Sermon "Saints and Sinners Welcome"
Rev. Lonnie Richardson
Sunday, June 6, 1999
Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, 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, and not sacrifice.' for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
This gospel is telling us is that if we want to be one of Jesus' friends we must be sinners. In fact, Jesus said, "I did not come to the virtuous, but sinners." As I come to know myself better, and many of you could probably say the same thing, this is astoundingly good news..."Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
My biblical language is New Testament Greek. A college classmate, who likes to have fun, and also likes to do personal evangelism witnessing, had a special tee shirt designed. The message on the tee shirt was in Greek. It was a quote from today's reading. In English, it said, "He eats and drinks with sinners." My friend would wear the tee shirt into bars. Inevitably, he would be asked what the language was and what it meant. It usually provoked the question, "Who eats and drinks with sinners?" The answer, of course, was "Jesus." This led to conversations. One of the standard response lines was, "Well, if Jesus wants to eat and drink with sinners, he has come to the right place."
But we really don't have to go to bars to find a crowd of sinners. Most of the people we see at church pass muster with Jesus. In fact if you are not a sinner, you probably don't belong here!
In the gospel, Jesus called Matthew out of the customhouse to be his disciple. Matthew was a tax collector. Tax collectors, back then, were not well thought of, to say the least. When Matthew, a Jew, became a tax collector, people thought of him as a man who had given up his religious heritage to become rich. Jews were forbidden to serve the Roman government, and handling the Roman coinage shattered the ritual purity code of the Jews. Anytime you hear the phrase "tax collectors and sinners" in the gospels, know that the lowest of the low are being named. Jesus ate dinner with them.
Eating a meal with someone is a serious sign of a relationship. In courtship, the relationship isn't going anywhere unless the couple begins to share meals with each other. One couple described a meal they shared with a much-admired grandmother. The grandmother, in fact, prepared a feast. There were three kinds of meat. It was summer so there were fresh vegetables. There was a cake and two kinds of pie. There were hot rolls and hot corn bread. The iced tea was ready by the gallon. Since all of this was for three people, there clearly was more going on than basic nutrition. After the meal, the couple could be public about their intention to marry. The grandmother was public in her approval of the marriage. There existed a bond of mutual affection and respect between the grandmother and the prospective granddaughter-in-law. Everything was different -- and better.
Jesus eats with sinners. He does that to this very day. The Holy Communion is a meal. It is a unique meal. In it, Jesus is both the host at the table and the food placed in our hands. This meal has consequences. The preparation for this meal is lavish. There are things like a linen tablecloth. There are people who take special care with the dishes for this meal. The setting for the meal is usually in a very special place. Sometimes this space is created at great expense. There may be special clothing worn at this meal. There is glorious music. But the most costly and precious part of the preparation is the part Jesus has done.
Jesus gave his life to create this meal. When we take the bread, we take Jesus' body. When we take the wine, we take Jesus' blood. Jesus gave his life to prepare the feasts of all feasts for us sinners.
And this holy meal had profound consequences. For those of us sinners , if you will, who know Jesus as Savior and Lord, it is a time of joy, communion, being present with peace and love.
But it has consequences for those that haven't made it to the meal. The text ends with Jesus saying to the virtuous and ritually pure that virtue and purity aren't the object of godly life. He quoted the prophet Hosea. In Hosea 6:6 we read, "What I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not burnt offerings." Jesus quoted this text. It goes along with loving your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Jesus is calling us to be a living consequence of his feast. We are to pour out the love of God on the pain of this world we live in.
Let's go back to the feast the grandmother prepared. This story had consequences. There is a lively and vital marriage. There are two children who have two children. The great great grandchildren will never know their great great grandmother in this world. But the love and faith of the grandmother has been shared down through generations. It is the same with Jesus and the meal he has invited us to share with him. Jesus eats with sinners as well as saints. If you are not at this feast, hear the call of Jesus and join in. Saints and sinners welcome. Amen.
