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The Third Sunday After Pentecost Text: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 June 5, 2005 Introduction: I remember when I was in high school, sitting in church one fateful Sunday morning, and coming to some sort of decision/recognition/understanding or agreement with the Lord, that I would become a pastor—at some point and for some undisclosed amount of time—in the future. I recall being made to feel quite uneasy (even scared) by this newly realized notion that had suddenly appeared in my brain—this calling that I believed (and still believe) God gave me. Today, however, it is not so much God’s calling me into the ministry that is on my heart and mind, as it is the difficult time period that followed—my own personal Jonah Story, if you will… If I was Jonah, being called by God to go to Nineveh…No way!!! I was Jonah running away to Tarshish. “God, you want me to go into ministry, you had better come and get me…, because I’m not going…No way!!! I’m going to college…” Which, as it turned out, wound up being both an amazing ministry, as well as the whale from the Jonah Story that swallowed my up and spat me back out again? There, at Southern Oregon University, I more or less left the Church for a time. While I never gave up on God or faith, I did become surrounded by people & things—negative influences. While my friends, most of whom were not Christian, respected me and, I believe, appreciated my faith in Jesus Christ—as I would share it with them—I gradually began to be pulled in the wrong direction. As time wore on, it became harder and harder for me, as a Christian, to point to Jesus Christ. For a time, my life seemed to lose purpose and direction. By the end of my third year of college, I realized that if I didn’t make a change…even in the people around me—my friends—I would surely wind up making some of the same poor decisions that I had watched the people around me make. There are some decisions that we can make in life—poor decisions—that are not easy to bounce back from. I had been holding on to my faith and my relationship with God up to that point, but it was becoming more and more difficult. Spiritually I was sick. I needed to make a change. I needed to come back to Jesus. I needed healing. Getting sick: Today, as we turn to the 9th chapter of Matthew, we are re-introduced to Jesus the Great Physician. Before we look at the gospel, however, I want to suggest that there are two main things that make people physically sick: 1) Outer hazards: There are things that we encounter, outside of our bodies—things that are harmful to us: Viruses, for instance, can get us sick, or obvious things like getting hit by a car will land us in the hospital. 2) Inner neglect: Secondly, we get sick when we don’t get enough nurture on the inside. We need sleep, food, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, etc. If we don’t take care of ourselves—if we neglect to take care of our bodies, we make ourselves vulnerable to sicknesses as well. In today’s reading, Jesus heals physical ailments such as these. He cures the lady who has suffered with hemorrhages for twelve years; he even brings a different girl physically back to life. What I find more interesting, however, is that his healing ministry includes a different type of illness as well—the healing of tax collectors and sinners—spiritual healing for the spiritually sick. Why were tax collectors spiritually sick? They were sick because of their involvement with the Roman Empire—an “outer hazard.” They were considered corrupt by their association with Rome’s corruption. They were also suffering from inner spiritual neglect. Tax collectors were shunned from their religious faith community. They were isolated, alone, vulnerable…a lost cause. As I read this story, I can relate to the Pharisees complaint, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Was not Jesus, by dinning with sinners, risking a very real contamination of himself? Discipleship: Brothers and sisters, as Christians living after Pentecost, we live with a paradox. We are called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to heal the world—to go out into the world with God’s message of hope and redemption. To have mercy, taking this message to the spiritually sick. For if there is anything today’s lessons make clear, it is that God continually invites people back into relationship. But, at the same time, it is important to hear Jesus word’s from the fifth chapter of Matthew’s same Gospel, “If your right hand causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away, it is better for you to loose a hand, than to be thrown into hell (Matthew 5:30).” This points out honestly that there are things that are dangerous for us to be around. Sometimes we may even need to separate ourselves from the influence of other people. Jesus Heals: Friends, when it comes to living in this world, we must remember who it is that can heal. We must recognize that in this story, there are two types of people with Jesus. There are the disciples—those who travel with Jesus—those ready to leave here today, going out into the world with Christ’s mission of healing. Then there are those who have come here in order to be healed…I, for one, have been both… So, wherever you find yourself this morning—whether you are ready to go back out there as a disciple, or whether you have come here today because you, yourself, need renewal and healing…, know this: Jesus is the great healer. Draw near him this day, that you may know your creator—the Father—who is forever inviting you to be His holy and faithful people…for the sake of the whole world. Amen. -------------------- Joshua W. Magyar, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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