples to learn, willing to be guided by Jesus and not merely for what we can get out of it.

The Israelites and ancient Jews used the idea of a yoke to mean someone’s obligation to God. They had:

the yoke of the kingdom
the yoke of the law
the yoke of the command
the yoke of repentance
the yoke of faith
and the general yoke of God.

Jesus is simplifying this. He is saying stop over – complicating it with all these yokes. The yoke you need to take is my yoke. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

Let’s take a closer look at the yoke of Jesus:

It is easy and light … unless we turn away from it.
It is not connected with worries or concerns forbidden to us.
It doesn’t include any of the burdens we choose to add ourselves.

Jesus invites us to let go of the extra burdens we like to hold on to. We don’t like to let go of things but these burdens are not part of the yoke of Jesus and are just weights we refuse to release.

Jesus is gentle and lowly of heart. Throughout His ministry He shows His servant heart and His qualification to bear our burdens for us.

Jesus promises that if we take on His yoke we will find rest for our souls. God previously offered this promise to those who follow Him. “Thus says the Lord: ‘stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; walk in it and you will find rest for your souls’…” (Jeremiah 6:16). And Jesus now repeats this promise in His own name.

With Jesus bearing it with us the yoke is easy and the burden is light. Alone it could be unbearable, but we are not alone. It does not mean we will have an easy life lounging in front of a pool sipping a refreshing beverage. It does not mean that there are lighter demands. It does mean entering into and being in a discipleship.

If your yoke is uncomfortable, if your burden is heavy, then it is not Jesus’s yoke or burden and you have not let Him bear it. Instead you are holding onto it like grim death. Like A Christmas Carol’s Scrooge and Marley choking under the weight of the chains they forged in life.

Give it to Jesus, let Him bear it. Take on His yoke. Ultimately, it’s up to you, that’s what free will is. Do you want to be Scrooge before his conversion – weighted down by the chains of his own making, or after his conversion – a new human in Christ? For as Jesus says ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light’.

My yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Photo by Suat Tu00fcfenk on Pexels.com)

You’re Welcome!

‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
Matthew 10:40ff

These verses from the Gospel of Matthew continue the preparation Jesus is giving the disciples for their mission.

Jesus is explaining that to receive a messenger of Christ is spiritually identical to receiving Christ Himself and, by extension, God the Father. The disciples are to act as envoys or ambassadors of Jesus, extending His ministry and performing the same works that He is doing. The disciples are to share in Jesus’s poverty and homelessness, “taking with them no money or extra clothing and depending solely on others for hospitality and sustenance”.

In the verses prior to this passage we learnt that the disciples should expect to experience, at some point, the same hostility Jesus often did and that they must be willing to put Jesus’s mission ahead of family and other loyalties. But we also learnt that this comes with a promise from Jesus that whoever loses their life for His sake will find it.

These instructions, commission and promise were not uniquely for those first disciples but also for us today.

The Old Testament promises prophets a great reward in heaven and that the righteous will shine like the sun in the Father’s kingdom. ‘Little ones’ is being used here to refer to Jesus’s disciples and links with the parable of judgement – “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink”; “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” It is also interpreted as children both literally as little children and also to us as children of God. The reward put aside for the little ones is more like an inheritance in that it is not earned but a pure gift. Those that welcome and care for the needs of the least, welcome and care for Jesus and become heirs to all that the Father has to give.

Just as Jesus was sent by God the Father to carry His authority and message, the disciples (and us) are sent by Jesus. By welcoming and listening to the ‘sent disciple’, people are actually receiving Christ.

Being sent means acting as a direct representative. Think about a Foreign Embassy in, say, London. Within the boundaries of that Embassy in London is the country the Embassy belongs to. Let’s take the Embassy of Finland as an example. Within the walls and boundaries of the Embassy of Finland is actually Finland. So a little bit of Finland resides in London, England. If we welcome the representatives of that Embassy, who are direct representatives of Finland we welcome all of Finland. Whereas, if we reject those representatives we are rejecting all of Finland.

We are in Christ and He is in us. We are ambassadors or representatives of Christ. If people reject us they are rejecting Christ. And that response displays how those people receive God. It doesn’t say anything about us but about them and that response forecasts how they will be received by God.

God loves us. We are His children and He protects us. He is sending us out to witness to our brothers and sisters and bring them back into our family.

