This is a copy of a talk I gave on Wednesday 14 June 2023 at the 10.00 am service at Saint Mary Magdalen, Billericay. The Bible Reading was Matthew 9:9-26
Introduction
Have you ever felt like the ‘odd one out?’ We can feel the ‘odd one out’ for lots of different reasons, can’t we?
When I was younger, as you know, I was quite good at Rugby but not so good at football and so when football teams were picked, I was always the last to be chosen. I would often hear the captain saying: Do we really have to have him? Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever felt like the ‘Odd One Out?’ I felt like the ‘odd one out’ when I was a Prison Officer and I certainly felt like the ‘odd one’ at Theological College and in the Church of England – especially with a regional accent! But that’s another story!
Jesus has always built his church from those who seemed to be the ‘odd ones out’, starting with the disciples – they were a very mixed bag. Matthew was one of them.
- Matthew: An Odd One Out!
Matthew was an ‘odd one out.’ Jesus had chosen a rather unpopular person to be his disciple and that’s because Matthew was a tax collector and was hated because he took advantage of people and demanded more money than he should have done – even from the poor – and pocketed the difference. Far be it from me to draw any comparisons to the HM Revenue & Customs today! The Jews rejected Matthew even more because he mixed with Gentiles and worked alongside the Romans. Matthew was looked upon as a traitor to his religion and to his people. Little wonder they didn’t want anything to do with him.
But who, in a similar way, is the ‘odd one out’ in our world today? Any suggestions? People who: have a different religion, perhaps; look different; dress differently; homeless, refugees; have broken the law (criminals); prisoners; Drug/drink addicts … the list is endless isn’t it?
Matthew wanted to introduce his friends to Jesus – his life had been changed, he’d been given a New Start and he wanted others to know about it – and so he invited Jesus for a meal. Not only had Jesus chosen an unpopular person to be his disciple, but he also dared to accept an invitation to Matthews’s house for a meal where he found himself surrounded by many different people. We might call them the ‘odd ones’ out’ but the Bible calls them sinners and tax collectors.
- Jairus And ‘The Woman’: More Odd One’s Out!
Whilst Jesus was talking to the Pharisees another ‘odd one out’ came to Jesus. Jairus was an odd one out because he was a leader in the synagogue, a Jewish leader who recognised something different about Jesus. He falls at Jesus’ feet and: ‘Pleaded earnestly … ‘My daughter has just died. And between the muffled sobs, he begs: ‘Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.’
However, on the way to Jairus’ house, Jesus is pursued by a crowd of people and then, would you believe it, Jesus stops and won’t budge until he finds out who has touched him! Touched him! ‘Why there is a whole crowd of people touching you Jesus – my daughter has died and all you can think about is who touched you.’ And then Jesus finds out it was a woman who has been healed by this touch after twelve years of spending all her money of doctors hoping to find a cure. Then he decides to have a conversation with this woman! Another ‘odd one out!’
There’s a real sense of irony here isn’t there? Jesus and this woman coming together in this way at one of the most important times in Jairus’ life. We know this woman was an outcast, a social leper. A nobody. She hadn’t been to the synagogue for 12 years. Yet she was someone who still needed Jesus’ healing touch on her body, soul, and spirit. I wonder if Jairus thought about the decisions he’d made as leader of the synagogue when he didn’t allow her into worship!
Can you imagine the intense agony of that interruption for Jairus? This is beyond irritating – it is almost irresponsible. The clock is ticking, and Jesus is talking! I guess Jairus’ patience was tested to the limit! The story ends well, though! God’s perfect timing is never ours! We are all guilty of living life by the diary and our next appointment and interruptions to our routine often be quite unwelcome. And, because of that, we don’t live in the present moment, and we can lose the sense of perspective that the spontaneity of the Spirit brings our way.
When Jesus arrives, the delegation tell Jairus not to bother Jesus anymore, it’s too late. What can he do? But Jesus ignores them. And in so doing underscores an important principle when it comes to faith: who are we going to listen to when we have a crisis of faith? The crowd or Jesus? But when the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took her by the hand and the girl got up.
- Jesus Fitted In With The ‘Odd Ones!’
There are many examples in the Gospels of Jesus enjoying food and relaxing with the ‘odd ones out’ – he often called them his friends. Remember how he called ‘The Paralysed Man’ who was lowered through the roof his friend in Luke 5. Jesus treated everyone the same – saint and sinner alike.
The Pharisees asked: why does Jesus eat with the ‘odd ones!’ Well, they didn’t say that they asked: Why does Jesus eat with Tax Collectors and sinners? When there are many others more worthy of his attention and his company. Why does he continue to associate with the criminals and the outcasts of society? On hearing these comments Jesus replied: It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.
This, for me, sums up much of what Jesus’ mission here on earth was all about – to offer salvation to those who most need it. People like me and people like you!
It’s natural to want to mix with certain people: families; singles; sporty types etc., But do we go out of our way to avoid certain types of people, such as the outcasts I/we mentioned earlier: Criminals; Prisoners; Refugees; Addicts; That big ugly brute with lots of tattoo’s all over his body? I’d run a mile from them, wouldn’t you?
But we make immediate judgments about people when we first meet them don’t we? And often that’s a judgment that will stay with us for a long time. Is that true, or is it just me?
A few years ago the Police Associations changed their policy on banning Police Officers from having tattoos so that it would build a bridge between them and the public and now they are changing their policy to say Tattoo’s must not be visible when they are on duty as it undermines the authority they have?
How does Jesus see those we keep at a distance? Does Jesus consider they are beyond his help? Of course, he doesn’t. Our responsibility, as Christians, is to respond as Jesus would and to welcome everyone into his family. When Jesus chose Matthew to be his disciple, he was deliberately pushing back the boundaries of love, acceptance, mercy and forgiveness. This was something that many people find very hard to accept then and now.
- All Of Us Are ‘Odd Ones Out!’
All of us are one-offs – thank goodness. We’re unique. That’s the way God made us. He knows that all of us have done wrong things. But he greets each one of us just the same – just as he did with Matthew. Jesus doesn’t expect us all to be the same – what a boring world that would be. Jesus calls us for who we are and for what we will become.
It seems to me that we, as followers of Jesus, may be the ‘odd ones out’ in today’s world. But the family of the church should be an accepting community where every ‘odd one out’ is welcomed and valued. It is a place where different though we all are, we can all come together to live for the one who calls each of us by name.
Prayer
Heavenly Father:
Help us to see the ‘odd ones out’ through your eyes;
Help us to see the strengths that each person has;
Help us to see the potential for becoming like you;
Help us to recognize the barriers we build that cut people off from you;
Help us to value everyone for who they are,
and for what they will become in you; and most of all,
Help us to love as the family of the church.
Amen.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.
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