Proper 5 / Pentecost 3 / OT 10
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
... Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.
-- Matthew 9:12-13
In this scripture, Jesus encountered a woman that had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. The laws of Judaism made it clear that such a condition rendered her unclean (Leviticus 15:25-33). For her to reach out and touch Jesus would render him unclean. The tassels that she wanted to touch on his robe were a reminder of the commandments that all Jews were to obey (Numbers 15:37-41). The story confronts us with the classic choice between our human need and following the practices of our faith. Her need was so great that she risked rebuke and violation of the law in order to touch the mercy of God. The lectionary passage combines this story with the question from the Pharisees as to why Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus insisted that his ministry, and therefore our ministry, needed to demonstrate to the outer world a compassionate mercy. The challenge for the church is to consider what we should be doing that demonstrates a welcome for those who may have been hemorrhaging in body and soul and need to reach out and touch the fringe of the church's cloak.
Notice in the story that Jesus did not require her to accommodate herself to the practices of the faith before he would respond to her need. Nor did Jesus rebuke her for interrupting his journey to help someone who was part of the community of faith. Jesus' response challenges the church to consider whether they have allowed their beliefs or busyness in otherwise legitimate ministry to become a barrier to offering mercy to those on the fringes of their community. If Jesus came "to call not the righteous but sinners," then, perhaps, we can hear in this story, and the challenge it presents to the church, an opportunity to recognize ourselves as sinners in need of the healing love of Christ.
-- Matthew 9:12-13
In this scripture, Jesus encountered a woman that had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. The laws of Judaism made it clear that such a condition rendered her unclean (Leviticus 15:25-33). For her to reach out and touch Jesus would render him unclean. The tassels that she wanted to touch on his robe were a reminder of the commandments that all Jews were to obey (Numbers 15:37-41). The story confronts us with the classic choice between our human need and following the practices of our faith. Her need was so great that she risked rebuke and violation of the law in order to touch the mercy of God. The lectionary passage combines this story with the question from the Pharisees as to why Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus insisted that his ministry, and therefore our ministry, needed to demonstrate to the outer world a compassionate mercy. The challenge for the church is to consider what we should be doing that demonstrates a welcome for those who may have been hemorrhaging in body and soul and need to reach out and touch the fringe of the church's cloak.
Notice in the story that Jesus did not require her to accommodate herself to the practices of the faith before he would respond to her need. Nor did Jesus rebuke her for interrupting his journey to help someone who was part of the community of faith. Jesus' response challenges the church to consider whether they have allowed their beliefs or busyness in otherwise legitimate ministry to become a barrier to offering mercy to those on the fringes of their community. If Jesus came "to call not the righteous but sinners," then, perhaps, we can hear in this story, and the challenge it presents to the church, an opportunity to recognize ourselves as sinners in need of the healing love of Christ.
