Matthew 9:9-13: As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
****************************
We all enjoy a good story. Stories can entertain us and stories can teach us. One of the ways stories teach is by drawing us into the story, making us identify with one or more of the characters in their struggles and triumphs. For example, the story of The Ugly Duckling is a wonderful story for small children. This ugly duckling, you recall, was the smallest, weakest, and, of course, ugliest creature in the entire farmyard. That is how many children feel at school. All the bigger farm animals laugh at and pick on the ugly duckling. Many children face that same thing every day in school. But then, eventually, the little duckling grew up, and she became a beautiful swan; the most beautiful of all the farm animals. This part of the story can give kids hope. “Someday,” they can think to themselves, “someday my chance will come; I don’t have to be the scrawniest and ugliest one forever.” And this is not just a fairy tale. It happens in real life. Look at Bill Gates. He was a nerd at school, a geek as he describes himself; ugly and awkward and unpopular. But then, he invented things that changed life as we know it, and he became the richest man on earth. Stories like that can give children hope.
When you hear a story, it is important that you identify with the right character. When the class bully hears that story of the ugly duckling, he should not identify with the ugly little duck. If he is to learn anything from the story, he should realize he is more like the bigger farm animals who are so mean. Perhaps he could then also learn something useful from the story. He could come to realize that he is the bad guy in the story, see what pain he is causing, and decide to change his behavior.
In the ninth chapter of Matthew there is the story of a conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. The conflict began when Jesus called Matthew to be his disciple, and then went to his home for a meal. The problem was Matthew was a tax-collector. Tax-collectors were hated in Israel, and for very good reason. They collaborated with the Roman occupiers, served the Roman Empire by collecting the taxes for them, and then lived lavishly by overcharging their neighbors; neighbors who were suffering under the heavy and unfair tax burden. It was against Jewish law to even associate with these sinners. The Pharisees were the most religious of all Jews, and they protested.
As you ponder this text, think about where you might see yourself in the story. Who do you identify with? There are three choices: Jesus, Matthew, or the Pharisees. Jesus is, of course, in a class of his own, so it would be presumptuous to identify with him. We won’t do that.
That leaves the Pharisees and Matthew, and I would suspect that you, like me, would want to identify with Matthew. After all, he was the one who followed Jesus, and that is what we want to be– followers of Jesus—right? So, we want to be like Matthew, called by Jesus, spending time with Jesus, and being welcomed into his group. That is certainly the most desirable place to be in the story. After all, who wants to be like the Pharisees who are always the bad guys, mean and self-righteous, always critical of Jesus and everyone else. No one wants to be like the Pharisees.
Perhaps, however, we are more like the Pharisees in this story. If we look closer at the text and see how we might identify with them, we may be able to learn something, and then be properly chastened and challenged by the story.
First of all, we must understand, there is more than one way to hear and apply a story. We cannot simply divide people into two distinct groups– those who are like Matthew and those who are like the Pharisees. We can approach these stories from several angles, and see different aspects of ourselves in more than one character. For example, the class bully should see himself as one of the big meanies in the story of The Ugly Duckling. At the same time, on the inside, he might also feel small and ugly, and therefore, also identify with the suffering little duck. At home, he might be the one getting bullied and made to feel small and worthless. For another example, I can identify with all three characters in the parable of the prodigal son. For a time, I was like the prodigal son. I did not pay much attention to my heavenly Father, and, was not making the best use of what I had been given. I have also been judgmental and unloving towards other people, just like the older son in the story. And, as a parent, at times I have felt like the longsuffering, anxious, worried father in the story.
In today’s story, we can certainly see ourselves in Matthew. Jesus has called us, he has come into our lives, and we are trying to follow him.
But we might also see ourselves in the Pharisees. The Pharisees were, after all, the active church members, there at worship every week. That’s me. I have always been involved in the church, and that makes me an ‘insider’ like the Pharisees, whereas Matthew was very much an ‘outsider.’ And sometimes I, like the Pharisees, have had negative feelings toward ‘outsiders.’ Let me tell you what I mean. (continued…)
Related Posts
