In my role as a Pastor I often find myself listening to people as they share some of their hidden sins. They speak of the struggles they face. They tell me of how they are tormented by some of the decisions they have made. I am sure that if we are honest, most of us can look back over the years and find decisions that we have made that we now regret. My guess is that we also know what it is like to have done things that have offended people. We all can attest to the fact that we have done things that have offended God. There is a common thread to all of this: people reflect on their life and feel alone and unworthy. They bear the guilt of their past and worry what the future will bring. Their sense of hope is diminished.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Just a couple of weeks ago I found myself reading about a guy by the name of Matthew. His life is a testament to what can be different. He lived in Jesus’ day. He was born a Jew. He was raised a Jew. He found himself living in an area that was occupied by the Romans. This is significant because as things would turn out, Matthew would choose a career as a tax collector for the occupiers. This decision would make him a traitor. The decision would make him one who is despised by his own people. What was worse was that tax collectors in that day were known not just to collect money for the Romans, but to collect a little extra for themselves. People knew it, but really couldn’t do much about it. If they didn’t pay, guys like Matthew would just call over a Roman soldier and inform the soldier of the problem and that was it. And so it was that Matthew became a member of some of the undesirables of his day.
Yet despite Matthew’s state, something amazing happens. Jesus comes along and reaches out to Matthew. He sees Matthew sitting at his table collecting the taxes, and even though so many people hate Matthew, Jesus invites him to be one of his followers. Jesus reaches out to Matthew with compassion. Showing a level of mercy that is beyond comprehension, Jesus invites Matthew into a new life, a friendship that is life-changing. And so Matthew leaves everything and follows. Once he leaves, there is no going back.
What is even more fascinating than his choice to follow is the next step he takes. Matthew, with his new friend Jesus, decides to have a party and invite all of his friends. Because of who he was, most of his friends came from the same circles. This was not the social circle of the religious establishment. This was a group of outcasts, what some would call “sinners”. It was a group that included all kinds of people including prostitutes, drunkards, thieves, etc. These were the untouchables, and they knew it. They had been judged by the community. They had been judged by the religious establishment of the day. It was a tragedy the way these outcasts were treated. It was outright wrong and Jesus knew it. So Jesus enjoyed a party with them. There he was feasting at the same table with them.
Jesus took a lot of flack for this choice. The religious people of the day were quite upset. They asked some of the other disciples of Jesus why he was eating with “tax collectors and sinners”? In their minds, they had a point. Any real Rabbi, any teacher worth his reputation wouldn’t be caught dead hanging around a group of people like this. There are standards, and for a teacher or a Rabbi to hang around these types of people made them “dirty”. For that matter, being a religious leader meant you had to be serious. You had to fast once and a while. Partying was not on the “to do” list. But then that was Jesus. Jesus wasn’t interested in the silly notions of the religious establishment.
This Matthew who was once a tax collector and traitor, went from being hated to being a follower of Jesus. His life was totally transformed and all because he took seriously the call of Jesus in his life. It is amazing to think about the kind of transformation that took place in the life of Matthew all because Jesus reached out with mercy and love to a man who was hated so much. Though we may feel like we are outsiders, unwanted or unloved, the truth is that Jesus has a place for us, too.