06/07/2026
Today's homily
Proper 5A 6/7/26 by The Rev. Elizabeth Tattersall
Genesis 12:1-9, Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
At the active priests conference this week we divided into small groups and told each other our stories of how we were called to the priesthood. It is always interesting to hear people’s faith journeys, or spiritual histories.
Today’s gospel tells how Matthew was called to follow Jesus. The reading from Genesis tells how Abram was called by God
When we talk about being called, we often use the term to refer to being called to an ordained ministry, such as deacon or priest. However, people can feel called to other things as well. I like to think that all of us are called in one way or another.
Back in February when I submitted my resume for the interim director of Liberal Arts at WNC, I felt called to do so. I wasn’t sure I really wanted the position, but I thought I could do it with my background and skills, and I knew the need was great, since we’ve had a lot of changes in directors over the past two years.
When a person feels called by God, they feel God has noticed them. Being noticed is another theme in today’s readings.
Matthew was surprised to be noticed by Jesus. Because Matthew was a tax collector for the Roman occupiers, people tried not to notice him and not to be noticed by him. Most people would not make eye contact. But Jesus was different; he walked right up to Matthew in his tax booth and invited him to come along and follow him. The group ended up at Matthew’s house that evening for dinner. The disciples were there as were Matthew’s friends. Because Matthew was a collaborator with the occupying force, “nice” people, “righteous” people would not be friends with him. His friends were other collaborators, others who were seen as sinners for not being pure enough in their Jewishness. The Pharisees were Jewish scholars and upholders of the faith. They worked hard to be ultra-Jewish even while playing nice with the Roman occupiers in order to maintain permission to worship in the temple according to the Jewish laws. The Pharisees are portrayed sort of like the moral police; observing the Jewish people and commenting on the rightness of their lives.
In the next story, Jesus was on an urgent mission to save the daughter of the synagogue leader, when he was interrupted by the woman with the hemorrhages. What could be more urgent than the saving of the girl? But Jesus takes the time to notice the hemorrhaging woman. He doesn’t simply let her surreptitiously touch his robe and be healed; he notices her. Because of her bleeding, Jews had been trying not to notice her for twelve years because blood is unclean. But Jesus saw her, he noticed her, he addressed her and encouraged her.
Only after that did he continue to the home of the leader of the synagogue and his recently deceased daughter. He saw this girl as well, took her by the hand, and brought her back to life. Since sons were more valued than daughters in that culture, the fact that she was a daughter is also notable.
In healing both the woman and the girl, Jesus was showing that he valued those whom his society viewed as less valuable. He also did this in calling Matthew and eating with his “disreputable” friends. Jesus was all about making the despised and marginal feel valued.
June is pride month, when people acknowledge the value of the LGBTQIA+ people in our midst. I have seen people ask why we need a pride month. Why have a special time to honor those who are outside the mainstream? The answer is that until we accept everyone as who they are, having a time to notice, to see those who feel different can help them to feel more accepted. Young people who feel gay usually struggle with who they are.
A number of years ago we had a teenager who was interested in learning to fly gliders and who worked helping to launch gliders to earn credit for his flight training. This young man was struggling with being gay. I worked with him as flight instructor and I was very fond of him. During the next school year, he committed su***de. I still mourn him, as does his family.
One of my colleagues at the college just retired early partly because she is a trans woman, and the reaction of students walking into in her classroom for the first time and realizing that they had a trans professor was very difficult.
In the time of Jesus, tax collectors made people feel uncomfortable. That is not a problem with the tax collector, but a problem with the person who is uncomfortable.
Just as Jesus saw Matthew for who he was, not for the work he did. And just as Jesus saw the woman with hemorrhages as a person not as a disease, every person wants to be seen for who they are, not for some label society places on them. My husband, with his long hair and beard, is also often misjudged by people based on his appearance. Yes, it is in our human nature to make some judgements based on first impressions, but as Christians, we should try to look deeper than surface appearances to learn who people really are.
We may not have the level of insight into people that Jesus had, but we can work to be open when we encounter new people. We can try not to judge by appearances or by fear. We can work on being more Christ-like in our interpersonal relations. Before we get to know someone, we don’t know what their life has been like. We don’t know what their struggle or triumphs have been. We can be open to learning who they are before we make a judgement about them.
Jesus gave second chances to the tax collector Matthew, the hemorrhaging woman and the synagogue leader’s daughter. As followers of Jesus, we can emulate Jesus by being open and accepting of other people.
