The Bridegroom’s Mercy – 2nd Sunday after Pentecost

The Bridegrooms Mercy

Propers 5 T Hos 5:15-6:6, Mat 9:9-13

INI

As we’ve progressed into an increasingly de-Christianized world, there are many excuses people find to no longer attend worship at a church. One I hear quite often and find most ironic is – “I don’t want to go to church because there’s just a bunch of hypocrites there.” Now, that may be valid at times. We don’t want to be a whole company of people pointing out specks in our neighbor’s eye while neglecting the logs in our own. But I find it ironic because such a statement comes from a position of pride and presumption. They don’t say it, but they presume that they’re the righteous ones who don’t want to be tainted by the hypocrisy.

            Well, fair enough. Problem is, they’ve completely neglected to learn what Jesus means – “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” Not only does He desire us to be merciful for each other, but He desires to bestow mercy on us. He’s not come to merely respond to our sacrificial offerings to Him. He’s here to bestow His favor and forgiveness on a people who don’t deserve it.

            Right after that, Jesus says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” He says it a different way before that – “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” So, when we gather here, we’re not here because we have our lives together. We’re not here to offer our sacrifices and works to God that He might be impressed with us. The church is a hospital for sinners. It’s not a country club for righteous people.

            Sinners are who the Lord goes after. Take for example, Matthew. He was the worst kind of man. He was a tax collector on behalf of the Roman government. Tax collectors would skim money off the top of what was collected to line their pockets, and everyone knew they did this. But even worse, He skimmed this money from his own Jewish people. He coveted, stole, and lied to cover his tracks. Matthew was anything but a righteous person.

            Yet, this is the one Christ called. He said to Matthew “Follow Me.” Just this simple call from Jesus created faith in Matthew’s heart. There was no work that Matthew did that impressed Jesus to be one of His disciples. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. He did everything NOT to impress God. Yet, God called Him out of impurity, and clothed Him with His purity. He called Him out of living an unrighteous life, to start receiving a righteous life that’s given to Him by Jesus. He had nothing to offer Jesus, yet Jesus still wanted Him.

            There’s perhaps no better image and picture of God’s relentless pursuit for His bride, the Church, than in the book of Hosea. Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Isreal right before the Assyrians took them into captivity. And at the very beginning of the book, God tells Hosea to marry Gomer, who is a prostitute and has children with other men. And as their marriage goes on, Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea, and went back to old habits. She pursued after men that weren’t hers. She broke the marriage contract with her husband, Hosea. So, what does Yahweh wish Hosea to do? Stop the pursuit? No! God told Hosea to go win her back! To go pay off her debts to these other men, and redeem her back to her rightful marriage.

            Now, this is a beautiful picture of two things: God’s rocky covenant relationship with Israel in the Old Testament, and God’s new covenant relationship with the Church.

            First, Israel professed to love Yahweh. But as Hosea says, their love was like a morning cloud that passes away as the heat of the day comes, or morning dew that doesn’t soak deep into the ground, but it dries up in a couple of hours (Hosea 6:4).

            And it’s true. Their love dried up. They worshiped other gods. They made covenants with other nations rather than their God. They neglected the poor, widowed, and orphaned. Their love didn’t soak deep. It was quick to fade away.

            Yet as Hosea preached to the northern kingdom, things appeared to be going quite well in their eyes! They enjoyed prosperity and wealth and security against their enemies. By all outward appearances, things seemed to be going just fine! So, why was Hosea calling them to repent? Why was he warning that their love was growing cold?

            Because God desires more than outward sacrifices. He desires a steadfast love that trusts Him and shows mercy to others. They offered their sacrifices like they were supposed to, but they had become empty rituals devoid of faith, trust, and love. Thus, they left unchanged – missing the point of it. They continued to neglect the poor, widowed, and orphaned. This is what God means when He says, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”

            But how often are we just like the kingdom of Israel? Things are prosperous. “I have a roof over my head, I don’t have to worry about where my next meal comes from, I’ve made the right investments going into the future, I’ve prepared for any financial insecurity that may be around the corner. And God loves me surely! I tithe! I attend church when I can! I serve on a board at the church! And when we have potlucks, I’m always the one bringing the best dish!”

            But are these sacrifices pleasing to God? A check may be written, but perhaps smaller than it could’ve been because it was given with more doubt or fear than trust. A pew may be occupied, but for reasons other than a faithful reception of God’s gifts to the repentant heart. Service to the church may be given, but it was done because someone asked, not because of love. So, the question isn’t whether the outward work was DONE. The question is whether or not faith and mercy stand behind it?

            Maybe we’re not as faithful as we’d like to imagine? Or not as impressive to God as we think? And that’s what our Lord wants us to see. There’s nothing we can sacrifice or offer to our Lord that will earn us favor with Him. He doesn’t need our works. He doesn’t need our sacrifices. Those things won’t make us righteous or desirable in His sight.

            Jesus has come to call sinners. Those who know they have NOTHING to offer God.  And that’s precisely what makes the story of Hosea so beautiful.

            What did Gomer have to offer Hosea when he went to redeem her from other men? She had absolutely nothing. She had broken her wedding vows, being unfaithful to her husband. She had squandered the gifts he gave her. She willingly wandered away from her husband who was completely devoted to her and loved her.

            But Hosea pursued her anyway. Not because SHE deserved it. Not because she earned another chance, or promised to be better next time. He redeemed her because he LOVED her.

            You and I are just like Gomer. Our love has wandered. It’s often been like the morning dew that quickly disappears. We’ve chased after other fleshly comforts in creation, or have even set them up as gods in our hearts. We’ve not always been faithful to the one who’s faithful to us.

            Yet Christ hasn’t abandoned His bride. He sought her. He left His heavenly glory to enter our flesh. He came to sit at the tables of tax collectors and sinners and dine with them. He sought out the most unlovable, unrighteous people to make His own. He paid the price for His wandering bride, the church, with outstretched hands on the cross.

            Hosea purchased Gomer with silver and barley, but Christ has purchased YOU with His Holy precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death.

            He didn’t wait for you to become desirable before He purchased you. He makes you desirable. He didn’t wait for you to get your act together and act righteous. He MAKES you righteous through the blood of Christ.

            That’s what mercy is. Loving sinners and giving holy gifts to those who have nothing to offer. That’s what Jesus means when He said to the Pharisees – “Go and learn what this means. ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’” Christ’s mercy to us limitless. Given, with no merit or worthiness in us.

            Yet by this mercy, we’re made to be merciful. Because the vast amount of mercy that’s first been given to us by Christ, our bridegroom, we see the needs of others and seek to serve them, be compassionate to the lowly, and seek to tell them about the merciful Savior that died for them too.

            Here’s our groom – at the altar to bestow His mercy upon you again. Here He is, in relentless pursuit to claim you as His own, as He feeds your faith and bestows His promises on you once again. And where does the bridegroom gather His bride? Not in a country club for the righteous. Not among those who think they have no need of Him. He gathers them here, as a hospital for sinners. Here, the Great Physician receives the sick, binds up our wounds, speaks absolution, feeds us with His body and blood.

Let us repent of our fading and wandering love, and receive the fruits of Christ’s mercy as he dines with sinners here at this table. And let His mercy lead you to be merciful to those who’ve done nothing to deserve it.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston