Principal Service

Proverbs 3.13–18

Matthew 9.9–13

Collect

O Almighty God,

whose blessed Son called Matthew the tax collector

to be an apostle and evangelist:

give us grace to forsake the selfish pursuit of gain and the possessive love of riches

that we may follow in the way of your Son Jesus Christ,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Proverbs 3.13-18

13 Happy are those who find wisdom,

   and those who get understanding,

14 for her income is better than silver,

   and her revenue better than gold.

15 She is more precious than jewels,

   and nothing you desire can compare with her.

16 Long life is in her right hand;

   in her left hand are riches and honour.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

   and all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

   those who hold her fast are called happy.

Matthew 9.9-13

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. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ ¹²But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

Sermon

Happy are those who find wisdom and get understanding. Her ways are ways of pleasantness and her paths are peace.

Today we are celebrating the apostle Matthew who was one of Jesus disciples and is attributed to writing the Gospel according to Matthew. Here we have the account of how Jesus met Matthew and that Matthew was a tax collector. Tax collectors were not well liked or respected as they were employed by the Romans to collect taxes from the people and would often tax people more so that they could pocket the difference, which is why they are associated with sinners.

I think there is often a misconception that people of faith are not sinful, which if this reading is anything to go by, is a misconception that has been going on for thousands of years. Being part of a community of faith is not about becoming a member of the sinless club, it’s actually the sinful club! Jesus is making it clear that as disciples of Christ we are being encouraged to seek wisdom even though we come from a place of misunderstanding and sinfulness. Matthew the tax collected was regarded as one of the most sinful people in society, yet he was trusted by Jesus and became attributed with writing one of the gospels. Jesus wanted to show that anyone can be a disciple of Christ no matter what sinful act they have committed, as long as they ask for God’s forgiveness. This idea I believe is harder for us to accept then it is for Jesus because we hold on to the failings of others and we tarnish a person's character based on our own misconceptions and beliefs. This is why we encourage each other as disciples of Christ to seek for wisdom. The ways of wisdom are pleasant because it does not seek out the bad, it’s seeks the good, it seeks the ways of peace.

As a vicar I am required by the Church if England to update my Safeguarding training every three years. I have recently been doing this and have appreciated the opportunity to update my learning around Safeguarding. I think this type of training can be seen as health and safety gone too far, but I believe this is far from the truth. Safeguarding is seeking wisdom, it is seeking the paths of peace, because it is about keeping us all safe. It is recognising that in all walks of life there is the potential for danger and hurt so it is important for us all to be mindful of our behaviour and reflect are there behaviours or things that I say that are hurtful? This is not an easy question for any of us to answer and it takes a great amount of bravery to admit to our failings. However it is better to recognise our failings and to repent them, than it is to carry on with the way we are behaving. This is what Matthew did, he walked away from the sinful life he had been leading and followed Jesus. So I encourage you to know that this is a place for sinners, sinners who desire to journey on the path towards wisdom and peace. Jesus said,

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

Amen