I Desire Mercy
Matthew 9:9-14

The lack of trained linguists in the CIA and FBI has crippled American intelligence efforts for decades. This is the opinion of Claire Berlinski, a veteran translator living in France. She provides several examples in a written article. In 1990 Rabbi Meir Kahane was assassinated in Manhattan. Some of you may remember that. Kahane was a high-profile Jewish politician. The assassin was soon found and arrested. The FBI confiscated handwritten materials in Arabic from the man's apartment. No one translated them. Next, the FBI arrested a suspected Palestinian terrorist for passport fraud. He was carrying Arabic videotapes and bomb-making manuals. No one translated them. Prison officials made tapes of this same character as he described bomb-making techniques over the phone. No one translated them. After the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, all of these materials were at last reviewed. They pointed clearly to the impending attack.

Mrs. Berlinski goes on to lament the crumbling of language instruction in the United States. She writes, "Efforts to teach Americans to speak difficult languages have generally failed. One-third of the graduates from the Defense Language Institute, the nation's finest language training center, had not attained the minimum proficiency of level two, on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest. American universities are of no help either. Beyond the two years of classes usually required for college entry or graduation, American students are not obliged to study languages. Few Americans undertake the serious study of a language at the appropriate age (the younger the better), fewer still study the rare and difficult tongues..."

One of her recommendations is the following: "If we are serious about training competent linguists, education in foreign languages should begin before the age of eight. Language instruction should be mandatory from elementary school on up, Far more American students should study abroad ­ not in France or Italy, but in Tunisia and Pakistan ­ and they should do so not for a semester, but for several years." [ The Weekly Standard , 12/03/2001, Vol. 007, Issue 12.]

Some historians speculate that St. Matthew was multi-lingual. Why? Because he was a tax collector. Of course, the tax collectors of Jesus' time received little applause. We've talked about this before. Their contact with the unclean consigned them to the lowest of the low in society. With what unclean items did the publicans associate? They rubbed shoulders with Gentiles, non-Jews. Also they handled coins with pagan iconography. It was thought that such things defiled. The fact that some of the publicans amassed great fortunes at the expense of their own countrymen didn't help much either. Nevertheless, by the nature of their work, the tax collectors had to exhibit some talent. Caravans from Europe, Africa, and the Fertile Crescent passed constantly through the land of Judea. These camel caravans paid taxes. In order to deal with this rainbow of cultures, the publican had to employ a variety of languages and keep careful records. His job demanded math, writing and linguistic skills. Scholars have discovered that most publicans of that era were indeed bilingual or multilingual. Thus, one could surmise that Matthew as well was a polyglot. He was proficient in several languages. If so, he would make a valuable asset to the ministry of Christ.

It is said that Lancelot Andrewes, the great Anglican Archbishop of the 17th Century, could speak fluently in about eight languages and could read six more. His mastery of many tongues enabled him to attain great things for the Kingdom of God. He was a key figure in forging the Anglican Middle Way. And with his expertise in Hebrew and Greek he led the scholars that translated the King James Bible.

Except for missionaries, very few Americans give priority to learning other languages. They may take a couple of years of high school Spanish or French in order to meet a college entrance requirement, but beyond that they don't see the benefit. Why not? They think they don't need to. English speakers have a big advantage. English has replaced French as the international tongue. People around the globe want to learn our language. But we don't make the effort to learn theirs. "Let them learn English" is the common attitude. What a shame! By remaining mono-linguistic we end up culturally stunted.

Granted, learning another tongue is a long and arduous endeavor. Besides the memorization and study, a person must display social skills: it helps to be a good conversationalist and get along with people. Think of all the mistakes one naturally makes. That means you have to have the courage to practice new words, and the humility to be corrected. In order to become fluent, one should plan on spending a couple years in that culture. What a great idea for Christian young people! I hope my own children are able to live a year or two in another country. Ideally they would be hooked up with a Christian family and plugged into a good church. What a tremendous, life-changing experience! Learning a foreign language has so many benefits. It opens up another world of people and places; it increases your employment opportunities, rewards you with adventure, and allows you to serve the Lord more effectively. For the sake of the Gospel and the discipling of the nations the Church needs bilingual people.

Sitting in the tax office, Jesus saw the potential of Matthew. So He said to him, "Follow Me!" And Matthew got up, and followed the Lord. His talent for interpreting and writing set him up as a valuable asset. And more importantly, he was destined to write a record of everything Jesus said and did. That account is the first book of the New Testament.

Verse ten explains what happened after Matthew decided to follow Jesus. "Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples."

Matthew hosts a big feast at his house; probably a farewell banquet. In doing this he shows himself hospitable. "Many tax collectors and sinners" attended the dinner. Matthew had a lot of friends with whom he did not want to cut his ties. The word "sinners" might refer to the people who ignored the Pharisees. Perhaps they flaunted the rules of the Pharisees and feasted on a fast day. At any rate their conduct caused the Jews to take a dim view of them. Jesus however made no objection to these sinners and publicans. He shared a meal with them. They must have liked Jesus.

