Mercy, Not Sacrifice
Matthew 9:9-13
This past Wednesday morning, as I was driving to work to attend a 9 am Deacon’s meeting, traffic was a mess. My street, Oak Knoll Road, was closed in the direction I normally drive to work. So, I had to go out towards Highway 66 and up to Ashland Street. As I was passing by Albertson’s, my lane slowed down, and I saw a few cars bunched up in front of me, even though the next stoplight was green. I became frustrated and thought I might be late for my important meeting at church. Finally, the traffic in front moved, and as I got through the intersection, I saw what had been holding it up. There was a woman, halfway across the crosswalk, dragging a wagon of her belongings behind her, along with a suitcase. I suddenly realized that the person in the car in front of us at that intersection was being merciful to this woman, waiting patiently for her to move her heavy possessions to the other side of the street. I sighed, checked my frustration, and asked for forgiveness for my own mercilessness.
In this morning's passage, Jesus instructs us on the importance of mercy. This morning, we will take a closer look at his teaching.
At the beginning of this morning’s passage, Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him. This was a controversial choice, considering his role in 1st-century society. Palestine was under Roman rule at this time. The position of tax collector was a great way to make serious coin. The job usually went to the highest bidder; it was so lucrative. Although the work greatly benefited one's purse, the people hated tax collectors vehemently. Because of their interaction with Gentiles, tax collectors were considered unclean and untouchable. They were also banned from worship in the local synagogue as they had entered the service of their country's conquerors, amassing fortune at the people's misfortune. Most tax collectors collected more than necessary, skimmed off the excess, and made life miserable for the local populace. The first part of Leviticus 20:5 was used against them. "God says, 'I myself will set my face against them and against their family, and will cut them off from among their people…."
So, this despised, wealthy tax collector was sitting at his booth, doing what he did every day, with people staring at him and hating him. Now Jesus saw him and said those two words, "Follow me." Like the other disciples, he got up immediately, left everything behind, and followed. Unlike the other disciples, who were respectable fishermen, Matthew perhaps had additional motivation. Here was the chance to leave his hated position, turn over a new leaf, and do something completely new. Jesus extended mercy to someone who had likely not experienced any mercy since he became a tax collector.
Then comes this scene in verses 10-11. Although it does not say so specifically, it appears that Jesus and the disciples were invited to have dinner at Matthew's home. The verse begins with Jesus reclining at the dinner table, surrounded by "… many tax collectors and sinners" around the table. I think that the other sinners around the table were family members of the fellow tax collectors, based on how that passage from Leviticus was used. Considering how ostracized they were from the rest of the community, with whom else would they break bread? In addition, an interesting group of guests came to dinner. Some Pharisees were in attendance, known for their strict observance of the traditional and written law and for commonly professing superior sanctity. They saw the scene before them and were shocked that a Rabbi would be seen in such company. They asked the disciples why their Rabbi would do such a thing, exposing himself to someone unclean and impure. I believe they were not invited but had been observing Jesus and attended from a distance, not wanting to become impure themselves.
In those days, people of faith separated themselves from anyone deemed immoral, unholy, or impure. Piety and purity were the guidelines for the faithful. Many followed David's words from Psalm 26:4-5: "I do not sit with the deceitful, nor consort with hypocrites; I hate the company of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked."
Even the Apostle Paul had this belief, writing 2nd Corinthians 6, "Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what part is there between righteousness and lawlessness? What fellowship is there between light and darkness?...Therefore come out from them and be separate from them, says the Lord." (2 Corinthians 6: 14, 17)
Was this Rabbi unfamiliar with scripture and the need for holiness and purity? Jesus responded first with some common sense. Those who are well do not need a doctor, but those who are sick do. In other words, the Messiah is called to share God's love with those who most need to hear it. As theologian Dale Brunner writes, "Jesus appeals for understanding: doctors serve. They do not avoid the sick. Jesus is not two-faced when he talks morally and then eats with sinners, any more than a doctor is who talks of health and then spends his day in the hospital."
Then Jesus quoted scripture from Hosea 6:6, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Go and learn what this means." What does the phrase mean? The word for mercy in this case, hesed (חֶסֶד), means much more than "mercy." It means having proper conduct toward others and toward God. Micah 6:6-8 also comes to mind concerning mercy, not sacrifice. 6 "With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, sacrifices with calves a year old?7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?" Jesus wasn't interested in sacrifice, purity, or piousness. Jesus told these pious and pure representatives of faith that their purity laws and sacrifices meant nothing to God compared with how they treated others in God's name. The Message translation of verse 13 reads as follows. "I'm after mercy, not religion."
Let's focus on this last part of verse 13, "For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." I like the version of this passage in The Message translation of the Bible. "I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders." Does this mean Jesus didn't come for everyone, only the marginalized, only those given the scarlet letter from a condemning society, like tax collectors and others on the margins of decent society? What about us? What about us insiders here in the sanctuary, who come regularly to worship, or tune in every Sunday? We're good, or at least… pretty good. Didn't Jesus come for us too?
Perhaps it's all a matter of perspective. As Brunner said, "If only the bad are the mission of the Messiah, then the consequence would seem to either become bad (which doesn't sound right) or to realize we're not so good (which sounds better)." Paul reminds us in Romans, "For all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory." (Romans 3:23). Perhaps Jesus' statement is all-inclusive after all, if we are willing to see ourselves as we truly are.
I think there is a good focus for us to ponder regarding hesed (חֶסֶד) when it comes to following Jesus. Jesus said, "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice." (Hosea 6:6). This passage has to do with how we interact with other people in the world. Our lesson for this morning, that Jesus desires mercy, not sacrifice, means he wants us to treat others with hesed, חֶסֶד, to have right conduct towards others and God.
There is an epidemic of self-righteousness going on in our world, especially in some corners of the big C Church right now. It is troubling for me. I wish I could figure out some way to get people of faith who respond in such ways to see how pharisaical, bigoted, and hateful their comments are when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community, people in the grips of systemic poverty, and immigrants fleeing war, famine, and organized crime. Then, however, I am wagging my finger at someone else, and I begin to judge them and fall into the same trap of seeing myself as more pious, pure, and correct and thinking myself more righteous. Those thoughts make me no better than others who judge, dang it! This brings me back to Jesus' words, "I desire mercy…"
Associate Dean and Professor of New Testament Studies at the Acadia Divinity College
Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Danny Zacharius writes, “The stories of Matthew’s call and Jesus’s healing acts emphasize restorative mercy. This mercy is not simply words, not just words of forgiveness or absolution, but tangible acts of restoration that show what the kingdom of God ought to be like.”
My goal for this coming week is to act in restorative mercy towards others, and show the coming kindom in my words and deeds, by no means an easy task as I try to follow him. Theologian and author Anne Lamott wrote, "Mercy is radical kindness. Mercy means offering or being offered aid in desperate straits. Mercy is not deserved. It involves absolving the absolvable, forgiving the unforgivable. Mercy brings us to the miracle of apology, given and accepted, to unashamed humility when we have erred or forgotten."
All I can do is temper my judgment towards pious, self-righteous behavior with hesed, חֶסֶד, with mercy. All I can do is follow Jesus and learn that he desires mercy more than right worship, sacrifice, and piety. All I can do is try to go where he went, meet with and eat with those whom society deems unworthy, and share that mercy. All I can do is to try to be a corrective example, aiming my life toward radical kindness and follow, difficult as that is today. God be with us all this week as we all seek to follow Jesus and heed his call to extend mercy. Alleluia. Amen.
