First Reading: Hosea 5:15–6:6
15I will return again to my place
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face.
In their distress they will beg my favor:
6:1“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
he has struck down, and he will bind us up.
2After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”
4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.
5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Psalm: Psalm 50:7-15
7“Listen, my people, and I will speak: Israel, I will bear witness against you; for I am God, your God.
8I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices;
your burnt offerings are always before me.
9I will not accept a calf from your stalls, nor goats from your pens;
10for all the wild animals of the forest are mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know every bird of the mountains,
and the creatures of the fields are mine.
12If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the whole world is mine and all that is in it.
13Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and make good your vows to the Most High.
15Call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall honor me.
Second Reading: Romans 4:13-25
13The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
18While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 22Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26And the report of this spread throughout that district.
CHILDREN’S SERMON: Three Little Pigs
We all know the story of the three little pigs who went out to build their homes. The first little pig built his house of straw and the wolf blew it down. The second little pig built his house of wood and the wolf blew it down. The third little pig built his house of bricks. It withstood the test of the wolf. Share with your neighbor what one of the “wolves” are today that might be blowing on your house.
Let us pray. Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.
SERMON
Today we are really starting the Pentecost season. Pentecost is the time after Easter and after the Holy spirit is sent to be with each of us as our counselor, our advocat, the Spirit of Truth leading and guiding us in our daily lives. We reflected last week on how the Trinity draws us into community, draws us into communication, and teaches us lessons we are challenged to obey. Today’s text introduces us to three people, three real examples of this. Matthew is a social outcaste, a tax collector, who is called to follow Jesus. Jairus, the synagogue leader is not a follower but struggling with the immenent death of his daughter. The third is a desparate unnamed women, “unclean” from a flow of blood. She has no name, has no status as a female, and is sick. All three people are outside Christian community. All three are not in comfortable communication with Jesus nor ordinary church going people. All three need Jesus and they must make choices.
Matthew: “9As Jesus was walking along,”
“As” introduces disciple number 5. Jesus has called James and John, Peter and Andrew. “As” Jesus is walking along he notices Matthew. We don’t know why. He does not go out of his way but is alert to who is in his way. We sometimes think evangelism is sharing the Gospel with some “identified sinner” who obviously needs to hear about Jesus because we see the questionable lifestyle. Jesus is not looking for someone to enlist to his cause but is going about life as normal and notices a man he engages in conversation.
We would not classify Matthew as a modern day “seeker.” As I listen to the news reports I wonder if the workers for the IRS or police or FBI would find a warm welcome in our churches. On the other hand perhaps we would not think to talk to a bartender or nightclub owner or a political leader from the opposite side of the rails. We all have our social excuses for not interacting with people that make us uncomfortable. We are too old, not rich enough, too conservative and so we excuse ourselves from crossing the line between “in” and “out.” Matthew as a tax collector was an “outsider.”
Matthew is part of an existing community, not necessarily looking for new friends. Matthew’s friends come with him to listen to Jesus and those ever watching Pharisees object. Jesus is clear that building community, caring for the sick and outcaste is a priority for God. If we were to draw a clock to represent the time we spend talking with God, talking with friends about our faith, and talking with “others” about our faith, we might have to hang our head. The point I want to make is not numbers of people witnessed to or our assesment of the spiritual condition of people we interact with. Only God knows the heart. But I want to note that Jesus was willing to talk about faith to those who happened to cross his path.
Pentecost is not focusing on how our God communicates with even the social outcaste but the reality that because Jesus is alive in our lives, we may at anytime feel the tap of the Holy Spirit on our shoulder to share about our faith with someone we would not normally interact with. That social outcaste is outcaste in the eyes of the world but is someone God wants to be in his community. Can we say, “Welcome”? Let’s turn to our neighbor and say, Welcome to Bethany!
Matthew had to make a choice. Jesus invited him to “follow.” Matthew had to choose to obey. He did and that changed his life from “outsider” to “insider.” Matthew came with the skills he had honed in the secular world and perhaps with some of the bad habits also that had to be repurposed but when he chose to follow Jesus, he not only became an “insider” but he also became “valuable” and “forgiven.” Matthew became someone who was part of God’s community, part of God’s story, someone in relationship with God, and under God’s authority – not Rome’s. We might say that Matthew was building his house of straw, on finances, and the wind of finances can blow it down. He ran to a house built with bricks.
Jairus
Matthew was a social outcaste, a tax collector. Jairus on the other hand was a leader in the Synagogue. Not all problems are “out there with those sinners.” Jairus knew enough about Jesus to seek him out in his hour of need but he was not a committed follower. We might call these people CEO Christians. We might see them at Christmas, Easter and Other times like death. Or again we might call them 9-1-1 Christians. They tune in during emergencies hoping for help for their crisis or some crisis they perceive in the world. Jairus is not without faith even though he goes to that “other” church or denomination. He knew enough to turn to Jesus. Turning to Jesus in our hour of need is always a good choice.
