Whom or What Do You Follow?

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me.’”Matthew 6:9

Matthew 9:9-13    Hosea 5:15-6:6                          Rev. Todd B. Freeman

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas                                    June 5, 2005

Last Sunday, both Rev. Daniel Alatorre (in the Spanish-speaking service) and I (in the English-speaking service) preached on the passage from Matthew 6 that included the verse, “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matt. 6:24 NRSV).

I mentioned in my sermon that the Bible indicates that it isn’t a matter of if we serve another, but rather who or what we will serve. In other words, we need to check our priorities in life. Are they primarily focused on things like accumulating wealth and material possessions? Or, are our priorities focused on things like building and maintaining meaningful relationships, loving others, and doing acts of charity and kindness?

Today’s passage, about the calling of Matthew to be Jesus’ disciple, actually carries a similar theme. “As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And Matthew got up and followed him.” (Matt. 6:9).

Last week, the question was, “Whom or what do you serve?” Today’s question is similar, “Whom or what do you follow?”

It is my belief that all human beings are children of God, and that the purpose of world religions, throughout all time and places, is to provide a path to understanding who and what God is. Some would claim that the only true path to God is by following Jesus Christ, and that all other paths lead to hellfire and damnation. I don’t hold such a narrow view of either God or Christianity. By following the teachings of Jesus, Christianity serves as my path to understanding who and what God is.

I don’t believe in a God who would require all humanity to travel the same path. This especially applies to all those who lived before Jesus was even born, and to all those throughout time who never heard of this Jesus and his teachings.

Do I think following Jesus is the best path to God, to living in a right relationship to others and to all creation? Well, yes I do. If I did not, then I’d be some kind of hypocrite for not following some other path. I am not ashamed, therefore, to say that Christianity, which seeks to follow the path that Jesus lived and taught, is the right path for me.

I think where Christianity gets itself into trouble is when it claims an exclusive right as the only path to God, and that all others who do not follow Jesus are condemned, and eternally condemned at that. I truly don’t believe that is what Jesus taught.

Yet the question is still valid: Whom or what do you follow? Is it Jesus and his teachings, or is it someone or something else? There is no judgment or condemnation attached to this question. But again, let us not be ashamed to say that it is Jesus who is our path, our way, our door to the divine.

And let us also not forget that following Jesus always upsets those who think they are more righteous and spiritual than others. Today’s Gospel passage is one of several that reveals that the Pharisees, who prided themselves on being religious, were deeply disturbed by many of the things Jesus did, and that Jesus expected his followers to do the same as well.

We’re told that they were upset by whom Jesus chose to eat with. Verses 10 and 11 state, “And as Jesus 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?’” Biblical commentator Larry Broding explains:

 “Sinners” were not only people who lived immoral lives. In the broader sense, Jews called anyone who lived outside Judaism proper, “sinners.” Hence, Gentiles [non-Jews] and outcasts from the community [like Jewish tax collectors who worked for the Roman government] were considered to be “sinners.”

Jesus acted in a way that caused scandal. He went out of his way to reach everyone, including the sick, the outsiders, and the misfits. And he included them in his circle of friends.

As much as the Pharisees defined themselves as exclusive, Jesus became inclusive. He reached out to the undesirable and the untouchable. He wanted to bring them into an understanding that they were a part of the kingdom of God.

As followers of Jesus, how well do we follow his lead? We are called to reach out and include others, especially those not like ourselves.

Have you ever been criticized for associating with folks that others would label as “undesirable?” I have. It used to bother me. But now, in fact, it is one of the things I am most proud of in my ministry. Following Jesus involves eating with “tax collectors and sinners.” Remember this when you feel that God is asking you to reach out to other people that “proper religious folk” think you should avoid.

In today’s passage, notice also that the Pharisees are wimps. They have a problem with Jesus, but they do not go to him directly with their concern. Instead, they go to his disciples to complain. Psychologists, using what is called the Family Systems model, call this triangulation. Like three points in a triangle, one person who has a problem with another doesn’t go directly to that person, but complains to someone else, hoping that they, perhaps, will do something about it. This is very unhealthy, yet it happens all the time – in families, at work, and in the church.

I’m sure you’ve been in a position when someone had a problem with something you have said or done, but that persons goes and complains about it to someone else instead of coming to you directly in order to deal with the situation. Or perhaps you have been the person who has had a problem with someone else, but complained to a third person instead of going directly to the one you had an issue with.

Problems are rarely, if ever, solved this way. And it usually caused hurt feelings in the long run when we don’t go directly to the person we have a problem with in order to work it out. If you find yourself in this situation, remember the triangle and try to avoid it. Instead, think of a straight line – a line that links two people (you and another) directly together.

This is what Jesus does in this story. He hears the Pharisees complain about him to his disciples. But he refused to be dragged into the trap of triangulation. Jesus responds not by going through his disciples, but addresses the Pharisees directly. Verses 12 and 13 state, “But when Jesus 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.”

In this passage, Jesus quotes from the Old Testament prophet, Hosea, which was part of today’s Old Testament Lesson. The actual Hebrew is better translated as “loving kindness” instead of “mercy.” So the passage should read, “I desire loving kindness, not sacrifice.”

In other words, what does God prize more, prayer or compassion? Broding writes: “Obviously, the religious lifestyle requires both. But when prayer and worship overshadow the good of others, there is an imbalance…[To the Pharisees, and to us, Jesus’ point is this:] Is God just the Lord of the faithful? Or is God the Lord of all, for all?”

Jesus told his opponents to act with compassion: the call to treat others, no matter how different, with respect and love. This command is directed to us as well.

So, how have you acted with compassion lately? How does being a follower of Jesus help you, help us, treat the stranger, the outsider, the undesirable, the untouchable, the weak, with respect? Jesus challenges us to reach out, to show respect.

How will you reach out to others this week? Choose some people and show them the respect and inclusiveness that Christ extends to you and me. For following Jesus, our path to God, often means taking the risk to break with the familiar, the comfortable, and the socially acceptable.

“And Jesus said, ‘Follow me.’”

Amen.