What God Most Desires

June 11, 2023

Rev. Mary Erickson

Hope Lutheran Church

Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

What God Most Desires

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Mercy: The story is told of a mother who approached the powerful ruler Napoleon. Her son had gotten into deep trouble and was sentenced to death. Emboldened by love for her son, the mother appeared before the one man who could alter her son’s dire future. Boldly, she asked Napoleon to show mercy on her son and grant him a pardon.

“But your son has committed this offense, not just once, but on two separate occasions,” he told the mother. “Justice demands death.”

The determined mother wouldn’t accept no for an answer. “I’m not asking for justice, your excellency. I plead for mercy.”

The emperor responded, “But your son doesn’t deserve mercy."

“Sir,” responded the mother, “if he deserved it, it wouldn’t be mercy. And mercy is what I’m asking for.”

“Well,” Napoleon declared, “then I will have mercy.” And he spared the condemned man from his punishment.*

Mercy. The book of Lamentations tells us “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his MERCIES never come to an end; they are new every morning.”

Mercy. We all appreciate being on the receiving end of mercy. Mercy, by definition, is undeserved. Is there anything more lovely than mercy? And yet…

.. there’s something about mercy that sticks in the craw. Something was given undeservedly! Where is the accountability? It grates on our sense of what’s right. Mercy fundamentally seems contradictory to justice. And where would the world be without justice? But also, where would it be without mercy?

Justice and mercy. These two form the fabric of Hebrew theology. As we read the Old Testament prophets, justice and mercy are the warp and weft of their message. They work in concert with one another. Together they establish and nurture the life-giving garden God intended for humanity. They are the basis of how we are to live with our neighbor. We treat our neighbor justly, and we act in mercy. And yet …

… there’s something about mercy …

Our reading for today’s gospel includes a rapid fire of small vignettes.

• Scene one: Jesus calls tax collector Matthew to follow him. Matthew immediately gets up from his tax station and leaves everything behind.

• Scene two: Jesus is over at Matthew’s house. Matthew is throwing a dinner party with Jesus as the main guest. He’s also invited his friends, and they’re an unsavory sort. After all, who does Matthew know? He’s shunned by proper society. So he hangs with a rough crowd – fellow tax collectors and other social outcasts.

• Scene three: A leader of the local synagogue begs Jesus to come and lay hands on his daughter who just passed. Jesus goes with him.

• Scene four: Along the way, a woman with a chronic ailment dares to reach out and touch Jesus. Her “female problem” has rendered her ritually unclean from the synagogue. She’s lived as an untouchable for the past 12 years. But when she touches Jesus, she’s healed.

• Scene five: Jesus arrives at the house with the dead child. Even though she’s dead, he touches her. Touching a dead corpse was something that rendered a person ritually unclean. But Jesus casts that aside. He reaches out and touches the girl, and she’s restored to life.

A lot of questionable activities are going on in these stories.

• We have to raise an eyebrow at Jesus’ selection for his disciples. Matthew isn’t exactly “A Team” material. What will people think of Jesus and his motley crew of disciples?

• Jesus further sullies his reputation when he hangs out with tax collectors and other so called “sinners” at Matthew’s house.

• The woman with the bleeding situation dared to touch Jesus and thereby rendering him ritually unclean.

• And finally, Jesus casts aside protocol and touches a corpse.

When the Pharisees see Jesus dining with disreputable sorts, they question his decision making. Why is he doing this? If he wants to be esteemed by others and regarded with respect, why on earth would be seen associating with such sinful people, and especially to eat with them?

Jesus responds with a challenging remark. Why do they think Jesus has come? Who most needs the help of a physician, the healthy or the sick? Should a physician make a house call on a healthy person? So who exactly should Jesus be hanging out with?

And then Jesus cites a verse from the prophet Hosea: “I desire MERCY, not sacrifice.” Jesus highlights what is truly important to God, God’s set of priorities. Proper worship isn’t the chief priority. The songs of thanksgiving and the offerings of adoration aren’t what God is looking for. What God desires most is MERCY.