Jesus goes with Jairus but so do the crowds. I doubt this was some sort of triumphal procession through the streets of Jerusalem. Community is messy. The evil one loves to whisper in our ear that probably God will not answer my prayer request as I waited too long – til my daughter died and the mourners are gathered. Probably the others clamouring for God’s attention will be dealt with before me as I am not a committed devotee of Jesus. The evil ones loves to throw up all the possible barriers to community that might highjack God’s attention from our place in community. Like wise all the voices of the crowd and our friends communicate, “Don’t bother the master.”
Jairus had a crisis though. His daughter had died. I was not there and am not medical but whether she died or was in a coma, the girl too was not in community. We can be outside God’s community because of our doubts and diseases. That is a different dynamic than Matthew. The dynamics of Jairus or his daughter does not stop Jesus from engaging with them. We do not need to be people of faith for Jesus to reach out. Like Jairus’ daughter we may need someone else interceding for us. That someone might be you!
When Jesus arrives at their home, he first silences the crowds and the mockers. She is not dead. She is not beyond the ability of God to help. Jairus’ crisis-faith does not limit God’s power to heal nor his love for the lost. God is about restoring life and building faith. He is not about measuring how worthy we are to be part of his community. God does not love us just because of our faith in Jesus. God loves us because we are his creation.
Jesus tells Jairus to clear out the crowd and Jesus tells Jairus’ daughter, arise. Jairus, a public religious leader must choose if he is going to obey infront of his congregation, infront of his peeps. That is where the rubber meets the road. Jesus is communicating and inviting him into community and he must put faith into action. His obedience affects the atmosphere for his daughter and allows Jesus to “do his thing” for her. Our obedience impacts the lives of others who may be entrapped in situations beyond their control. Matthew went from being “an outsider” to “an insider” with his crew of people watching. Jairus went from “sick with anxiety” to “reporter” of the miracle in his house. His daughter went from “dead” to “alive.” Pentecost season is a time when we realize how our status in community is changed, our communication channels are more open with God, and we realize how strategic our obedience is in the lives of others. Perhaps people who are emergency prayers are like people building their houses of sticks. It’s better than straw but in an emergency, they are in trouble.
An Unnamed Woman
Our third character we meet this morning is an unnamed woman in the crowd who is outside community because of her illness and her identity as a woman. She sees herself as unseen, unworthy and untouchable. Her desparate hope is that by just touching the edge of Jesus’ robe she can be made well. I suspect many in our world today are like this woman. The obvious are those differently challenged who find it physically challenging to come to church because of their physical conditions that make the mechanics of going to church challenging but also embarrassing. They turn on the TV and are discipled at a distance about the “health, wealth, and prosperity” the gospel offers but which has not come to them. Then there are those with colorful pasts of being used, abused and rejected. Most of us carry stories we do not want to share but for many their weight of failure drives them to desparately seek the edge of Jesus’ robe. Real relationship is beyond their imagination. Often we don’t see them because they don’t even value themselves. Sometimes we too are so ashamed about our failures, we, like them, grasp desparately for Jesus.
The beauty of this woman is that even when she considers herself unacceptable, Jesus knows the power has flowed from him and he knows she is there in the shadows. She goes from “unseen” and “untouchable” to “seen” and “daughter.” Jesus calls her “daughter.” The world rejects her but faith has made her a daughter of the risen Lord. Jesus communicates with her that she is valuable and whole through him. Her choice to turn to him changed her life. I would suggest this is a decision to build a house of bricks. Straw and wood would not do for this woman.
Matthew, Jairus, a dead daughter, a sick woman
Our text today takes people who are outside community and we see Jesus pull them into relationship. We see people who are out of communication with God, enter into communication and who then become part of stories spreading throughout the world and through time. We see people making choices to obey and follow and realize the huge difference it made in their lives. Perhaps we are just like one of those people or perhaps we know someone else who is. The message of Pentecost is that no matter what kind of house we build, of straw, wood or brick, God desires to be our guest and have us as part of his community. He wants to communicate with us about whatever is on our minds. He does not want us to call on him just when the big bad wolves are at our door. And he wants us to let him help build stronger homes that stand firm when the winds of life blow. Pentecost is a time when we ask ourselves if we are building with straw, wood or brick. Ephesians 2:19-21 challenges us:
“19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;”
Let the people of God say, “AMEN!”
On the Way to Wonder 