We are sent by God. Jesus sends His disciples out to proclaim and live the word. The church is a sent church. This mission – sending – by Jesus not only is the church but is everything the church is, does and is supposed to be/do.

The church is not supposed to be confined to a building for an hour on a Sunday morning. It is not supposed to be confined to a specific service, whether that be Holy Communion, Praise and Worship or something else.

It is supposed to go out into communities, into the world, relying on and trusting God one hundred percent; living and proclaiming the word.

To be followers of Christ means being sent. So, what does being sent mean?

Being a sent church means no longer waiting for people to walk through its doors. Instead, it functions as a missionary community that scatters into the world, bearing the very presence and authority of Jesus to the neighbourhoods, the workplaces, the schools, homes and cultures it enters.

When you step into your community to serve, speak grace, or build relationships, the people you encounter are effectively encountering Jesus Himself.

We are not all sent to be wandering missionaries, reliant on others for food and shelter but that does not make us exempt from fulfilling The Call. Jesus promises that even providing a small act of care, as simple as providing a cup of cold water, done in His name carries profound spiritual weight.

The entire baptised people are sent into the world to tell and embody the good news of Jesus Christ to others with humility and vulnerability and prepared for rejection.

What if we stop expecting people to come on their own initiative through those aforementioned church doors?

What if we truly took our calling seriously and took the Gospel to them?

What if we truly believed that we take the presence of Christ to every person we encounter, to every home, workplace, neighbourhood that we enter?

What if we saw every conversation as an opportunity to speak words of grace?

What if every interaction was an opportunity to embody Christ’s love for our neighbours?

We may not always receive a positive response when we take the risk of reaching out but you may be surprised at how many are ready to receive and just need us to reach out; no matter how humble our efforts.

The wages of sin are death but, just as whoever loses their life for Jesus finds it, whoever welcomes you welcomes Christ.

Commit and Live

“A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known.
What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. “Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:24-39

The very first event recognizing fathers occurred on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia. Grace Golden Clayton organized a church service to honour 362 men who had died in the Monongah mining disaster a few months prior. Subsequently, after much lobbying, Father’s Day was created by Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, in 1910 to recognise her single Civil War veteran father who raised and cared for her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth.

On Father’s Day, we pause to honour the physical and spiritual fathers we have in our lives, which includes those who have to be both mother and father, and all that they have done. From Psalm 103 verse 13, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him”.

There are many aspects to the perceived role of fatherhood and there are different people who may fulfil this role for us. For some it is their Dad, for some their Mum, for some a Grandparent, for some a carer or a foster parent and for some a trusted mentor or friend. All these people are loved by those they love and care for and we thank God, our Almighty Father, for these people, for all they do and for the way they touch our lives.

Fear causes failure. Fear causes failure in discipleship.

Sometimes one of the harder jobs of a parental type role is having to tell us things that are tough to prepare us for what lies ahead.
Jesus is preparing His disciples for their mission and does not hide from them the threats they will come up against but He also explains why they must not let this fear control or hinder them.

The disciples are to undertake their mission in complete vulnerability and dependence on God; even though they will face arrests, beatings, opposition (including from family and friends), hatred and persecution.

Why tell the disciples the trials they will suffer? Wouldn’t this put them off the task assigned to them?

By warning them in advance, not only do the disciples have the opportunity to be prepared, but also saying aloud the suffering and trials to be faced is the first step to being freed from the grip of fear.

Jesus doesn’t just tell the disciples the worst case scenarios, He also gives reassurance and instructions to resist fear. The most important part of this reassurance is the relationship between the disciples and Jesus, and through Him God.

Jesus warns His disciples that the fate of the Master or Teacher also awaits their disciples and so the disciples should be ready to receive a similar response from the leaders of Israel that Jesus Himself receives and to have no fear of them.

Proclaiming and living the Gospel is the most powerful tool the disciples have against world powers.

Death threats can be a powerful way of controlling people through fear. Whilst humans try to use this power, Jesus reassures the disciples that humans only have power to destroy the body, not the whole person. Only God can destroy both soul and body. However, God is not like human rulers. God has ultimate power over our whole being and exercises this power with mercy and love.

The call to discipleship has priority and is above all other claims on identity, allegiance, family and friends.

