Passing on Faith

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 NRSV
9 As 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. 10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." 18 While 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." 19 And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21 for she said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well." 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. 23 When Jesus came to the leader's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, "Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And the report of this spread throughout that district.

Ray and I spent the last few days attending the North Carolina Synod Assembly, along with 774 of our brothers and sisters in Christ from across the state – and even a few from much farther away. The theme for this year’s assembly was: God’s work. Our hands. Passing on faith. There are some wonderful connections between that theme and today’s Gospel text.

We don’t know why Jesus picked right then to call Matthew – there aren’t many clues in the gospel. The chapters before this text, chapters five and six and seven and eight in the Gospel according to Matthew are not a story about how Jesus met Matthew and taught him or was recommended to him by another follower. Instead those chapters are about Jesus ministering to great crowd of people – teaching them in what we know as the Sermon on the Mount – and then performing many miracles; from healing a leper to calming a storm, from healing Peter’s mother-in-law to casting out demons. And the crowds are amazed by all that he has said and done.

Then suddenly, here in chapter 9, as Jesus continues his travels, he calls out to Matthew –a tax collector, a collaborator with the Roman government, an outcast among his own people. I can’t tell you how Matthew knew that he must simply get up and follow, but he did. Now I’ve changed jobs and moved a few times – it usually requires me a bit more conversation and preparation than that – but Matthew simply got up and followed Jesus.

This text doesn’t even tell us where dinner was held, or who the host was, but it does tell us who was on the guest list: all of those people who weren’t normally invited to a party at any of the ‘right homes.’ For this dinner party was a gathering of tax collectors and sinners, sitting right there with Jesus and his disciples.

The crowds had been amazed by what Jesus had said and done. The Pharisees were amazed, too, but not in quite the same way! They were not impressed by Jesus’ miracles, but instead were scandalized by the company he kept. And so Jesus takes the time to answer their questions. Or does he? He sends them back to the holy writings, to the prophet Hosea, to look for the answers to their questions.

Perhaps before that conversation was even completed to their satisfaction, Jesus is interrupted, by a leader of the synagogue, who is seeking his help. Jesus has been talking about how those who are sick need a physician. But the leader’s daughter isn’t sick – she is already dead. The other leaders of the synagogue probably would not approve of him asking Jesus for help, yet he comes to Jesus for help anyway. He is seeking help in a hopeless situation and Jesus simply gets up and follows him, with his disciples (probably Matthew, too) following along.

And on the way, he is interrupted yet again, this time by a woman who has been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years. This condition was not just painful or embarrassing. It made her unclean, an outcast from all of the people of Israel. Just as Jesus called Matthew, we read here that Jesus speaks to this desperate woman, encourages her, heals her, restores her to health, and restores her place in the community. And then he continues on his way, to home of the leader, to raise his daughter from the dead. Restoring her life, restoring her to her family.

Sometimes when I have had a busy week, I think I need to read texts like this and remember how busy Jesus was. He and his disciples sometimes didn’t even have time to eat a meal in peace. And Jesus often had to slip off before daylight to find time to pray.

Jesus was busy – doing God’s work. Remember that synod assembly theme? God’s work. Our hands. Passing on faith. Jesus was busy. Busy doing God’s work; showing God’s love; bringing the kingdom of God near; bringing people to faith in his Father, the Almighty God.

Like Matthew, we are called to follow. We are called to listen to Jesus’ words, and to witness his miracles in our lives and the lives of others. We are called in spite of the questions that we – like the Pharisees – always seem to have in abundance. And there is more – we are called to be his hands, doing his work, bringing the kingdom of God into the world now. In the words of the Great Commission, from Matthew 28, which was the gospel text just a few weeks ago…
8 And Jesus came and said to them…"19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
That sounds to me like a clear command to each of us to do God’s work, with our hands, and to pass on the faith.

In his sermon at the closing worship service on Saturday morning, Bishop Leonard Bolick spoke about this year’s assembly theme. He reminded us that as we have been given the faith, we are to grow in faith, and in turn pass along the faith. As we live out our faith, our faith will grow and will be visible to those around us. This is the best way that we can pass along the faith to others – not just to the next generation, but to everyone we encounter in our daily lives.

This may sound like an overwhelming task – we may struggle with how to accomplish it all. This is why we need to remember that the Great Commission is not just an assignment, something we must accomplish on our own. Listen again to the promise Jesus made to the disciples – and to us: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

What a powerful promise. Jesus is with us always. Jesus is indeed with us. He comes to us in our very own tax booth, our workplaces and classrooms. Jesus is with us when we sit down at dinner. He calls all of us, the loveable and the unloved, to join him at the table. He comes to us in the bread and wine, body and blood, when we gather there.

Jesus is available even when others might be too busy. He will come with us when we need help in the hopeless times, when there is nowhere else to turn. Jesus will be there, to reassure us and restore us when we reach out with trembling fingers to touch the fringe of his cloak. Jesus will raise us up from the dead. Even when others might laugh, He will take our hand and restore us to life.

And just as in Matthew’s gospel, the report of all this will spread. And we will find that in spite of our fears or our questions, we are doing God’s work [with] Our hands. Passing on faith.