904 Washington St SE, Olympia, WA 98501
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We find ourselves, within the Church calendar, what is called Ordinary Time. As we heard a few weeks ago, “ordinary,” does not mean dull, or humdrum. Taken from the Latin, ordinal, meaning “related to a series.” Let us then, think of Ordinary Time as a journey for the next 5 ½ months walking through the life and ministry of Jesus, with the writer of Matthew’s gospel as our Guide. This journey focuses on our growth and maturing as disciples/followers of Jesus. This is the hard, every day, one-foot-in-front-of-the-other, grunt work of discipleship. This means that there will be setbacks, stalls, progress, frustration and exhilaration, weaving in and out of our faith journey. I know! You can hardly wait!
We kicked off this season of Ordinary Time, a few weeks ago, by looking at the Calling of the tax collector, Matthew as well as Jesus’ encounter with a local religious leader, his dying child and a woman with a “blood” issue she had been dealing with for 12 years. What I find most compelling about this story, this series of stories, is what they tell us about how Jesus sees people. Ordinary people, like us, who are each dealing with their set of problems, issues, relationally, physically, and spiritually.
Matthew, the tax collector, works in cooperation and with the blessing and authority of the Roman Empire. That makes him a traitor to his people, a pariah within the community and ritually unclean. That he has been selected and called by Jesus to be a part of his inner circle, the religious elites, the Pharisees, are outraged with not only his choice of Matthew, but that Jesus openly ate, conversed, and was building relationships with Matthew, his co-workers, and other “sinners.” This interaction also makes Jesus ritually, “unclean,” as well. The Pharisees now have an expectation that Jesus will go through the proper steps of making himself ritually clean as outlined by the Law. Instead, Jesus says, if you’re well, you don’t need a doctor, only if you’re sick. Then, Jesus says, with some authority and from his chest: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I think that’s Jesus’ way of saying, people are the priority. Relationships and building bridges into people’s lives are of the utmost importance and sometimes that means the rules will be broken. For Jesus, which means, for us as well, building bridges into people’s lives of relationship, inclusion, belonging, is the name of the game. He’s there for broken, hurting people, and guess what? That includes all of us, even those who look like they have it all together, who are highly thought of and “successful.” I encourage you to read through this story a few times and see how God’s Spirit, speaks to you through it. What are the implications that it has for what we, here on the corner of 9th and Washington should focus on as well as for you, personally?
I grew up in the late 60’s and 70’s when the “church” of Jesus Christ was much more a centralized fabric of American society. In those days, if you wanted to be a member of a faith community, you had to agree/believe in their “Statement of Beliefs.” In other words, if you “believed” in those things, then you could “belong,” and become a member. Once a member, you had voice and the freedom to decide for yourself, just how involved you wanted to be within the life of the church.
The process was pretty clear: Believe…Belong…Become.
That was then. Today? Hmm. My faith journey; how I’ve seen God’s story lived out, and intersecting within my own and other people’s lives, leads me in a different direction. What I hear, see, experience is that people today are looking for a place of belonging. A space, and/or community, where they can be accepted, safe, find some purpose, along with good vibes, etc. In other words: A place where they Belong. The stories from Matthew, whether the call of Matthew, the Leader with a dying child, and/or the women with the bleeding issue, were outside the boundaries of being able to belong. They were considered unclean, relationally and spiritually outsiders, too tainted to belong to the standards of the community, especially, the religious community.
But Jesus…you remember Jesus, right? The ONE we call Savior, Lord, the Christ, the Resurrected, Holy One. The One we follow, serve, and love? Yeah, that One! Well, he creates pathways of inclusion. He tears down the barriers that exclude and says all belong within God’s Kingdom.
It’s why our invitation is simple and direct: Come and See!
Followed by: Come… Belong!
I firmly believe, that once someone decides to belong to what God is doing here on the corner of 9th and Washington, then God’s Spirit works on the process of them becoming more Christ like. We, the community, will have some roll in that process of becoming, but primarily, that’s God’s job, not ours. And that “becoming,” takes a lifetime. Who knows?
One day that person, maybe you, will wake up and go: Holy crap…I believe!
Instead of the old paradigm of: Believe… Belong… Become;
God’s story within our 21st Century, North American context is telling us: Belong… Become… Believe!
This is the starting point for our journey through this season of Ordinary Time.
Come and See!
Pastor Mark (Rev)
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