To take up our cross aligns the discipleship mission and fate with that of Jesus which can include humiliation, suffering, shame, opposition and death. It implies identification with marginal people who do not “find their lives in this world”. But it comes with the promise from Jesus that anyone who loses their life for Him will “find it” whereas those “finding their life in the world” will lose it.

Jesus shows us that the answer to fear includes recognising and naming it. Fear of the unknown or unacknowledged is a far greater fear than the fear of the known and spoken.

We need to be honest and transparent in recognising the elements of human power including those rooted in the threat of death and suffering. We need to be aware of the conflict and division that proclaiming and living the Gospel inevitably produces. We need deep awareness and conviction of God’s presence in the world in love, mercy and compassion.

Today’s society is guilty of having a lack of commitment and has left its cross on the side of the road.

Every organisation that relies on regular and committed volunteers – churches, Girl Guiding, Scouts to name just a couple – all are having trouble finding people to take on running these groups, to take on responsibility for the different elements that need doing, to run and to support events. People don’t mind making use of these various groups when it suits them but they will not commit to regular attendance, regular giving or taking on responsibility.

There are all kinds of reasons used and excuses given to explain this such as working hours or childcare but, whilst that does affect some, it most certainly does not affect everyone. What about the childless? The unemployed? The retired? Those with compatible working hours or who work part time? Those who do have the talents and time to take an active part but who won’t? And so forth.

People today would rather keep their interpretation of freedom, stay at home watching the television or surf the internet. People think less about being or don’t want to be part of something whether that be a cause, a group or community of believers (in anything) and think more about individual pleasure and activities. And we are all guilty.

Today, people are told to just do what they can and this encourages people to not put the effort in.

Jesus does not say that to us. He did not say it to the disciples. Instead He told a group of scared men that it required commitment and was going to be very tough. He told them this in no uncertain terms.

Did they decline – No
Did they give up – No
Did they say actually Jesus I don’t really feel like doing that today – No

What they did do was to rise to the challenge in total commitment to Jesus.

People, regardless of age, will be what society expects them to be. If a child is told they can’t do something then they start to believe they can’t do it and won’t even try. If you tell a child they can’t behave they won’t even try and the more they don’t – whether that is leaving rubbish on the floor, not putting things away, being rude causing damage, shooting catapults or any action that the adult considers misbehaviour. If they are constantly told they can’t behave they don’t.

Likewise, the more people are told not to overdo it or to be careful because they are frail or that they don’t need to then the less they do and the more fearful and frail they become.

We must train ourselves to take a risk and be willing to commit and do.

Jesus told His disciples not to be afraid, that they would be guided and protected, that they were precious to God and that even if their bodies or feelings got hurt no harm would come to their souls.

God’s love and protection surrounds and insulates us from the worst human powers and earthly life can throw at us. We might suffer as all typical humans suffer but we are precious to God, He holds us in His hand and keeps our souls safe. We can and will endure.

In a society that encourages lazy, self indulgent life on the sidelines it can be difficult to be as committed and courageous as those first Christians.

We must not be complacent. As the world is, it is easy to become. We must be on our guard always to ensure that the world does not drain us of our commitment to others and to God. We must resist the temptation to be lazy and uninvolved.

Like those first disciples, as Jesus’s followers we are all involved with each other, with God’s will for the world, with His command to spread the word, and to bring in the kingdom; and we must not let the siren call of selfishness and lack of commitment prevent that purpose.

Calling and Love

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot and all the possessions that they had gathered and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran, and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.
Genesis 12: 1-9

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, 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 Jesus 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 not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader 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 a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she was saying 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 the woman was made well from that moment. 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 through all of that district.
Gospel of Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Have you noticed how it is always busy people that Jesus calls?

When He calls us to do something, He calls us away from something else. He calls ordinary people out of the ordinariness of their lives. They are not being called because they have nothing to do and are just sitting there twiddling their thumbs. Jesus doesn’t call people who do nothing.

Every one of the disciples Jesus called were busy people and were in the middle of their normal work at the time they were called. Peter and Andrew were fishing. James and John were mending their nets. Levi (who becomes Matthew), as we read in the first part of the Gospel passage, was in the middle of his work collecting taxes.

It is not that they don’t have anything else to do. It is that the most important thing to do is to hear and obey the Saviour’s call. Jesus, our Saviour, says “Drop what you are doing and follow me”. And the correct and best response is, of course, to get up and follow Him.

