June 7, 2026 Text: Matthew 9:9-13
Dear Friends in Christ,
I ran across this recently on the internet, “11 things to look for in a Pastor.” I will share a few you might enjoy. “Should know Greek and Hebrew, makes him sound like he knows something about the Bible.” “Diehard NFL fan. Gets you out of church by noon.” “Must enjoy a wide variety of casseroles.” “Willingness to preach boldly against sins you don’t personally commit.” “Must be friendly and always available, but not all up in your business.” “Is a man. This one’s non-negotiable.” And this last one, “No more than 6 disqualifying sins in his past.”
That last one might be a little hard for our main character today – Matthew. Let’s see what made him such a bad candidate for the ministry. He is an IRS man of his day. Despised by the people. He probably gouged people to line his own pockets. His Jewish name was Levi. Being from the tribe of Levi made him eligible for the priesthood, but he goes in almost the complete other direction. Could this have caused him to despise himself? We better put this guy into the “do not call” pile.
But you see we are not doing the call. Jesus is running this show. He sees something in this publican that the world does not. Jesus understands this is . . .
“THE CALL OF THE IMPERFECT”
The text begins, “As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him.” (v. 9). Like many of the other disciples called, Matthew just gets up and followed. I am always amazed at this dedication. He may have known of Jesus’ ministry and Jesus had just come from healing the paralytic, but this imperfect man still was able to get on board.
“And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners.?’” (vs. 10-11). During this time in history, sharing a meal was as important as sharing life itself. The Pharisees who thought their own righteousness made them right with God, could not stomach Jesus’ table fellowship with these imperfect people.
Jesus is ready with the answer for the imperfect. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (vs. 12-13). Jesus is telling these pompous Pharisees to go back to school. They did not see that mercy was the point of God’s work. Hosea condemned the same thing with Israel in our Old Testament Lesson. He told them to “return to the Lord…I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hos. 6:1a, 6).
We are imperfect people called to follow the Savior. “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him.” These words in our Catechism show the language of repentance. We have no merit or worthiness to make a decision for Jesus. The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel. The perfect man died and rose for the imperfect Matthew and the imperfect you and I.
Matthew talked and ate with Jesus. We have this same presence with Jesus. Word and Sacrament. The preaching of the Gospel and the eating of Jesus’ body and blood. Basic elements of human existence but raised to a higher level by the presence of Christ.
The church is not just a collection of people. It is a hospital filled with sick, sick people. Our doctor knows what horrible thoughts and actions can come from the patients. He knows we need Him. We need a Physician for our imperfections. We need a Savior for our sickness. We need the Lamb of God for our lethargy. We need a Redeemer for our restless heart. Speak to me Doctor.
When He speaks we hear the call of the imperfect. We join Matthew, Peter, and John and the other imperfects in our calling. David Burgess wrote this, “In the future, the most important test of the Christian church may not lie in the wisdom of our planning or the skill of our preaching but in the plain, stubborn, devoted commitment of people like ourselves, who are not wise enough or good enough to deserve the name of Christians but who resolve to follow Christ in everything we do.”
Amen.