Matthew 9:9-13
Matthew 9:9-13
by Matthew Neville
This coming Sunday’s gospel is the call of Matthew
You can listen to my podcast on the text here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2PRoW63mn3CP0krTr2JKJc?si=3m8nSzUTRu2mT4bW93YVqg
The gospel this week is about collaboration with empire. Put simply, Matthew is making a living by collecting taxes for the Roman military occupation. In all likelihood he wasn’t getting rich, but nevertheless he was facilitating a destructive status quo.
The controversy which emerges around Jesus’ interaction with Matthew, and his tax-collector colleagues, is the heart of this week’s gospel.
It raises for me the question of how I collaborate with empire, and how I relate to others who do the same.
Let’s be honest, as citizens of the global north (however flawed a term that is!) we are deeply embedded in systems of oppression, in religious language we call this sin.
I drive a fossil fuel car, I buy food produced by big agriculture and transported using fossil fuels, I buy clothes made by low paid workers, I buy single-use plastics, the list goes on.
What’s more I consume all the media which justifies this collaboration with empire; telling me to close my eyes, to look the other way.
What can one person do anyway?
Does any of this relate?
The truth is that we are all Matthew
(I know I literally am, which kind of spoils the point I am making here!)
We’re all in one way or another complicit, embedded in the sticky mess of being privileged people in a world of oppression. We can’t escape it on our own.
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, as the famous Ron Sider book named us in 1977.
As modern Christians we have been taught to be suspicious of guilt, to reflect less on sin. Maybe that was a necessary corrective to the opposite extreme. Those raised in an earlier more judgmental age baulked at the mention of sin.
But for those of us born into the next generation, raised in a Church reacting against talk of sin, maybe the time has come to rebalance our relationship with sin.
Because let’s face it, we are surrounded by deep structural sin. Destruction of the planet, and the exploitation and dehumanisation of our neighbour.
We need a response which is balanced,
somehow we need to balance the real harm of our over-consumption, with the reality that these are problems none of us can respond to alone.
Somehow we need to balance our collaboration with empire in so many way, with the so many other wonderful things we all do. Caring for our families, helping our neighbours, campaigning for justice, working to regenerate out world.
Implicitly in our gospel this week we see a range of responses.
- No doubt some would have wanted to put the first century equivalent of a bullet in Matthew’s head……. In our world we see so many examples of violent resistance to empire.
- The Pharisees (as far as we can tell) wanted to focus on religious purity, scrupulous obedience to the Torah, hopefully of a divine rescue……… again we see may examples of religious people who retreat into piety for its own sake.
- And the majority, who resign themselves to impotence, “there’s nothing I can do about it, so I’ll just ignore it as best I can and get on with life”……… which remains the majority position.
As always then, the most useful response to all this comes from Jesus himself.
Evoking the 8th century Prophet Hosea. The prophet’s wife was committing adultery. His response is a fair amount of anger (which is fair!), but beyond this very human response is a deep deep love for his wife, seeking to bring her back.
This tragic story of one couple stands as a parable for ancient Israel’s relationship with God.
It also stands as a parable for us. The creative tension of a God who can feel anger for what we’ve done, but still loves us enough to call us back into relationship.
As Christians this model, this parable, must stand as our own Modus-Operandi when it comes to others.
As Jesus so simply puts it “Love your enemies” (Matt 5:44)
Not easy.