Matthew did not choose Jesus. Matthew was rather busy collecting taxes and was not contemplating following anyone.

Jesus chose Matthew. Not only did He choose Matthew but He did not grant the option of thinking it over. Jesus chose Matthew and told him to follow then and there. And Matthew got up and followed Him. Jesus calls us to do the same. No thinking time. No preparation time. No advance training – the only available training is on the job as we go! Just drop everything and follow Him.

When Jesus called Matthew, Matthew got up and left his desk. He left behind the symbol of his profession and the root of his sinfulness. We are never called to something without being called away from something else. We cannot come into full discipleship if we are unable to let go of what Jesus is calling us to leave behind.

In the passage from Genesis 12 Abram is called by God to leave his country, his kin, his father’s house and travel to an unknown land that God would show him. He was called to leave his past behind and to put his trust fully in God for the future. You cannot get to what God has for you without letting go of where you are and what is holding you back and following Him. It is not what Jesus sees in us that makes us worthy of following Him, but what He puts in us when we obey His command.

Jesus also said “I desire mercy not sacrifice. Go and find out what this means”.

Hosea 6:6 says “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice.”

The Hebrew word used is “hesed”. I desire hesed not sacrifice. Hesed is translated as steadfast love, mercy, goodness, kindness, compassion and loyalty. Jesus, God, desires all these things from us; not just sacrifice. And here, the meaning of sacrifice is tithing. Gifts given to God and used to support the priests leading worship. Tithing is important to God. I remember reading about a church in Africa where, as the choir sang, the people brought their offerings to God; mostly grain and produce. The people did this with great joy and enthusiasm, giving to God a portion of whatever they had. Tithes and offerings are important to our worship and important to God. But, they are not more important than our steadfast love and mercy.

What do we tithe? What do we give to God? Is it our time? Our talents? A portion of our income or possessions? Volunteering to help our community? All of these are a form of tithe and sacrifice, but, whilst they are important to God, they are not as important as our steadfast love and mercy.

Let us imagine that you help out at the food bank on a Monday morning, preparing and handing out food parcels to the hungry. This is a tithe and a sacrifice. But, whilst you are doing this work, are you gossiping with the other volunteers? Are you speculating about our new Priest in Charge to be? Making assumptions about what he is like without having met him and without waiting to find out? Are you googling him, claiming to know all about him, his experience and his qualifications, even though you haven’t actually read his C.V? Are you judging and claiming you know precisely what he will do before he has even got here? Are you gossiping about other people you know? About those you are serving?

If so, where is the love, the mercy and the kindness? It is noticeably absent from this scenario and, sadly, it is exactly what occurred on Monday and so we pray for them.

God wants us to sacrifice our time, our talents, a portion of our treasures or income, but not at the sacrifice of our steadfast love and mercy.

Our time, talents and money are no substitute for our steadfast love towards God and our neighbours or for our kindness and mercy.

God shows us, and it is detailed over and over again in scripture, the kind of steadfast love and mercy that is important to Him. He is not asking anything of us that He has not already given us.

There is a story about Gandhi. A mother asked him to talk to her son about giving up sweets. He agreed but weeks went by. The mother asked him why he had not yet spoken to her son. Gandhi replied that he still intended to speak with her son but that he was finding it harder to give up sweets than he had expected. The mother realised that Gandhi could not and would not ask someone else to do something he was not already doing and so the conversation with her son could not take place until Gandhi himself had managed to give up sweets.

Like this story about Gandhi, God only asks of us what He has already given us. God gives us and shows us that His steadfast love and mercy for us endures forever and will be with us all the days of our lives.

God demonstrated this by giving us His Son. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believeth in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life.

And Jesus demonstrated God’s steadfast love and mercy over and over again.

We not only have the example of the calling of Matthew in our readings but also the healing of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and the resurrection of the synagogue leader’s daughter.

Jesus showed the same mercy to everyone whether they believed in Him or not. His love and mercy really are unconditional and for everybody.

He called sinners, He healed the sick, He raised the dead, He spoke against injustice, He showed us how to love with a steadfast, merciful, kind, pure, good, everlasting love that knows no bounds. God loves us completely, unconditionally with an endless love that is for everyone.

Drop everything!

Let it go!

Follow Him!