"And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" After the meal had ended the Pharisees approached the disciples and asked their sarcastic question. "How dare your Rabbi eat with sinners?" This question was intended to embarrass the disciples. Apparently they didn't have a ready answer. The word eventually reached the ears of Jesus.

Verse 12 says, "When Jesus heard that, He said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.'" The Lord responded with a well-known proverb: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." The Pharisees prided themselves in being healthy; they believed the tax collectors to be sick sinners. Jesus is arguing as if He were a Pharisee. In the eyes of the Pharisees it would be good to dine with publicans. Why? In order to heal them; the sick need healing. Moreover, when the Lord associates with sinners He does not do this as a hobnobber. He is not encouraging anybody in their sin; He goes to them as a Physician. He goes to heal them and save them from their sin.

In doing this Jesus sets forth a basic component of evangelism. After a century of tent revivals, altar calls, and door-to-door knocking, the Church is ready to try other evangelistic methods. Courses like "Alpha" and "Credo" rely on hospitality, inviting people over for a meal. Isn't this what Jesus does every Lord's Day? As a King, He invites us into his throne-room to Feast at His royal table. We eat a meal, and in faith, the bread and wine becomes His very body and blood. We are blessed by the Lord's presence and nourished by the King's food. The Eucharist can, in a way, become our model for evangelism.

When you invite a person or family over to your house, you have the opportunity to display Christian hospitality. They eat food. They observe Christianity in action. They see a clean and tidy home, the husband and wife treat each other lovingly; the children are disciplined and polite. When the kids do act up, the parents handle it in a Christian manner, with firmness and love. Everything comes together to create a warm environment. Under these conditions the Gospel is much more readily heeded. This is the way Jesus often did evangelism. He ate with sinners. The Credo course that we want to implement at St. Luke's begins with a meal. A 22-minute video follows. Then everyone gathers in small groups and questions are provided that generate discussion. After seven sessions a person gets an idea of what the Christian lifestyle and commitment is all about. They are set for baptism, or ready to dedicate themselves to the life of the Church. God willing, this is what we will put into practice as soon as the videos arrive. We are planning to do the Credo course at the Rectory on Sunday evenings. Once you have been introduced to the format, some of you may want to do the same at your homes. Let us be in prayer for God to bless these evangelistic plans.

Turning now to the last verse. Jesus urges the Pharisees in Matthew 9:13, "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." These words go to the heart of the Pharisees' problem. "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" is a quotation of Hosea 6:6. The word "sacrifice" sums up the ceremonial law. Jesus here was saying that all external religiosity is worthless if it does not correspond to an inner disposition that is pleasing to God. God desires mercy, kindness and love over and above rituals and ceremonies. The prophets such as Hosea never called for the abolition of liturgical ritual but they did condemn religion that adhered strictly to external rules while empty of love. Religion without goodness or kindness is worthless. This is where the Pharisees fell short.

It is very common for movements to elevate ideology and externals while downgrading persons created in God's image. There are both secular and religious versions of it. In his book called Intellectuals, historian Paul Johnson outlines the big names among secularists. His portrayal of Western intellectuals from Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth-century to such twentieth-century thinkers as Jean-Paul Sartre and Lillian Hellman is sobering. They have been spoiled, vain, egoistic, self-publicizing, dishonest, deceptive, romantic about violence, prone to authoritarianism, lovers of humanity rather than real people, and heartless toward family and friends. Their schemes have created the bloodiest century in history. Yet they still think they are supremely situated to advise humanity on how to conduct its affairs. Johnson believes that the main problem is this: these intellectuals like ideas more than they do people. They really don't like people.

A similar kind of attitude can slip into the Church. Churchmen can turn into Pharisees. They begin to like rules more than people. They lift doctrine over men, women and children. They exalt intellectual acumen, or artistic flourish over humans. Jesus' statement applies to the Church: "I desire mercy more than liturgical niceties!" "I desire mercy more than a pet doctrine!" "I desire mercy more than intellectual brilliance." "I desire mercy more than masterpieces!" Every Sunday the liturgy reminds us what is most important, "Thou shalt love the Lord And Thou shalt love thy neighbor." These are the greatest commandments. When the Redeemer tells you and me, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" it's a way of telling us to love God and people above everything else. In the life of a parish, love should outshine everything else. If the Savior gave prominence to love and mercy, so should we.

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Here is the very purpose for which Jesus came to earth. To those who consider themselves in desperate need Jesus extends the invitation to salvation, a salvation that is full and free. On the contrary, to those who consider themselves righteous on their own and feel themselves worthy apart from the Lord no invitation is given. Why? Jesus came to save the lost. It is a message full of comfort to sinners forgiven by grace. Come now to the Eucharist and give God the thanks for His mercy toward you. "I desire mercy" Commit your heart to be merciful to others.

Return to Sermons