A Home for the Bruised . . .
Matthew 9:9-13
by Jim Westmoreland
Picture for me some playing preschool-age children. Every day, at least one
of them will fall down and bruise or skin their knee. What happens next? Not inhibited in
expressing their needs, their pleasures, displeasures and their hurts, they will often cry
out, sometimes almost unconsoleably.
Hopefully, a parent, a teacher or some caring, nurturing person will reach down and pick
them up and hold them. Their being touched when things are bad, is a reassurance that
someone is with them. They are not all alone.
When we get bumped and bruised by the events of our lives, we don't want to be alone
either. We would like to have someone who could give us warmth and reassurance. The
Riverbend Church in Austin, TX, has as its mission to be a home for the bruised, the
battered, the broken, and the bored.
In our text in Matthew Jesus responds to the religious leaders who are criticizing him for
calling Matthew the tax collector to be one of his disciples. In v. 13 Jesus says,
"Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to
call not the righteous but sinners."
As I read and thought about this text, I couldn't help but think of Matthew as one of the
bruised, if not broken and battered. As a tax collector he was not well liked, and for
good reason.
The religious leaders had come to practice a kind of religion where only the
"worthy" were welcome. There is always someone who considers themselves more
spiritual than the others because they . . .
It was true in Jesus" day and it is still true in our day. People take pride in their
respectability and look down on others. Matthew was looked down on. Are there any people
in our community who are looked down on?
Who?
Why?
How?
Just as Jesus turned religion upside down, so the church which would be a faithful
disciple of Jesus will also see others very differently. The church will find ways to be
in the "mercy" business. We will hear and be challenged by Jesus words, "'I
desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
To often we Christians want the sins of others "pasteurized" or
"sanitized" before we are comfortable being around them, much less inviting them
to church. Jesus refused to isolate himself from others and he refused to refused to play
the religious game of "I'm holier that you are." In fact, that game was a total
turnoff to Jesus. He cared about the heart, about compassion, about mercy toward others.
How do we keep from insulating and isolating ourselves so much that we don't know they
people in this community that don't know Christ as their Savior? Church people know each
other pretty well, but we don't know those who are most in need of the mercy of God. And,
we need to decide to do something about it. We must meet people on purpose who may be
different than us. But that's not easy. Right! Psychologists describe that uneasiness we
have from doing something different like that as "moving out of our comfort
zone."
Our first reading in Genesis talks about that kind of experience--of having to move out of
one's comfort zone. In Genesis, Abram was perfectly content where he was. Then, God spoke
to him, and he was led by God to move away from his family, from his business, from his
land. He must have felt really "uncomfortable!!" But, he did it, and the Bible
tells us that his faith was counted as righteousness.
There are many people all around us who, though maybe not physically bruised or battered,
they are emotionally and spiritually bruised and battered. They may have been bruised form
relationships with their parents, with their own brothers or sisters, in their own
marriage, in their relationship with their children, being let go of a good job.
Somehow or another, we are all called to leave our comfort zone to do the hard thing. God
will be with us. He is the one who calls us out from where we are, just like He called
Abram to leave his home in Ur of the Chaldees. Most ofus are familiar with the story of
Helen Keller, who became deaf and blind as a result of an illness in infancy. She became
famous by overcoming her limitations and by sharing a deep spirituality with the world. Do
you think she would have preferred a different kind of life? Surely! However she made a
greater contribution than most by living well the life that she was given.
At one point she made this comment: "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but
it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble. Green, the
historian, tell us that the world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its
heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pulses of each honest worker.
The most common excuse I hear from people is that they just aren't comfortable or just
don't have the gift for talking with others about Christ. God doesn't call us to be a
Billy Graham, but nothing has changed about Him calling us to be His witnesses. We may not
have great, showy gifts, but we can serve with the faithfulness that Helen Keller served.
We can do small things as if they are great and noble. We can befriend more people--move
out of your comfort zones. Be purposeful and you will meet and get to know some other
people. You don't have to know everybody.
One way is to set some goals. Make invitations to people. Be specific. Ask them to come
Monday night, or to a worship service. Accept the fact that most will say, No. Be
faithful. Be persistent. Ii challenge you to keep a list of 5 names of people you want to
invite to church, people who are not going anywhere else. Pray for those five people. Ask
God to help you see opportunities to speak with them and get to know them better.
Because the church is often seen as a pious, exclusive religious club that meets each
week, the church as been described by the world as a "showcase for the saints."
This has never been God's plan for the church, but I do believe He would be pleased if the
church was more of a "hospital for sinners."
Can the church become a home for the bruised, battered, broken and the bored? I hope so. I
believe that's what God is calling us to. He wants us to concentrate on Mercy and not
Sacrifice.