Submit to Be More Vile

Scripture:  Matthew 9:9-13

Jimmy Stewart is one of the best-known actors from Hollywood’s golden age.  He had long and influential career that spanned decades and throughout his life he racked up 92 credits to his name.   With that many acting credits, it is inevitable that he would have a few films that did not perform well.   Stewart served in WWII, and his biggest flop turned out to be his first role after the war.   The film got a very mixed critical reception; it lost $525,000 which translates to over five million dollars today.  It’s failure was the beginning of the end for the production studio which closed a few years later. The failure of this film set off the low point in Stewart’s career that took a few years to recover from.  This underperforming movie that caused all of this is a sentimental story called It’s a Wonderful Life.

Today, It’s a Wonderful Life has found new life.   The movie was not held in high esteem for decades, and this led to an oversight where the copyright was not renewed and the movie fell into the public domain.   Local TV affiliates all over the country began broadcasting the movie on Christmas because it cost them so little compared to other programing.  This caused the movie to re-enter the public consciousness in the 70’s-80’s.   By the 1990’s the movie had cemented itself as a Christmas classic, and in 2007 when the American Film Institute released their list of the 100 greatest movies of all time, it’s a Wonderful Life was ranked #20.   The movie completely failed to connect with the post-war audience, and only decades later when it was given a second chance did “It’s a Wonderful Life” become regarded as a cinematic masterpiece. 

The eventual success of It’s a wonderful life has some similarities with the story of Matthew.   Originally, It’s a Wonderful Life failed to connect with audiences, and it was written off as an overly sentimental flop and only decades later was the beauty of the movie rediscovered.   In the same way, Matthew was written off by the religious leaders as an irredeemable sinner, but Jesus discovered a disciple.    To Jesus, Matthew and all his friends were worth a second look, they were worth not giving up on.   This morning’s scripture should challenge us to ask what people do we need to reconsider and not give up on?

This may be a somewhat familiar story to you, because it is one that shows up in three of the four gospels.  All three of the gospels tell a similar story of Jesus calling a tax collector to follow him, a party where Jesus eats with sinners, and grumbling pharisees.  In all three accounts it ends with Jesus telling the pharisees it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.   Of the three accounts of the story, perhaps the one that we should pay the most attention to is this morning’s scripture reading.   This morning’s scripture after all, is Matthew’s account of his calling to follow Jesus.   There are a couple of details present in this morning’s scripture that are not in the other accounts that are worth paying attention to.  

 One of the aspects that stands out, especially when compared to Mark’s account, is just where in the story of Jesus’ ministry the calling of Matthew happens.  We do not have a story in the gospels of how Jesus called all of his twelve closest disciples, but Matthew was not one of the first and was likely closer to one of the last.  In the gospel of Matthew Jesus had already called his first disciples, he had already begun teaching in synagogues, he had already preached the sermon on the mount, he had calmed the storm, cast out demons, and healed the sick.   He did all of this in a fairly small region around the northern part of the Galilean lake.  This is worth keeping in mind, because it means that the calling of Matthew did not happen in isolation.   When Jesus approached Matthew and said “follow me” this was not necessarily a meeting between two strangers.   Matthew was a local tax collector in an area that was not exactly a major metropolis.   The odds are really, really high that even if they had not a conversation before that Matthew would have known about Jesus.  He would have heard the stories.  In Matthew 4:25 it mentions large crowds gathered around Jesus before he preached the sermon on the mount.  Even if Matthew was not part of the crowd, he almost certainly would have heard secondhand accounts of what Jesus said and the miracles Jesus performed. 

 In Matthew 4:17, Matthew wrote that at the main message that Jesus began to preach was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  I have to wonder what Matthew’s reaction was to hearing this message.  I have to wonder how the stories of Jesus resonated with him.  I have to wonder just how much Matthew felt the pull of Jesus’ words to repent against the gravity of living his current life.   I realize this is conjecture, it is me trying to read between the lines, but I think that Matthew must have wrestled with Jesus’ message of “repent”, because when Jesus finally looked Matthew eye to eye and said “follow me” that is exactly what he did.  All it took was the last little nudge of a personal invitation to bring him back to God and lead him into a transformed life. 

Matthew and Jesus did not exist in separate little vacuums until they happened to cross paths in this morning’s scripture.  They came from similar backgrounds, they lived in the same area, and they almost certainly knew some of the same people. Despite that it took a personal invitation for Matthew to repent and believe the good news.   We can learn from this because sometimes a personal invitation is still all that it takes. 
 