Temptation in the Wilderness

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Matthew 4: 1 – 11

After Jesus’s baptism, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the Wilderness for forty days (and nights) to fast and prepare for His ministry. Here He resisted the devil and the temptations laid before Him and strengthened Himself to be ready for what lay ahead.

Forty is a number that pops up time and time again in the Bible. In the account of Noah, once he and his family are on the ark it rains for forty days and nights. Moses fasted on Mount Sinai for forty days and nights. Elijah fasted in the desert for, wait for it, forty days and nights. After leaving Egypt the Israelites wandered the wilderness for forty years.

A lot of forties and we should also recognise that we are in one ourselves as we travel the forty days of the season of Lent, participating in Jesus’s ministry and following His way toward the cross. We remember Jesus’s time in the Wilderness during this time of Lent but are we taking the opportunity of the Lenten time of preparation to patiently prepare spiritually, seek God and deepen prayer?

After identifying with sinners in His baptism, Jesus then identified with them again in severe temptation. This was a necessary part of His ministry, so He truly was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness. Jesus did not need to be tempted to help Him grow. Instead, He endured temptation both so that He could identify with us (Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15), and to demonstrate His own holy, sinless character.

Temptation is a certainty for everyone. Yet Jesus’s temptation was more severe because He was tempted directly by the devil himself, while we contend mainly with lesser demons. It was also more severe because there is a sense in which temptation is “relieved” by giving in, and Jesus never did yield. Therefore He bore levels of temptation we will never know by experience.

Jesus is tempted by food, by who to worship, and by the power of the nations. This is another way in which Jesus identified with us as all three of these were faced by the Israelites in their exile. Sometimes they were able to withstand the temptation, and sometimes they did not. Jesus, on the other hand, withstood all His temptations even though what Satan offered him is firmly within Jesus’s rights and power.

Jesus’s wilderness temptations “prove” to us what sort of God He is. The tempter starts each of his offers with the Greek word, ei, which is often translated as “if” but also translates as “since…” Satan knows Jesus is the Son of God, he knows the power and authority that belong to Jesus, he also knows that what he is tempting Jesus with are well within Jesus’s rights and capability. Satan is both tempting and taunting Jesus but Jesus refuses to fall for either, proving His humility through denying Himself for the sake of others.

So Jesus was tempted just like us but Jesus succeeded where we fail. Jesus succeeded because He knew that His life was in God’s hands. We do not live by our power of provision but by God’s help and blessings. Jesus succeeded because He knew that God was with Him and He did not need another display of power to prove it.

The cross reminds us that God is with us. We do not need to tell God how to run our lives or how to do things differently; God is with us no matter what. God is with us whether He leads us through the valley of the shadow of death or to the mountain peaks of joy. Jesus succeeded because He knew that worshiping God meant doing God’s will and not seeking His own desires. We do not live for our own desires but for God’s glory so that in the end we will be glorified by God.

We can have victory over temptation if we will look at the root of what the devil is putting in front of us. Ultimately, every temptation challenges whether or not we believe that God is with us, that God will provide for us, that God is for our good, and that God will deliver on His promises to us. Jesus had victory in the wilderness so that He could set us free from these enslaving temptations and sins. Jesus had victory so that he could stand before the Father on our behalf, interceding for us when we fail. His success is even more proof that He is the King who has come to save us from our sins.

Wilderness (Photo by Luis Quintero on Pexels.com)

Holy Innocents

The Feast of the Holy Innocents takes place on 28th December.

Doctor Who tells us that time is “wibbly wobbly timey wimey”. That is what we experience throughout the forty days of Christmastide.

Just a few days before the Remembrance of the Holy Innocents we celebrated Jesus’s birth as a teeny tiny human baby. Then at this feast day we jump forward a couple of years to after the magi’s visit and Herod is ordering the slaughter of many children in an attempt to kill Jesus. Then the following week we go back to that visit of the magi before we leap forward to Jesus being a man at His baptism and then a couple of weeks later Jesus is a teeny tiny baby again as He is presented at the Temple.

But for now, let us return to the day when we remember the Holy Innocents whose deaths Herod was responsible for.

Each year we remember that Joseph heeded the warnings and instructions he received, that he took his family to Egypt and that as a result of this the prophecy was fulfilled and Jesus was kept safe to grow into a man, fulfil His mission and be our salvation.

