Sermon
for the 3d Sunday After Pentecost
Eric Carlson –
Matthew 9:9-26
5 June 2005
Grace to you and Peace, from God our
Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Risen Christ, Amen!
It happens each year about this time –
the Virginia Synod Assembly in
Often – in congregational life -- we
forget that we are but a small part of the huge Body of Christ on earth. Our synod in
The focus of our worship this Sunday is
on our Witness and our Service as Ambassadors of the Risen
Christ on earth -- carrying out our Lord’s great commission, to make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Holy Trinity.
Christendom now accounts for 1/3 of the
world’s population. Judaism accounts for
¼ of one percent of the world. How
strange and very radical – how miraculous -- that the teachings of an obscure 1st
century rabbi – teachings that run counter to the ideas of the world -- would
be spread throughout the world. Is
humanity alone responsible for this phenomenon?
Our existential mission here at
Resurrection – the reason we exist – tracks with the mission of the ELCA…
Our
"Marked with the cross of Christ forever, we are claimed,
gathered, and sent -- for the sake of the world."
Jesus makes things happen…
through our response…
to His call.
About 2 years ago, we started our
“Awakening” program. Out of that effort,
we the people of Resurrection crafted our vision for this congregation:
Our Vision:
"Resurrection Lutheran Church is a Christ-centered family
of believers, so deeply and confidently rooted in the Gospel of God's grace,
that we are free to give our lives joyfully in witness and service to those
whom God has brought into our lives: within our congregation, our community,
and our world."
In today’s Gospel lesson,
Jesus calls the apostle Matthew – known also in the other synoptics
as Levi the Son of Alphaeus. What is Matthew’s response? He gets up and follows the call! Invites Jesus to his home and throws a party
for him with all his tax collecting buddies and other assorted sinners of the
day. Mercy for the sake of this world of
sinners of ours!
And then let me read
those verses omitted from today’s reading for you… Matthew 9:14-17:
14Then John's disciples came and asked
him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not
fast?"
15Jesus
answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with
them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they
will fast.
16"No
one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment,
for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Neither
do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the
wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into
new wineskins, and both are preserved."
How very radical – this
new wine – the Word -- that we all drink.
Poured by God into new wineskins – for the sake of the
world. Picture this crowd of
disciples and sinners following Jesus to learn who he is.
The Gospel continues with
a leader whose child has died, yet by faith in this rabbi the father knows
Jesus can bring her to life! The crowd
presses and follows as they walk to the house where the child lays dead.
Along the way a woman
presses in to touch the fringe of our Lord’s shawl – full of deep meaning – to
be healed…and by her faith in response to God’s call, she is healed. Take heart daughter; your faith has made you
well!
On to the house where the
child has died Jesus raises her to life again!
And word of this shocking good news spreads throughout the district!
Jesus makes things happen…
through our response…
to His call!
Today as we take up the
offering, each of us will have the opportunity to answer God’s call. With love and trust in God, we physically
bring to the altar our pledges to answer the call of Jesus to follow him in
witness and service for the sake of the world.
Don’t let your exercise
of faith be limited to worship on Sunday.
Be bold! Be strong! By your faith, bring others closer to God. Let your light shine before others in the
workplace, in the marketplace, wherever you go – that through your faith others
may come to know Christ, to know the power of His resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings.
The inheritance of the
world comes not to us by the law, but through the righteousness of our faith --
by our answering God’s call in love and trust – a call to grow as ambassadors
of Christ to this broken world.
In so doing, we join all
the saints in following Christ.
What ever became of
Matthew and all his sinful buddies? They
all died.
Whatever happened to the
woman who was healed? She died.
Whatever happened to the
little girl brought back to life? She
died.
No one gets out
alive! But this life is not a trap – it
is a portal to eternity. We pay
attention to Jesus because He is risen! By his death he defeated death and He comes
to us from our future that we too may have eternal life!
Do not pass up
opportunities to witness and serve. Even
so simple a thing as passing on advice to others – when done using sacred
language – is an opportunity to witness and serve. How many of us give advice to others? Is this not a daily opportunity for withess?
Witness this letter
written by Thomas Jefferson the year before his death – asked to give some
advice to the young son of a friend…
“This letter will, to you, be as one from the dead. The writer
will be in the grave before you can weigh its counsels. Your affectionate and
excellent father has requested that I would address to you something which
might possibly have a favorable influence on the course of life you have to
run, and I too, as a namesake, feel an interest in that course. Few words will
be necessary, with good dispositions on your part. Adore God. Reverence and
cherish your parents. Love your neighbor as yourself, and your country more
than yourself. Be just. Be true. Murmur not at the ways of
Thomas Jefferson – former
ambassador of
May the Peace of God,
which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and our minds in the Risen
Christ Jesus!