I would like to tell you a story this morning about two ways of living.
One way of living is one in which people are bent over, infirm, bound up, afraid, under law, in fear of punishment, surrounded by darkness.
The other way of living is one in which there is freedom, release, healing, life, joy, assurance that we are loved.
I wonder which way you would prefer to live?
Our two readings this morning tell the story of these two ways of life and their relation to each other, and leave us with this choice: which way will you live?
The first reading that we heard was from the book of Hebrews, and the writer of that book begins this section of the book with a description of something that had happened many years ago to the people of God.
They had been led out of slavery in Egypt, had crossed the Red Sea and had travelled across the desert to a mountain, a mountain that was holy to them, a mountain called Mount Sinai. When they got there they discovered that it was a place of darkness and fire. God came and spoke to Moses in the clouds of the mountain, but the people were afraid that they would die, so they drew back from hearing God’s voice and instead kept at a distance.
It was at Sinai that God gave the law to the people, through Moses. This law was to be life giving and life enhancing. It was given to allow the people to live in harmony with each other and with God. However, it was powerless to do this because the people continued to keep their distance from God. At first this meant that they were disobedient and unfaithful. While Moses was on this very mountain, being given the law by God, only months after the rescue from slavery in Egypt, they make an idol to worship, a golden calf.
The remainder of the Old Testament tells the story of the people of God keeping their distance from God, of them being wooed back by God, and of them going off again and again. Eventually their land is over run and they are scattered into exile. They insisted on keeping their distance from God, and in the end God allowed them to have what they wanted.
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This is a bar of Divine Chocolate. If anybody can work out the link between what I say this morning and Boy George then they can have it. You have until I leave the building this morning to work it out. The answer will be on next week's notice sheet.
As I was mulling over the gospel passage for this morning, I was struck by the contrast between the two commands that Jesus gives in the course of the story. There are some similarities between the two orders: they both involve movement, they both require the hearer to do something, and they will both result in a changed life. But there is also a big difference between the two directions.
Can anyone hazard a guess as to what I'm talking about? What are the two commands?
The first is “Follow me” and the second is “Go and learn”.
In this story the first command is given to Matthew. Jesus is wandering around his home town, and he comes across one of the local tax collectors. The fact that he is a tax collector is very important.
We know that it is very important because it is the only detail we are given about Matthew. Here we have the story of the most important encounter in Matthew's life, and he tells it in about thirty words. We don't know his history, what he looks like, about his family, about his faith journey up to this point, anything. The only thing we know about Matthew is that he is a tax collector.
It's a bit difficult for us to really get why this is so important because we don't live in an occupied country. In Jesus' time, Judea was occupied by the Romans. The tax collectors were native Jews who collected taxes on behalf of the Romans, and took a fair bit for themselves as well. The two closest things I can think of are the collaborators in France during World War 2, and Guy of Gisbourne in the Robin Hood stories. This man extorted money from his countrymen, was hated by them, despised by the Romans and was barred from the Temple, prevented from going to worship God.
It was this person that Jesus invited to follow him. Come follow so that I can show you a better way to live and heal you.
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Misha is desperate. She came to the UK from the Czech Republic because she had heard that there was work. She's been here six months and is still paying back the loan she took out to fund her ticket. Four days ago she got a letter from home. Her little sister, Anya, has taken ill and her parents can't get hold of the medicine she needs in Prague. Misha goes to the local health centre and asks if they can provide the medicine Anya needs. At first she can't even make an appointment, but she makes such a nuisance of herself that eventually the receptionist persuades the doctor to see her. The doctor explains the situation to Misha. Anya isn't even in the UK, and the NHS has a definite rules about the limits of where it can work. It wouldn't be fair to UK tax payers to pay for medicines for people all over the world.
Sean is desperate. He's just completed a five year sentence in prison. Because one of the things that got him into trouble were the lads he used to hang out with, part of his bail conditions are that he's had to move away from his home town. He's got a little bedsit, but no friends and no family to support him. Sean missed his daughter growing up. She's seven now. He wants to be able to keep in touch with her, and his ex is OK for him to visit, but he can't afford to pay the train fare.
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Last week we met Hannah, a woman who was desperate for a child. A woman who, in some senses, was a symbol of the fruitless life that the people of God were living. A woman who came to the place of worship, poured out her distress to God, and received the promise of God with faith.
We left Hannah as she departed the temple, trusting God for a son that she had earnestly prayed for. That son, Samuel, was born, and dedicated to the service of the Lord. That son was a prophet of God. Through him God answered the cry of the people for a King, and after the first King, Saul, came David, the touchstone example for all Kings of the people of God.
David died, and Solomon came to reign, building a temple for God in Jerusalem, a focus of worship for the nation. The nation seemed set on the road to greatness, but....
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