MERCIFUL:
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:10-13
REFLECTION:
Where does one go to learn such a meaning?
I have been instructed by the greatest Teachers in all of Jerusalem, yet now He calls me to go and study again.
I’m well aware of this reference, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” It was first used in the prophetic writings of Hosea, chapter 6 verse 6. Of this reference I was taught:
“God had revealed through Hosea that the apostates of his day had lost the heart of temple worship even though they continued to practice its rituals.”
Is Jesus now implying that we Pharisees have done the same thing?
Am I to understand Jesus is saying that we are preserving the external practices of worship, to the letter of the law, yet are failing to maintain its essential heart?
Ah, it is true that the attitudes of my brothers toward the tax collectors and the sinners prove Jesus’ words. There are times when my own attitudes of the heart betray me.
Does God, on the other hand, care more for the spiritual wholeness of people than He does about flawless worship?
It’s apparent I have much to learn.
RESPOND:
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- Where do you find yourself learning what this means, “I desire mercy not ”
- How might you partner with Jesus in teaching others His measure of mercy over sacrifice?
PRAYER:
Guide me God back to you, the only One who can give the truest gift of mercy. I have become so fractured by sacrifice. I’m desperate for mercy. I’ve lost the ability to discern the difference.
Guide me back to a true understanding of what the gift of your mercy beholds. Allow me to experience the intensity and commitment of your love. Guide me back to your people, those made of flesh and blood, to live out this gift of mercy.
