GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES
Matthew 12:1-13
(The first in a sermon series from Matthew 12 called “Words We Live By”)*
Sermon Objective: The church’s call to minister to the marginalized must not be marginalized!
Supplemental Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9;
Preface
Today we are beginning a sermon series from Matthew 12 called “Words We Live By.”
Many creeds, pledges, and mottoes have shaped our country and culture, as well as its individual citizens. In many instances the words convey uplifting and presumably timeless messages. They embedded into our psyche and play an important role in creating an identity -- a consciousness – an ethos
Often the words have been taken for granted. Yet, the fact that we have taken them for granted is significant. It shows we have subconsciously assimilated them. It means the “Words We Live By” operate behind the scenes as a moral compass and a driving force.
Many of these “Words We Live By” are inscribed on buildings and national monuments. Most of these buildings still stand, and a significant few still manage to stand for something. A few we will not look at but which have shaped us are:
• “The commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty.” (Inscribed on the public library in Boston)
• “...Let us see that the state is the servant of its people and that the people are not the servants of the state.” (Inscribed on the Robert A Taft Memorial in Washington, D.C.)
• “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” (Inscribed on the U.S. Post office in New York)
All of these are “Words We Live By” which can illuminate the “WORDS we live by” -- namely Jesus Christ’s.
Today we will find “Words We Live By” from Matthew 12:1-8.
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread - which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.
5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?
6 I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.
7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Sermon
NOT LIKE THE BRAZEN GIANT OF GREEK FAME, WITH CONQUERING LIMBS ASTRIDE FROM LAND TO LAND; HERE AT OUR SEA-WASHED, SUNSET GATES SHALL STAND A MIGHTY WOMAN WITH A TORCH, WHOSE FLAME IS THE IMPRISONED LIGHTNING, AND HER NAME MOTHER OF EXILES. FROM HER BEACON-HAND GLOWS WORLD-WIDE WELCOME; HER MILD EYES COMMAND THE AIR-BRIDGED HARBOR THAT TWIN CITIES FRAME. “KEEP ANCIENT LANDS, YOUR STORIED POMP!” CRIES SHE WITH SILENT LIPS. “GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE, THE WRETCHED REFUSE OF YOUR TEEMING SHORE. SEND THESE, THE HOMELESS, TEMPEST-TOST TO ME, I LIFT MY LAMP BESIDE THE GOLDEN DOOR!”
These words are contained on a plaque mounted in the Statue of Liberty Museum. Few Americans know the entire sonnet, or even the precise statement of its most famous line, but everyone knows what it stands for. It is hard to imagine an America without it.
I think Jesus would find it hard to imagine a church that did not know and operate from the most famous line of this speech in Matthew 12:1-8 too. Listen to it again:
7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
I desire mercy, not sacrifice. What beautiful words. Will you say them with me?
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
THESE WORDS REVEAL THE VERY HEART OF GOD!
Three times God speaks these words; here, back in Matthew 9:13, and hundreds of years earlier in Hosea:
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6
I wonder how many times God has to say something before we realize it is very important to Him? I’m sure that you would agree that three is plenty.
Three times God tells us that He wants us to be compassionate to humankind; TO HELP - NOT JUDGE, RESCUE - NOT CONDEMN, TO GET INVOLVED - NOT MAKE EXCUSES.
GOD SEES HUMAN NEED AS AN URGENT PRIORITY. HIS CALL TO MINISTER TO THE MARGINALIZED MUST NOT BE MARGINALIZED! Hs call to compassion must not be overlooked, watered down, or rationalized away in any manner.
Jesus’ words about human need are certainly “WORDS WE CAN LIVE BY.”
Human Need:
• Takes Precedence Over Worship (Hosea 6:6)
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)
There is no record of Jesus ever conducting a church service – but there is ample evidence that he fed the hungry, ministered to those who hurt, and risked offense to rescue those in duress.
You can make a clear case that the ultimate worship of God is to rescue and restore those whom He loves. To assist humanity in experiencing the mercy of God.
WOULD YOU REPEAT IT WITH ME AGAIN “I DESIRE MERCY NOT SACRIFICE.”
