I
invite you to settle in this morning. As a gathered community I invite us to slow
down, to step aside from the circumstances in our own lives, and to join our
hearts and minds as we breathe together in a centring prayer.
Breathing
in, we pray: I desire mercy; breathing out, we pray: not sacrifice
Jesus
said, “Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” – Mt.
9:13
This
is a quotation that Jesus knew from the scroll of the prophet Hosea. -Hos.
6:6
Matthew’s
Gospel has these words on Jesus’ lips once again as few chapters later in the
story – “but if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
and then goes on with his discourse with the religious leaders and their
disciples. This is a regular exchange where interpretation of the Law,
scripture, is in the mouths of teachers who openly discuss its meaning and
application. It was not unusual for Jesus, or other teachers, to quote
scripture in their argument; this though is the only Gospel to quote Hosea.
For
those who are writers, you will know that one doesn’t quote another person or
passage from written material, unless it adds to and contributes to what one is
writing. Quotes are chosen carefully and with thought. When writing sermons, I
take from the text, lines that I will use by repeating, drawing the listener’s
attention too, reinterpreting, and applying. I choose the scripture line based
on the theme I feel called to preach about, sometimes it is a quote that interests
me – perhaps one I struggle with or wonder about. Today’s, I desire mercy,
not sacrifice, must be important because Jesus chose this quote and uses it
again later. Is this Jesus’ favourite passage? Is this Jesus’ understanding of
the Law and the purpose of religion wrapped up in five words? Is this Jesus’
mission statement?
The
Gospel of Matthew would suggest that it is. Jesus’ actions go about
demonstrating this scripture. In a few short verses, Jesus eats with those who
are marginalized and unfavoured, Jesus interprets the Law for the Pharisees describing
mercy, Jesus exercises mercy by following the leader whose daughter has died,
Jesus pauses to employ mercy for the hemorrhaging woman. Mercy is Jesus’ mantra,
purpose, and posture.
Sacrifice
was easier to live. -- To focus one’s energy on rules and regulations to build a sense of
stability, control, and power; when in essence there was none. ‘If we do this,
believe this, act like this’- all will be well; I will be okay. At the time of
Jesus, Jerusalem and the Judean provinces, were living under the rule of the
Roman Empire. The people of the territory were not under their own agency. Many
made choices, like Matthew the tax collector, to take jobs with the foreign power
to survive, and yet, by their own people be considered traitors. It was a time of great tension. The people of
the land, various religious groups, were divided amongst themselves: they argued about the Law, its interpretation,
and which Laws and traditions would govern the people of Israel. To focus on sacrifice
-practicing the Law by sacrificing to every ‘dot’ and ‘tittle’ - sacrificed the
purpose of the Law in the first place, to love God and love neighbour; to work in
the creation of God’s kindom on earth. With a practice of sacrifice -the human focus
was one of following the minutia of rules, and in the process lose a heart for
mercy.
The
Gospel of Matthew was written after the 1st Jewish Revolt against
the Romans and the Roman destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem; the Temple
where animal sacrifice and donation was made. In this time of uncertainty –
where there is no longer a Temple - there emerges rabbinic Judaism as a decisive
voice and a way to be in the world. This Gospel’s words are written in the milieu
of moving from Temple life to a reinterpretation of God’s covenant in a
changing world.
When
I was in university, a friend and I would occasionally housesit for a woman who
had two dogs. It was great as we could get out of residence life for a weekend
and have a whole house to ourselves. There were two bedrooms in the house, one
with a regular bed and the other with a waterbed. I ended up in the room with
the waterbed… what this meant was the dogs slept on the waterbed and I slept in
a sleeping bag on the floor. The first time we stayed, it took all of two
minutes for me to determine that the bed was a no-go. Waterbeds never stop
moving. They are never still; it was like lying down after drinking too much.
When
I think of the turmoil, despair, and dizzying problems in the world at the time
of Jesus, at the time of Matthew writing the Gospel, in the world now --- it is
as if we are all standing in a waterbed where one ill-taken step or move could pop
the whole thing- draining hope and life away.
In
the book, Camino Close to Home, Rob Fennell writes, “we have three
selves: spiritual, mental, and physical. Symbolically, all three sleep together
in one big waterbed. When one moves, the others are affected!”
The
dogs, of the woman we housesat for, liked the waterbed – in fact they would
purposefully move on the bed, sometimes playing with each other or making gentle
movements so the bed would loll them to sleep.
The
bed for me represented sacrifice – sacrifice of a goodnight sleep, along with an attitude
of distain, judgement of who would have a bed like this, jealousy of the dogs,
annoyance that my friend did not take this room, and this room meant sleeping
with dogs --- not my comfortable place.
Too
many, walk through life affected by holding complexes of sacrifice. This
affects everyone around them! The posture of the dogs towards the waterbed and
thus their experience was completely different then mine -- freeing.
I
understand the thought- actually I feel it- that we are each a waterbed where our
physical, spiritual, and mental selves are continually pushing, pulling, playing,
lolling the other parts. All the parts of me are connected and rarely do I
experience a static moment where all three are still and balanced.
This
morning I hear Jesus’ words applying to imbalance. If even one of my parts –
physical, spiritual, or mental- can focus or grasp even momentarily a posture
of mercy, rather than a practice of sacrifice, this will affect my whole being.
An ounce of mercy will be a ripple, and touch points and people far beyond
myself.
Jesus
is saying, ‘walk away from the practice of sacrifice to a posture of mercy.’
I
desire mercy, not sacrifice is
a posture. It is a way of being, formed through attitude, interpretation, language,
emphasis. I desire mercy is being faithful to Jesus’ call on us to
follow, which moves us away from religion and practice seeped in sacrifice, to
a posture of remaining in the mantra and living I desired mercy no
matter what the chaos and pressures around the community are.
As
a gathered community, having left what we were doing to follow Jesus,’ we sit
in this posture: I desire mercy.
We
place our open hands in front of us, in a receiving gesture. We anticipate the Holy
Spirit moving among us, as we pray a word prayer – we simply seek – Mercy… mercy… mercy;
We breathe in God’s mercy…
as we are filled, we embody God’s mercy…
we breathe out
God’s mercy…
Overflowing
with mercy, we go into the world to let mercy loose.
Jesus
repeats, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Amen,
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