Recent studies from 2024 reveal that 2/3rds of people in Indiana do not attend religious services regularly.   This does not happen in a vacuum; it is not like all of these people are distant and anonymous to us.   Chances are many of you know people in your lives who fall into this category, and all of us interact with people who have the same backgrounds, live in this same community, and know the same people as us that fall into this category.    

Also, just like Matthew, there are people not engaged with the faith we have found hope in but are open to it.  For years, studies have found that a majority of people who not actively engaged in faith are open to responding to an invitation from a friend, family member, or neighbor to attend church with them.   I have every confidence that there are people in our community who are looking for the healing, the acceptance, the forgiveness, the second chance that only God can provide.   At this very moment there are people  sitting at home drinking their coffee or out walking their dog, who are just a single invitation away from a life transformed by grace.  This morning’s scripture demonstrates this truth, and as followers of Jesus we should follow the example that Jesus set.  As followers of Jesus the question is not “are we going to invite someone to church”, because that should be a given.  The question is “Who are you going to invite to church?”

The second detail from this morning’s scripture that is worth paying attention to is Jesus’ response to the pharisees.   The pharisees are upset with Jesus because he is eating with sinners.  In their viewpoint to be righteous requires distancing one’s self from the unrighteous. In their viewpoint, Jesus was defiling himself by eating with sinners.  By breaking bread with them, he was transferring their uncleanness to himself.  From the pharisee viewpoint the best way to maintain one’s purity and righteousness was to not associate with those who were never going to reach the standard.  Matthew and his friends clearly fit within the standard of sinner that the pharisees thought should be avoided. 

In all three gospels where this story appears Jesus has a similar response.  In all three he states, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick” and “I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners.”   However, in Matthew’s account, Jesus says an extra sentence.   Here he tells the pharisees “go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”   As the pharisees likely would have known, this is a direct quote from the prophet Hosea.  In Hosea the point is that what God wants of God’s people is not going through the actions to meet the requirements of devotion, but what God seeks is for God’s people not just to follow the letter of God’s law, but to live out the heart of God’s law that establishes how to live in right relationship with God and with each other.   It is a way that values mercy over judgement and love over following the rules.  

 Just like it is the sick who must urgently need a doctor, Jesus came to save those who are most in need of saving.   In order for Jesus to do that, he had to spend time with and build relationships with the people who need him the most-which are the very people that the pharisees tried to avoid.   In order to reach these people Jesus led with mercy, and Jesus led with love.   As followers of Jesus, it is still our desire, in fact it is our mission, to see more people become disciples of Christ.  However, like Jesus she would also lead with mercy and love.  As United Methodist Pastor Michael Beck wrote in A Field Guide to Methodist Fresh Expression: “Any missional strategy that does not begin with an agenda-free love for others is questionable.”  

Jesus ate with sinners because he cared for them and he loved them. This action led him into direct conflict with the religious leaders of his day, and this is a pattern that seems to consistently get repeated.   At the invitation of his friend George Whitfield, John Wesley came to a gathering where he preached outside as opposed in a proper chapel or church gathering.  Wesley initially resisted this idea, but on April 2nd, 1739, he wrote in his journal, “at four in the afternoon, I submitted to be more vile and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation.”    John Wesley took the good news out of the sanctuary, which he initially considered to be improper and even a little vulgar.   He did not believe it was an appropriate venue for the Word of God, but he did it anyway because he believed people hearing the message of salvation was more important than his sensibilities.  

 Perhaps today, we need to submit to being more vile.  Churches are really good at saying that everyone is welcome, and then we open the doors and hope people show up.  Perhaps, like Jesus who ate with sinners, perhaps like John Wesley who gave up his pulpit to preach on the streets, we should go where people are.  Instead of just seeking to insulate ourselves with people who are like us and believe like us, we should seek out the people on the margins, the people who have felt left out, the people who have been hurt and we should love them; without an agenda.  We should lead with mercy and draw all own personal circles a little wider, so that we are more willing to love and care for all people. 

  Famed movie director Stephen Spielberg lists “It’s a Wonderful Life” as his #1 favorite movie.   About the movie he wrote the film, “shows that every human being on earth matters-and that is a very powerful message.”  It could be said that is the same message as this morning’s scripture.    Jesus intentionally sought and loved the people were excluded by the religious leaders of his day.   Jesus did this because he led with mercy, and to God every human being on earth matters.  All of us are worthy of love and Jesus came to save all.   May we follow the example of our savior.   May we be willing to personally invite others, the way that Jesus invited Matthew.   May we be willing to lead with mercy.  Just like Jesus ate with the sinners of his day, may we be willing to engage with and to love the people who feel excluded today.   May we be the supportive person in the life of someone who needs someone in their corner.   May we be willing to leave our comfortable building, submit to be more vile, and share the life changing love of Christ with everyone.