• Takes Precedence Over Ritual (Matthew 9:9-13)
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?"
12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ’I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
In Chapter 9 people were grumbling because of Jesus’ choice for fellowship. He was cavorting with sinners and the people didn’t “Look right” or “know right” or “do right.” In general, they didn’t meet their criteria.
But Jesus told them in no uncertain terms that their preferences were irrelevant. It wasn’t the healthy but the sick that needed Him and would receive His preferential treatment. And then he quoted these words … “I desire mercy not sacrifice.”
I just can’t help but think Jesus was more comfortable in the presence of those who were not “evangelically housetrained” than those who were. He wasn’t impressed by those who knew all the unwritten rules … he was impressed by those who would suspend the rules in order to provide love to the hurting.
Never forget “God is love” that is first and foremost how He reveals himself to a dying and hurting world.
WOULD YOU REPEAT IT WITH ME AGAIN “I DESIRE MERCY NOT SACRIFICE.”
• Takes Precedence Over Preference (Matthew 12:1-13)
9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
11He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
13Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
God is not impressed with our overtures of religiosity. But God takes note when we “give a cup of cold water” when it is unnatural or uncomfortable for us.
THE SPIRIT OF BIBLICAL LAW IS THAT GOD KNOWS NO LAW OTHER THAN THAT WHICH ANSWERS THE CALL TO HUMAN NEED. (See also the story of the Good Samaritan)
WOULD YOU REPEAT IT WITH ME AGAIN “I DESIRE MERCY NOT SACRIFICE.”
And that takes me back to the statue located at the mouth of the New York Harbor.
The figure of Liberty in the New York Harbor has just cast off the chains of oppression, which lay broken beneath her sandaled feet and offers this same hope for all oppressed people -- it is a welcome sign to greet new immigrants. It is intended to suggest freedom and deliverance.
Do not Jesus’ words do the same? I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
IS IT NOT TRUE THAT HIS MERCY HAS SET YOU FREE FROM THE OPPRESSION OF SIN WHICH SHACKLED YOU?
CAN YOU NOT NOW, AS A CHILD OF GOD THROUGH THE WORK OF CHRIST, STAND WITH YOUR CHAINS OF OPPRESSION LOOSED AND LYING AT YOUR FEET?
YES! SUCH IS THE NATURE OF THE GOSPEL!
Conclusion
Nations and leaders have always rallied their citizens behind symbols and visual cues that trigger an emotional response. They can be vague, even ambiguous, but if they are easily identifiable, they can unite a group or inspire an entire nation.
These symbols are incorporated into the design of many a state capitol building, city hall, and county courthouse in America. But there are none more recognizable than the Statue of Liberty.
AND YET IT IS EASY TO TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.
The words of this sonnet mirror the passion of Jesus.
“...GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE...”
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
It is fitting that the statue in the Harbor is referred to as “Lady Liberty.” She brings hope and freedom to those who land on her shores.
In a more powerful way, Christ’s words set men free. Genuinely and completely free!
This is the essence of Jesus’ Gospel -- that we become compassionate and loving -- merciful. It is a tell-tale sign of a Spirit-filled believer.
WILL YOU SAY IT WITH ME ONE MORE TIME? I DESIRE MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE.
You can identify with one of three personalities in our Bible story.
Maybe you can identify with the Pharisees. They were rigid, intolerant, and convinced of their holiness. If so Jesus has a word for you --- “beware … you are in peril.”
Maybe you can identify with the man with the withered hand. If so, God has a word for you --- “I long to restore you.”
Maybe you can identify with the disciples who watched Jesus “buck the system” and dared to follow God’s law of mercy --- if so God has a word for you … “Go and do likewise.”
Lady Liberty stands in New York Harbor to shine the torch of mercy and offer a life of freedom with shamelessness, boldness, confidence, and courage.
The Church has a lamp to lift beside the “Golden Door.” It is done in the Spirit of Matthew 12:7. In doing so we show we have found Words We Can Live By.
* The idea and much of the secular data for this series comes from Brian Burrell’s Book, Words We Live By (1997, The Free Press)
This Sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
