One day, while eating with tax collectors and sinners

Meditation on Matthew 9:9–13, 18–26

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Sunday School Appreciation and Recognition Day

Pastor Karen Crawford

June 11, 2023

It is good to be back, leading worship and sharing a message with my flock! I missed you! How have you been?  This past week, I traveled to Austin, TX, for my 4th class in my Doctor of Ministry program. I have two more classes to go before my final project.

What I have learned so far, from this program, is the importance of hospitality, kindness, and mercy to all people. That doesn’t mean we don’t compare ourselves with other students, at least in the beginning. We have introverts and extroverts! People with different learning styles, strengths and needs. People ranging in age from 30 ish to 60 something, varying in gender and sexual preference or orientation– married, divorced, or single; with and without pets, children or grandchildren. Some serve as spiritual directors, counselors and teachers or work for presbyteries to train lay pastors or as EP’s and GP’s. Others are camp directors, chaplains, associate pastors, co-pastors, heads of staff, solo pastors, church planters and mission workers. Then, there are those with ministries serving children and families or young adults; and those ministering to veterans with PTSD.

We are Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, former Catholic priests, Unitarian Universalists, and pastors serving in the United Church of Christ and United Church of Canada. The miracle is that we all get along with each other and care for one another through this challenging and creative program.

I’ll be honest. Sometimes there is tension because of our differences. But we are determined to not let our differences divide us—because of our faith that the Body is ONE. That we share the same Spirit. Inside our classes or dorms and especially when we eat together, in the dining hall or in local restaurants. No one is an outsider.

And this is how it is with Jesus—who shares meals with everyone—rich and poor, old and young, powerful and weak, those who like him, and those who don’t. Jesus eats with EVERYONE. So much so, that the Pharisees, who are faithful in their adherence to their beliefs, are annoyed.

They ask his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” One of the tax collectors, Matthew, who has just answered the call to follow Jesus and become one of his closest friends.

Eating is an intimate act, isn’t it? We both give and receive, when we share a meal. The meal, itself, means nourishment to the body, but also nourishment for relationships for those who are eating. The table is the great social equalizer, too, especially if you are all eating the same food. We are all human beings, who need to eat. And we need the social nourishment, too, of friendship. What better way to grow in friendship than by sharing a meal?

So, one day, while eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus is interrupted in his eating and teaching about our need for mercy, of all things—and how mercy is even more important in living out our faith than sacrifice. A leader has come to ask Jesus to heal his loved one. “My daughter has just died,” he says, “but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” The man has run out of options. There isn’t anything more that can be done for her! She has been pronounced dead. He isn’t ready to give up on her. Not if there’s a chance for her healing.

Matthew doesn’t tell us how old she is or give any details about the leader, but in Mark and Luke, the man is a leader of the synagogue called Jairus and his daughter is 12 years old. The man has seen Jesus heal. He makes his heartfelt request and Jesus responds immediately to his cry for help, though it means rising from the table and ending the dinner party, a celebration to welcome Matthew into the fold.

He’s on his way there—when there’s another who needs healing. Isn’t it funny how ministry happens when we are on our way to do ministry somewhere else? God has plans! Jesus is in just the right place at the right time. The woman who needs healing is an outsider because of her chronic health condition. She has been bleeding for 12 years. The medical profession has let her down—found no cure. She must be exhausted! But she sees Jesus, and she thinks to herself, “If only I can touch the fringe of his cloak, I will be healed.” That’s faith!

The fringe is the Hebew tzitzit, worn by Jewish men and some women to remind them of the commandments. This is a sacred cloth and not just the bottom threads of any garment. Jesus knows why she has touched his fringe, and says, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” The Greek word, sozo translated made you well could also be translated, “saved you.” This is healing of body and soul!

Finally, Jesus arrives at the leader’s home—and the flutes are playing, and the crowd is making a commotion—and Jesus tells them all to go away. They are beginning some kind of ritual done at the time of death, maybe like a funeral, when Jesus says, “Stop the music! She isn’t dead!” He takes her by the hand, and she gets up.

This makes me wonder why we always talk about the raising of Lazarus, but we hardly ever say anything about the raising of this 12-year-old unnamed girl, which is just as miraculous and wonderful! The bodies of young girls and women are as important to Jesus as adult men. And the healing of strangers is as important to him as the healing of friends and family.

I don’t want you to miss something here. It all starts with the meal, a kind of celebration of Matthew’s saying yes to following Jesus. At the meal, no one is an outsider. Everyone is welcome to the table and into a loving relationship with Jesus and all who follow him.

And the meal—where people draw closer to the Lord and one another—as they are nourished, body and soul–strengthens them to go and do acts of mercy and love, for Jesus’s sake. The meal of thanksgiving is very much like our Communion that we will celebrate today, in a few moments, the meal that unites and strengthens us to go and serve God and neighbor, in Christ’s name.

There’s one more special, spiritual thing we have planned for today. We are having a Sunday School picnic at the manse. We are celebrating another beautiful, joyful program year. And we want to say thank you to all the students, teachers, and families. Amazing things happen in Sunday School. Don’t you agree? Raise your hand if you ever went to Sunday School. I can tell! Look how amazing YOU are!

Sunday School is where children are nourished by sacred story, testimony and prayers, arts and crafts, music and games, and, of course, snacks, and, best of all, friendship. One cool thing about Sunday School is that the children become friends with other children they might not otherwise know and befriend—if it weren’t for the church! In our Sunday School, no one is an outsider. Ever.

There’s one requirement. You do have to be willing to receive hospitality, kindness and mercy and offer them to others. Hospitality, kindness, and mercy–that’s what Sunday School is all about. This is where we learn to be Christ’s disciples—not only with minds and words, but with actions and feelings. This is a place and time where our faith is formed and shaped—where our love for the Lord and one another is fed and grown.

This is my hope for our picnic today—the first Sunday School picnic in more than a few years and my first Sunday School picnic with you. Like the meal with Jesus before he goes and heals and like the Lord’s Supper we will share in a few moments, may our picnic bind us together in love, so that no one is an outsider, ever. May the gathering strengthen us—body, mind, and soul—to go and do more acts of hospitality, kindness, and mercy—and truly be Christ’s Body for the world!

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for your loving kindness, mercy, and hospitality, shown through the heart, words, and actions of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you that he was willing to eat with strangers and friends alike, sinners and tax collectors, rich and poor, insiders and outsiders—and that he continues to share our meals with us, bless us, heal us, and grant us his peace for everlasting life. Thank you for the gift of faith of the man whose daughter had died and the woman who struggled with bleeding and for Christ’s compassion and power to heal. May we also have a strong faith, so that we might go and do acts of compassion and kindness, healing, and mercy that you lead us to do. May we always be a witness, within this congregation and out in the world, that no one is an outsider. In Jesus’ name. Amen.