ST. PAUL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Dear St. Paul Family and Friends,
 

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”  On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. --Matthew 9:9-13
 

I love this passage about the calling of Matthew into discipleship.  It hits me on so many different levels:
 

It gives me peace knowing that God does not always call the qualified to come follow, just the willing.  It gives me a challenge to get out of the church sometimes and spend some time with those that I might not normally interact with in my Christian life.  It reminds me that God doesn’t want me to do good things because of my ‘religion’ but out of a sense of sincere thankfulness for what he has done.  I must also be faithful to my calling to not just share my faith with those who already believe but to take the Gospel to all the world, even those who might make me a bit uncomfortable.

 It amazes me how God continually speaks to us in new ways, even in the Scriptures that we might know well.  I encourage you to take some time to read this passage again for yourself and listen to how God might speak to you.  May we all be found to have Matthew-like faith to follow Christ.
 

In His Service,

Pastor Lenore