Jesus loves us too much to leave us where we are.
Pentecost 2, Proper 5
June 11, 2023
Fr. Tim Nunez
Jesus loves us too much to leave us where we are.
May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
To dig into today’s readings, we need to look afresh at God’s Covenant with Abraham.
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. And 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 him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)
There is more to the Covenant, mainly about his descendants numbering as the stars in the sky, and the land, which get detailed in the next few chapters. But we’ll focus this morning as Paul did in his letter to the Romans on that brilliant connection for Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham to bless all families (or peoples), and how Abraham’s “faith was reckoned to him as righteousness” as noted in Genesis 15:6. Paul explains that Abraham’s example, which was foundational for establishing Israel and becomes foundational for Christians, proves that at the heart of following God is not a set of rules, but faith which becomes reckoned to us as righteousness.
Abraham is older than Judaism. When he hears God’s promises, when he hears God’s instructions, he has no Bible. There isn’t one, yet. People had begun to carve language into stone in Abraham’s time, but writing on paper won’t be invented until 700 years later. He doesn’t have the Law. God will give the Law to Moses in about 500 years.
It’s just him and God. When God told him to go, Abraham went. He veered off course at times, did things that seemed like good ideas to him, which means he was not following God in those moments, but he got back on track.
And Abraham’s covenant with God is about 1,700 years before it will begin its fulfillment in Jesus. By that time, Jews had spread far and wide as merchants and artisans, and they took Judaism with them. But they focused almost entirely on preserving these stories and their identity in them. They followed the Law, reading and reflecting on the scriptures, observing the rituals and practices that transmitted their faith from place to place and generation to generation. They formed communities and synagogues across their known world. But they didn’t share their faith in the one true God with their neighbors.
They grew to identify with following the Law rather than having a heart for God. That not only segregated them from other peoples, but it led to dismissing their own people who didn’t measure up because they were “unclean” or habitual “sinners.”
All of that changes with Jesus. He breaks down the barriers between God and the “unclean” and sinners by connecting or reconnecting them with their Father. It doesn’t matter if they are mired in a sinful life, ritually unclean or even physically dead. Jesus overcomes every barrier to save them, demonstrating the supreme power of God’s love and illustrating how his Kingdom will look in its fulfillment.
When Jesus encounters the tax collector Matthew, we don’t get any back story. Maybe this is the Matthew who wrote this Gospel and he’s just being modest. We just get this one little sentence, but it says so very much.
If we know Matthew is a tax collector, then we know that he is not a popular fellow. We’ve talked about this before, but tax collectors were a) agents of Rome, the oppressor, and b) made their living by extracting more from the people than was actually owed. Kind of setting their own commissions.
Aside from the natural hostility that we might expect, imagine for a moment what that would do to Matthew’s persona, to his self-esteem. Day by day he lives this inherently corrupt life. What does corruption do? It’s corrosive. It eats away at you, rots your character from the inside. Nobody likes you and you probably don’t like yourself very much. Maybe you grow numb to it. Either way it’s not a fulfilling life. It’s a lousy life, lonely, living on the edges of society – an outcast to others and maybe to yourself. You’re professionally and socially the kid that no one wants on his team.
Then comes his encounter with Christ. Jesus walks up and says to him, “Hey! You’re ok! I want to affirm you in your person. You should be fully self-actualized with where you are and what you’ve accomplished. Quit feeling so bad about yourself and everything will be fine! Just let go of all that negativity and stay right where you are because that’s where you are and who you are and that’s ok.”
No, that’s not what Jesus says, is it? He says two simple words, “Follow me.” In those two simple words he has affirmed his love and therefore God’s love for Matthew. There is acceptance in there. He has met Matthew right where he was, warts and all. He has invited him, “Hey, be on my team.”
But he’s also saying, “Your way, your life, is hell and I’m here to change that. Follow me.” And from that moment on Matthew’s life is completely changed. His name means “gift from God.” Not only does he change but he brings Christ to his friends, the other outcasts. The same is true for the woman ritually unclean from that hemorrhage. The same is true for the girl who has died and her family. Each of them is saved, and each of them is transformed. Each of them is changed and changing for the rest of their lives.
One of the great misconceptions people have about the church is that it is a place for good people to gather, learn more and do good things - to the point that if they know they have problems and struggles in their lives, they don’t think they’ll be welcome. People sometimes ask me if they can visit our church.
I said God’s promise to Abraham to bless all families begins with Jesus because it is still being fulfilled. We are still talking about it 3,700 years later. The Gospel is spreading faster today than it ever has, particularly in Africa and Asia. And it’s not just being fulfilled “out there.” It’s ongoing inside each of us. God has a call and a purpose for you. He loves you so much that he will always meet you right where you are. But never, ever expect that he’s going to leave you there.
Yesterday at Bishop Justin’s consecration, Bishop Josiah Fearon said in his sermon that the main problem we have in the Church is that we have too many people. What we need is disciples. Take up the disciplines, observe the rituals and practices that transmit our faith, but don’t love that most. At heart it’s just you and God. Love God, love people and see how God will use you to transform others while he is transforming you.
AMEN