O.K. so the open forum thing didn't work. You must like the one sided dissertations, so I will continue with that forum, feel free to comment if you like, at this point I'm not going to sweat it. In the post below I asked a few questions regarding Matthew 9:13.
What does Jesus mean when he says "I desire mercy, not sacrifice?" If you are a Christian, do you live this way? If you are not a Christian, what does this mean to you? What does "mercy" mean in this verse? What does "sacrifice" mean in this verse? Do Christians live in Mercy or Sacrifice? Etc.
When Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 here he is responding again to the Pharisaical hypocrisy of those who place religion (or spirituality) in the rituals of following, more than in the morals of living. Remember the Pharisees considered themselves as teachers of the law above what Jesus was doing. Their view was to uphold the law - Jesus' view was to live it. This is noted in their question to Jesus' disciples in verse 11, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" In their mind Jesus was a teacher, a spiritual leader, but he was not obeying the rules. They were concerned about the kind of reflection this made on them. Their profession, their religion, and their political status.
So when Jesus responds to the Pharisees he calls them on their pretense of "knowing God," and he does it in a way that most likely stunned everyone at the dinner party. He tells them to "go and learn what this means," and then he quotes Hosea 6:6. Can imagine the awkwardness of the scene. Jesus (only a teacher in their eyes) is telling the top hierarchy of the Jewish church to go back and re-read the scriptures, and by the way while you're there, don't just memorize them, learn what is being said and stop acting like you are the top dog just because you hold up to the traditions of the law when you don't even live it.
Just as when Jesus walked the earth, this mindset still penetrates God's church today. Many Christians know the Truth of scripture but few actually implement the Meaning of it. Many churches produce a Form in order to lead people to an authentic Function of being a Christian but few get there. Many Christians talk about showing Mercy to non-Christians but most end up talking about required Sacrifice in order to be accepted.
Dan Kimball points out in his book, They like Jesus but not the Church, that Christians believe Jesus' words in John 14:6, that he is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father but through him. And Christians know the truth of Acts 4:12, where it says of Jesus that "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." He talks about his experience in sharing these truths with non-believers and their willingness and curiosity to discuss them, but only after he has built relationships with them and established a mutual trust and respect of their beliefs as well. Dan then goes on to say:
"There seem to be plenty of Christians who will hand out a tract or hold a street sign saying 'Jesus is the only way,' but not many who build friendships and trust with people to dialogue about what that means. Most Christians can quote Acts 4:12 or John 14:6, but have we earned the trust of people outside the church that allows us to intelligently dialog about what they mean?"
What a great question! Have we earned the trust? I try to imagine a modern day scene of Matthew 9. I picture a group of fearful Christians standing outside a club, a bar, a secular concert, an abortion clinic, or a gay pride parade and they are shouting out scripture, or holding up signs, or passing out tracts about the truth they know while all the time avoiding real conversations. Then they see a single Christian walk into the club, buy tickets into the concert, walk into the clinic with the mom-to-be with the same heavy heart, or walk into the crowd and watch the parade and talk to those around them. No tracts, no bullhorn, no sign, no bible. Just that person loving others with no agenda to judge and shame those around them.
What do you think the first group if Christians do? Yeah, they JUDGE! "How can they BE with these people without telling them the TRUTH!?!" - "How can they condone this sinful behavior!?!" - "Why do they hang out, eat, laugh, talk with these sinners!?!?" - "Don't they know that that is no way for a Christian to behave!?!" - "Don't they know that these people are not living in SACRIFICE to their sin!?!" - "Don't they know that we have a Form in which to present the plan of salvation to these people!?! And why aren't they following it!?!"
This is sad but unfortunately all too true. I would have to imagine that the person in the concert, the club, the clinic, watching the parade building relationships with people is going to have a better chance of explaining the truth about Jesus than the sign holding, bullhorn yelling, tract passing hypocrites on the outside judging the motives of the guy on the inside and turning everyone off by their arrogant, distasteful presentation.
Believe it or not, I do have a moral compass and an understanding of scripture. I'm sure if you have read this far, some of you may be questioning that. I am not advocating abortion, lewd sex or a bong hit while listening to the devil's music. I am simply acknowledging that as a Christian I know the truth that I should not love the world or the things in the world, and if I do love the world, the love of the Father is not in me (1 John 2:15) and that Jesus also prayed that I not isolate myself from the world, but rather I have enough courage to live in it, but not be a slave to it (John 17:15).
So it is with this Meaning that I hope to find Truth in my actions. It is with this Function that I hope to find the authentic Form to live as a Christian. And it is with this Sacrifice that I hope to find the Mercy that allows me to dine with sinners. And maybe at some point I will earn their trust to have positive conversations about who Jesus is and what God's words says about him.
Until then I'll see you at the pub!
