Sermons for the Month
Leading a Life Uncommon
DATE: June 9th, 2002
SERVICE: Third Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
Today, as we look forward to this afternoon's installation service, I want to challenge all of us to lead a life uncommon. Let me share with you the origin of that phrase. On a December day, just a few days before we entered the 21st century, I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the laundry room floor and listening to a CD I had been given for Christmas. The singer was a young woman named Jewel, and this was the first time I had heard her music. As a particular song was being sung I found my ears perking up. It so caught my attention that I got up, wiped my hands on my jeans, and replayed it. Then, I took the jacket out of the CD case and read the words all the time thinking; "There is a Gospel message in this song." The phrases that really caught my attention were these, "Lend your voices only to sounds of freedom. No longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from. Fill your lives with love and bravery, and you shall lead a life uncommon." And, then, toward the end of the song were these words, "Come on you unbelievers, move out of the way. There is a new army coming and we are armed with faith. To live, we must give, to live." The singer reminds us not to waste our time and energy on that which weighs us down, those things that are destructive or non-productive, but instead to draw on love and bravery to be free and to lead a life uncommon. And, indeed, that what today's Gospel lesson is all about. It's about freedom, produced by love and bravery, that then creates some very uncommon results. Let's take a look at each person in this uncommon account. First there is the tax collector, Matthew, to whom Jesus said, "Follow me", and he got up and followed. The next thing you know the Pharisees are having a fit about the type of people with whom Jesus chose to keep company. There is a reason for that. It's hard for us to grasp the full significance of this event. Perhaps we know that first century tax collectors were not on the honored citizens list, perhaps we understand that they had a tendency to take advantage of people, but even given all that, we really have no idea of just how despised they were. Usually we view Matthew as an outcast who deserves our sympathy, someone who had been discriminated against and deserved better treatment. But, that's not the case at all. This is not garden variety prejudice. Instead, tax collectors were hated people, traitors, crooks who collected excess taxes in order to pay off Roman soldiers, the invaders of the Israelites' homeland. Everyone, not just the religious leaders, hated them, and would have felt justified in doing so. To even associate with a tax collector would make the other person sinful and unclean, unworthy of participating in religious activities. No doubt, had we been there, we would have viewed our negative feelings as acceptable because this person is bad, bad, bad and without one redeeming quality. He has done nothing to make himself worthy of being a disciple, and yet Jesus called him. This is radical, uncommon stuff. In great love Jesus makes people whole rather than expecting that they come to him that way. So it is that because of the gracious love of Jesus, and Matthew's brave response, he is set free. Remember…"fill your lives with love and bravery and you will lead a life uncommon." Then we encounter the next uncommon person, a leader of the synagogue whose daughter has died, but who is convinced that Jesus can raise her from the dead. The funeral preparations have begun and professional mourners, people who were paid to weep and wail, have arrived. If anyone knows when someone is dead, it's them. They would no be there otherwise. So, when Jesus says that the girl is only sleeping, they laugh at him, and no doubt look forward to him making a fool of himself. They probably chuckled all the way out the door. And what do you suppose the father was thinking in the midst of all this? In a similar account in the Gospel of Mark Jesus says to him, "Do not fear, only believe." Believe that even in the face of death there is the promise of life. Once again, this is radical, uncommon stuff. In great love Jesus brings the child back to life. The father - who no doubt is shunned by his colleagues in the synagogue for doing so - is brave enough to believe that it could happen. The result is new life, freedom. Remember … "fill your lives with love and bravery and you will lead a life uncommon." And then we come to the third uncommon individual. A woman with a chronic hemorrhage who has been bleeding for 12 years. Like Matthew, this woman is considered unclean, untouchable, and unwelcome in the synagogue. Anyone who came in contact with her would be considered unfit for worship. To say that she was desperate is an understatement. Can you imagine how overwhelmed she was by isolation and guilt? Guilt? Yes, because the common assumption was that her illness was a punishment for some sin she had committed. Even venturing into the crowd was a huge risk. She might be stopped before she could reach him. Yet, her need and her belief that Jesus could heal her were so strong that she took the chance. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she crept up behind Jesus and touched his cloak. In that moment her healing began. The bleeding stopped. And then, much to her chagrin, Jesus identifies her and says a radical, uncommon thing. "Your faith has made you well." This outcast who has not even been allowed in the synagogue to worship God, has been made well because of her faith. It was not the power of his cloak that healed her, but the power of her - this sinner's - belief. She was brave enough to seek what she needed, and the healing love of Jesus gave her a new lease on life - freedom. Remember…"fill your lives with love and bravery and you will lead a life uncommon." They all were set free! What about us? From what do we need to be set free? I know what it was for me as a scrubbed that floor on that winter day, although I won't go into detail about that now. From what do we as individuals, or as a congregation need to be set free? It could be an attitude - everything from pessimism to criticism to apathy. It could be a specific situation - an unhealthy environment or a tradition that no longer works. It could be how we respond to other people - letting them control us or create guilt in us. It could be an emotional need - a memory that binds us or a self-concept that limits us. And, it could be something spiritual - like an inability to trust God or a lack of commitment. The list could go on and on. Think about it, in our individual and corporate lives, where is freedom needed? The message of the Gospel lessons is that when our lives are touched by the gracious love of Jesus, and we act with bravery, not only will we be free, but also we will lead a life uncommon. We will then be the new army of the song, armed with faith, giving of ourselves to create new life in the world. We will be people who no longer focus on that which binds us, but put energy into creating freedom for all who are bound. So, as we officially begin our ministry together today, I once again challenge all of us to lead a life uncommon. AMEN