But we skim over the bit where many innocent children were killed by a scared but cruel man who wanted Jesus dead because he thought he would lose his power.

“A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.”

In the Holocaust, approximately 1.5 million Jewish children, and tens of thousands of non-Jewish children were murdered.

The Nazi’s targeted children as part of their ideological goal to create a “radically pure” society and eliminate future generations of “unwanted groups” including Romani, Polish and disabled children.

In the hope of killing one child, Herod had many killed.

Looking back at Moses, who came into the world to bring a kind of deliverance, a new king had risen to power in Egypt. This new king knew nothing of Joseph¹ (the Israelite who saved Egypt from the famine). He just saw how numerous the Israelite people were and, wanting to stop the numbers increasing, ordered the death of every Israelite boy born.

There is a constant battle between good and evil in the world and in our own lives.

Evil will always lash out violently towards good. Evil will use any means necessary in an attempt to retain power. There will be resistance when we do good in the world. There will be temptations as we turn away from sin. The strength of these temptations show how committed to change and how committed to doing good we are.

There is wickedness in the world. There are, very sadly, people in this world who will slaughter or arrange the slaughter of thousands and thousands of beautiful, innocent, babies and children, for their own ends, to get what they want and to keep their power.

Evil does not hold back it’s hate for the young and God does not hold back His grace from the young.

God gives us His grace freely and in abundance out of love for us. He is a generous God and there is more than enough grace to encompass everyone no matter their age. He protects us with His grace.

Our world today is, again very sadly, not that different from the world throughout history. We can still see the callousness of Herod and those like him. We still live in a world where innocents are murdered.

We can lament and cry for them. We can pray for their families and friends. But the massacres still continue. Change begins in the human heart and is expressed in what we do and think and say.

It is hard to change a world ingrained with death. But we can contribute to this change. We can demonstrate charity and patience and sanctity of life.

Christ came for our lives, to give us life abundant, sacred and unending.

Herod represents all the powers that stand against Christ; all the people that reject Christ and all the elements of ourselves that want nothing to do with Christ and prefer their independence to His will.

What are we willing to destroy because of our refusal of Christ? What aspects of our own lives and the lives of others are we ready to destroy because of our refusal of Christ?

Herod’s massacre of the innocents is a warning to us. After his death, Herod’s kingdom was divided between the sons he hated. In less than 100 years, everything Herod had built, including the monuments he had intended as structures for his glory, had been reduced to ruins.

Herod is remembered as a petty tyrant. He is not mourned.

We mourn the innocents, the children of Bethlehem, yet they are so often forgotten.

But, in heaven, “where like stars, His children crowned, all in white shall wait“.

Lit candles for prayer and remembrance. (Photo by Rodolfo Clix on Pexels.com)

Genesis ↩︎

Mary …

We tend to use a mixture of readings from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to revisit the miracle of Jesus’s birth. Here, Matthew doesn’t tell us how the Virgin Birth took place—except that it was by the Holy Spirit. Whereas, Luke gives a little more detail, the angel telling Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. The Virgin Birth is a divine miracle in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But Matthew does tell us two things about Jesus, one being what he does: “You shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins”. Many Jews were looking for a Messiah who would come in conquering power. But Matthew shows us the much deeper human need. Jesus comes to save us from our sins—our spiritual needs far outweighing other needs.

The miracle of the Virgin Birth is also a sign of the far greater miracle and mystery of God becoming flesh and taking his place amongst us as one of us – the Incarnation. God didn’t just send angels, prophets and messengers—he came! In Jesus, God has come close; has taken human nature and human life to himself joining human nature to his own divine being. This is all of the Grace of God, who is a God who stoops to take us by the hand. In this respect, Matthew quotes from the Old Testament: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him “Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”’ If the name Jesus is descriptive of what Jesus does, Immanuel is descriptive of who Jesus is—God with us.

The miracle of the Virgin Birth points towards both the humanity and the deity of Jesus. He was a human person born in the normal way. He is also the eternal God who has come to us—the God-man. Jesus didn’t begin his existence at Christmas, but as eternal God, entered into time and space at Christmas. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given… (Isaiah 9:6).
So many people are ‘in the dark’ about God and don’t see him clearly. Yet, if you want to know what God is like, you only have to look at Jesus. Jesus Christ is the “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing…” He is the revelation of the will, wisdom and person of God. His teaching is the
instruction of God. His death is the death of God-for-us. His resurrection is the victory of God! The meaning of Christmas is first and foremost a message of amazing grace, of a God who comes near.

