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The Readings.

Proverbs 3. 13 - 18

Happy are those who find wisdom,
and those who get understanding,
for her income is better than silver,
and her revenue better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called happy.

Matthew 9. 9 - 13

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “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.”

The Sermon
Prepared by The Revd Canon Dr Alan Billings.

I thought I might write a book. For Christians. It would need a snappy title, but
the subtitle would be: The ten texts that every Christian ought to know.

The ten texts that every Christian ought to know.

I would be making the point that none of us can hold the entire bible in our
minds all the time. I have read passages of scripture almost every day for the
whole of my working life, but not every word sticks, and some words don’t
seem especially helpful these days.

There are verses in Leviticus, for instance, about how to deal with magicians
and wizards, and whether tattoos are a good idea. I don’t need to fill my head
with that. (Tattoos, by the way, are thought to be a bad idea.)

But some verses we do need to know because they should be playing a key
part in forming our faith and guiding our conduct. We should return to them
again and again to keep ourselves spiritually sound.

So ten texts that every Christian ought to know.

Why ten? Well, it’s a bit arbitrary; but it’s about that number that we can
consistently keep in mind.

Among the ten would this from the gospel according to St John: For God
sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the
world might be saved through him.

That is so important.

For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the
world might be saved through him.

We Christians have often forgotten that verse. We have much preferred to
condemn, than think about what it might mean for the world to be saved
through Christ.

I’ll just give you one shocking example from my last job as a vicar.

In my parish in Kendal there was an old people’s home. My curate and I took
services there. What we didn’t know was that in the 1960s and before, it had
been a mother and baby home, run by the diocese. St Monica’s.

Unmarried girls were sent there to have their babies, which were then taken
from them, whether they wanted that or not, and given to childless couples.
In recent years all this has been revealed and a few of the mothers who are
still alive have told their story. How their families disowned them and Church
and society condemned them. They were made to feel ashamed, treated
harshly in St Monica’s and forced to work long hours every day. And, truly
shocking, if babies became sick, they were not sent to hospital but treated by
unqualified staff. Some died and they lie buried in unmarked graves in the
grounds.

We see this now as a scandal. But in those years, Church and society had let
slip that crucial text in John’s gospel. That Christ came not to condemn but to
save. Church and society wanted to condemn these mothers for having
babies out of wedlock. And it did. But in doing so, did nothing for the young
women and a great deal of harm to many babies.

In today’s gospel we read how this idea that Christ came not to condemn but
to save worked itself out in one particular way in the ministry of Christ himself.
At the time of Jesus the religious, especially the rather self-righteous
religious, were quick to condemn those they disapproved of – tax collectors,
like Matthew, who made a living gathering taxes for the Roman authorities,
and sinners. We are not told what way of life or behaviour made people
sinners in some peoples eyes. But as with those unmarried mothers in
Kendal, we can imagine how they were made to feel ashamed and to suffer.

But Christ comes not to condemn but to save, because he knows, as we
admit at the start of every service when we make our confession, that all of us
have fallen short of the glory of God.

In that sense we all need saving. And that should make us more
compassionate towards others who in other ways fall short.

As the hymn says:

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea.
But we make his love too narrow
by false limits of our own;
and we magnify his strictness
with a zeal he will not own.

For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the
world might be saved through him.

We must go and do likewise.

The Prayers

Encouraged by our fellowship with all the saints,
let us make our prayers to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, your Son called the saints to leave the past behind them
and to follow him as his disciples in the way of the cross.
Look with mercy upon those whom he calls today, marks with the cross
and makes his disciples within the Church.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Your Son told his disciples not to be afraid and at Easter breathed on
them his gift of peace. Look with mercy upon the world into which
he sent them out, and give it that peace for which it longs.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Your Son formed around him a company who were no longer
servants but friends, and he called all those who obeyed him his
brother and sister and mother. Look with mercy upon our families
and our friends and upon the communities in which we share.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Your Son sent out disciples to preach and heal the sick. Look with
mercy on all those who yearn to hear the good news of salvation,
and renew among your people the gifts of healing.
We pray for Lucy and Paul’s grandson and family.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Your Son promised to those who followed him that they would sit
on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel and would share the
banquet of the kingdom. According to your promise, look with
mercy on those who have walked with Christ in this life and now
have passed through death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Almighty God,
Grant that your Church
may faithfully hold and make known
the faith that has come to us through the apostles,
that with them and all your saints
we may inherit the glories of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Common Worship: Times and Seasons, material from which is used here is copyright (c) 2010 The Archbishops' Council