Today we officially begin the long, green Season after Pentecost. Because Easter moves every year we don't always begin this season in the same place. Most of the time this season begins a little later; but this year, with Easter being early, we begin the season early. This is a good thing because it gives a good starting point with these readings from Hosea and Matthew.
On the Day of Pentecost Peter stood up and quoted the prophet Joel when he said, “In the last days God's Spirit will come upon all people, your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.” And in my Pentecost sermon I talked about the futility of trying to control God, of playing with spiritual TNT, and of dreaming dreams. I also talked about our desire to do all things “decently and in order,” and how that sometimes comes up against the Spirit of God.
These two things, decently and in order and dreaming dreams are at the heart of the readings from Hosea and Matthew.
The reading from Hosea has a long, complicated back story. In short, Israel is at war with Judah, or Judah attacked Israel, and alliances are being made with Assyria by one of them (I forget the exact details). God's people have turned away from the Lord in favor of worldly powers and systems. And these systems ultimately abuse, crush, and mistreat widows, orphans, foreigners, and the marginalized of all sorts. In the midst of this mistreatment, though, religious life still goes through the motions of worship.
God, however, is calling the people to return to him. God reminds them that religion without mercy is pointless. It's not that religious activity isn't necessary, but that it must be grounded in steadfast love and knowing the loving, caring, merciful heart of God.
“I desire steadfast love,” says God, which is reflected in caring for and loving widows, orphans, foreigners, and the marginalized.
The first half of today's gospel gets at the same thing.
Jesus calls Matthew, the tax collector, to follow him, just like he called the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Later that evening Jesus is eating dinner with tax collectors and sinners. We don't know who these sinners were, but one commentator posits that they were those who didn't follow the letter of the Law. They were those who didn't do things “decently and in order.”
When the Pharisees saw this they critically asked the disciples, “Why does he eat with THOSE people?” Jesus responds in much the same way as God did through Hosea: Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
The point of religion isn't to create a barrier between “good” and “bad” people. Doing all things “decently and in order” isn't the be-all and end-all of religious obligation. Yes, it's important to do these things well so that we can focus on God, but if that's all we do, we're missing the point. The Church (religion) isn't a resort for good people, but a hospital for sinners.
This is why Jesus says, “Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'.” He's quoting Hosea here. Mercy and steadfast love have the same root meaning in Hebrew. If our religious practice doesn't care for widows, orphans, foreigners, the marginalized, and those whom society oppresses, we are doing it wrong. Our faith and our religious practices should make it mandatory to be with and care for “sinners.” And if we don't, no amount of decent and orderly worship will save us.
Mercy and steadfast love must be foundational to our faith and religious practices.
One we we show mercy is through our involvement in the Food Pantry. Having it attached to our building though is not enough. This past Lent the Youth Group advocated for a hygiene drive involving not only Saint Luke's but other churches and grocery stores, and a good amount of products were collected. The hope was to keep this up and make it a regular part of our support for the Pantry. Yet collections have dropped to a trickle? Why?
We all go grocery shopping. We can all pick up one extra bar of soap, one extra bottle of shampoo, one extra thing of deodorant, or one extra hygiene product without stressing our own budget. One extra item per weekly grocery trip. If we all did that, the Pantry would be in good shape. One extra item of personal care to show a form of mercy to those in need. One extra item a week is the bare minimum we can do to say, “I love you as I love myself.”
And then there's that whole business of eating with sinners and tax collectors. Last week as we were going through the Listening Session to help develop the new profile for the bishop search I walked by one group who wrote that they would like to see a hundred people in church on Sunday. That's a nice number to strive for, and I'll admit it would be great to see a full house every Sunday.
But it got me thinking . . . what hundred people? Are we wanting a hundred people, or are we wanting a hundred of the RIGHT people? Are we willing to sit and eat with people from the Century Club and Food Pantry every Sunday? Are we okay with unknown people sitting in our pews? If we become inundated with “sinners and tax collectors,” will we remember that this place is a hospital for the sick?
We have a particular way of worshiping God. That's okay. We appreciate beauty and ritual and liturgy. I personally strive to do all things “decently and in order” because it means that you can worship without fearing surprises and with certain expectations. It means the service isn't about me or our emotions. But as Hosea and Jesus both remind us, this all must be balanced and grounded with mercy and steadfast love. These two things must be why we do what we do.
As this green, growing season of Pentecost moves forward, let us be filled with the Spirit of God and dream dreams. And let those dreams be based in mercy and steadfast love – even as we do all things decently and in order.
Amen.
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