The miracle of the Virgin Birth is a new creation, the beginning of a whole new world. What we can’t do for ourselves, God has and is doing. Into a world of brokenness and sadness God has come by means of a supernatural birth in the power of the Holy Spirit. But it doesn’t end there: the same Spirit who hovered over Mary and brought about a miracle of new life and transformation in her can also do the same in us! Regardless of who you are or what you have done you can start a whole new life as part of the new world. Jesus is the answer to our deepest needs. He is God come among us in order to save us from our sins and to rescue us from the deepest cause of our alienation and brokenness. When we start from the inside out we can have hope that the entirety of our life can experience the transformation he brings.

Mary, mother of Jesus (Photo by Juan Carlos Leva on Pexels.com)

How can I pray?

Do you think everyone else knows how to pray? You are not alone if you think this. Prayer is something we are often not taught. How often do we sit and kneel in church looking at other people and wondering what it is they are doing in their silent prayers? They always look so holy and yet here we are, trying to say something to God …

Do you feel like giving up? Don’t! Prayer is like every human skill. It is something that we need to learn how to do. We can use books, or ask a friend, or seek the guidance of a priest. But, in many ways, prayer is something that we do have to find out about for ourselves. God has made us all different, and so we will all pray differently. We will also pray differently in different situations.

What is prayer? Prayer is the way in which we keep in touch with God. Many people think that they can change God: ‘If I ask really nicely, then God will do what I want.’ For others, prayer is a form of magic: ‘If I say it in the right way then God will answer.’ Neither of these is true. Prayer is the way in which we open up to God, so that God can work in us. And God does always answer, although not always in the way that we want.

What is prayer like? If you love someone, you keep in touch. Prayer is the same. If we love God, we stay in touch. We talk to God and we listen to God. It’s a conversation!

How do we get in touch with God? To begin our conversation with God we need to get ready: to come consciously into God’s presence, to sit or kneel in a way that is comfortable and attentive. Then we need to calm down. Normally, our minds are full of distractions; thoughts just keep happening. One way of calming down is to listen to our breathing, the regular pattern of it. Another way is to repeat over and over, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ After a while we settle down, our minds are less full, and then we are ready to pray.

When we are calm, then we can start to pray. Sometimes, this just means continuing to listen, just letting the awareness of God enfold us, like loving arms – we don’t need to say anything else, the contact is enough. At other times we need to say something, This can be anything: ‘Dear Father…’ or ‘Hello God…’ If you are going to say something (whether aloud or silently), then just say what you want to say. God doesn’t stand on ceremony.

We need to take time to say what we want: ‘Thank you.’ ‘Sorry.’ ‘Guess what?’ ‘I love you.’ Take time to listen – to your breathing, to your thoughts and feelings. Be aware of yourself and don’t push it. Give God time to speak to you. Conversations take time … and patience.

Traditionally, Christians pray every morning and evening. The more we are in touch, the better it gets. The more time we take, the more rewarding it can be. As we pray regularly, the more natural prayer becomes.

‘What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit!
O what needless pain we bear!
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

The Lord’s Prayer:
Though there are many versions and interpretations of the Bible, the Lord’s Prayer remains much the same and sets a pattern for our own prayers. Speaking to our Father in Heaven should be much like speaking to someone in the room, as He is there in spirit. It should be personal, intimate and all disclosing of the thoughts in our minds and the feelings in our hearts.

From the King James Bible, Matthew 6:9-13, these are the words of the Lord’s Prayer:

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

If we break this down we can see the pattern more clearly:

After this manner therefore pray ye: This discloses that this is the pattern or way we are to pray, not by rote, by following these guidelines.

Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name: We should begin our prayer by acknowledging that God is our Father in heaven and that we honour him. This is an important step in humbling yourself before him and telling him that he is our God and we trust in his words and wisdom.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven: We let God know that we understand he is still in charge, that his kingdom will roll forth and that it is his will and not our own that we are to listen and obey. It is that same authority that was, and is, used to govern his home in heaven. At this point we should acknowledge all that he has done for us, all the bounteous blessings he has provided for our good, all the trials that he has blessed us with in order for us to learn what we need to learn, and every good thing in our lives.

