Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, May 8, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
We all have a little Matthew in us, don’t we. We may not have embezzled money from our neighbors and benefitted from our service to oppressive overlords (though certainly some of us may have at some point) but we’ve all done things we’re not proud of. And like it or not, we’ve been indoctrinated into a perfectionist culture so that many of us hold on to these things and use them as evidence that we’re flat out unworthy of love or happiness or any kind of peace. Some of us go to great lengths to offer ‘sacrifices’ of atonement in literal, but more often emotional and sometimes self-abusive ways.
And then there’s Jesus. Jesus who walks right up to us and says “follow me.” Jesus who breaks bread with us. Jesus who stands up for us in front of the nay-sayers, especially the ones in our own heads. Jesus who loves us unconditionally, forgives us for everything we’ve ever done, and invites us into a transformed way of being in the world—his way. And all this little Matthew can think is: “Thank you.”
Where have I been a Matthew in my life? How do I let Jesus re-direct me?