Give us this day our daily bread: We petition God for our needs and the righteous desires of our hearts, not our whims or worldly desires. Our daily bread could include harmony in our homes. Patience, more holiness in speech and actions, the ability to support ourselves and our families, all the things that are daily necessities for our growth and salvation.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors: We should lay before God our sins and transgressions asking for forgiveness and for the strength to forgive everyone who has wronged us. This could also be financial debts, but includes so much more. This is our opportunity to repent for our weakness, our thoughtlessness, and our disobedience.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: We pray to God fervently for guidance in our walk and the power to overcome the evils that impede our paths. We pray that our self-mastery will be enough to conquer the adversary and keep us out of hot water!

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen: We close our prayer by, once again, acknowledging that this is God’s kingdom and that he has all the power. The glory of what we do belongs to him for all that he provides for us. We should close in the holy name of Jesus Christ, our saviour and redeemer, and the only way back to our Father.

We are so blessed to know the goodness of God and the way he has prepared for us to return to him. Prayer is an essential part of that plan. Daily honest communication with our Heavenly Father keeps us in tune to the spirit, forces us to be honest with ourselves about our shortcomings, allows us to repent for them, blesses us with an accounting and acknowledgement of our many blessings which is particularly important on days when we think we have nothing and bonds us with deity.

So have:

Conversation with God.
Become familiar with prayer as conversation that involves a delightful rhythm of asking God questions and waiting on God for responses.

Pray with authenticity.
Understand that praying authentically involves expressing doubts and fears as well as truth, believing God can give strength and grace.

Make requests of God in terms of God’s concerns, not just our own.

Listen to God in prayer.
To bring our questions to God, being open to God’s answers and obeying what we hear.

Pray for others as Jesus did.
To make intercession by praying for others’ oneness with God, not ‘patching up’ folks or getting them to do what we think they should do.

Practice God’s presence.
Practice prayer that infuses all of life as we practice the presence of God.

Calling Levi

In chapter 9 of Matthew’s Gospel, Matthew recounts his own call from Jesus to become a disciple. Matthew was the name Jesus gave him. Until he became one of Jesus’s disciples, he was called Levi. And he was at his place of work in the tax office. The Jewish people did not like those among their number who became tax collectors. They viewed these people as sinners and collaborators with the Romans against their own people. Tax collectors had the force of the Roman soldiers behind them to force the people to pay the taxes, but not only that, they were considered to be extortioners because they were allowed to keep any money they over-collected. Consequently, most if not all tax collectors over-charged on purpose to line their own pockets.

The call from Jesus gave Levi Matthew the opportunity to literally turn his life around. When he was a tax collector he was busy taking but Jesus was calling him to a work that was essentially giving.

Jesus said to him “Follow Me” and he did. He left his desk, taking nothing but his pen. Jesus called him and the only thing he took from his trade was the pen this trade had taught him to use; a skill he then used to compose his Gospel of Jesus’s teachings.

There is archaeological evidence that fish taken from the Sea of Galilee were taxed. So Jesus took as His disciple the taxman that may have taken money from Peter, James, and John and the other fishermen among the disciples. Certainly, initially, it would have been difficult for them to accept each other. Yet, in one way, Levi made more of a sacrifice than some of the other disciples. Peter, James, and John could easily go back to their fishing business, but it would be practically impossible for Levi to go back to tax collecting.

Jesus sat at the table in the house, and many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him. This context suggests that this was a gathering of Matthew’s friends and former business associates. Possibly, Jesus took advantage of Matthew’s decision to also reach those whom he knew.

And so the disciples were asked, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The answer to this question was simple, because Jesus is the friend of sinners. As Paul wrote in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

We are fortunate that God calls sinners and not just saintly people. Jesus came to benefit those who understood their inherent need for Him. Yet the proud who see no need for Jesus do not benefit.

Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”. In Hosea’s day, God’s people were still good at bringing sacrifice, but they had abandoned mercy because they gave up the knowledge of God and truth. God would rather have right hearts, full of truth and mercy than sacrifice.

These words are more striking when we remember that they were addressed to the teachers of men. This rebuke showed that they did not know God, and Jesus bade them go and learn the meaning of their own Scriptures. These “teachers of men” thought they knew everything already, and the rebuke made them angry.

This event illustrates Jesus’s mission to seek and save the lost, calling them to repentance and a new life.