Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 11 June 2023, by Rev. Judy Chan. The scripture readings that day were Hosea 5:15 - 6:6 and Matthew 9: 9-13

Good morning. About 10 years ago, there was an ad campaign by the producers of a

 well-known brand of vodka. The company wanted to expand their customer base. 

They decided the best way to do that was to change their image – bring a fresh voice 

to vodka, break through the exclusivity and pretension associated with the drink. As 

they put it, “[Our vodka] was meant to be enjoyed by everyone, from Czars and

 Hollywood stars to you and your friend in the bar down the street. We want to 

celebrate that we’re there for good times, wherever and however they occur.” So,

 what was the new campaign slogan? “Exclusivity for Everybody”. 

Now I’m not sure if this campaign was successful or not. They’ve moved on to other 

ones. But the slogan certainly catches your attention, doesn’t it?  “Exclusivity for

 Everybody”. As clever as it sounds, it’s actually a contradiction in terms. Like the

 phrase ‘taking a working vacation.’ The two things don’t seem to fit together.

 Likewise, if something is ‘exclusive’, only a select group of people have access to it.

 If anyone can have it, it loses its distinctiveness and cheapens the value.

Now, in a way, that’s exactly what Jesus was accused of doing in today’s Scripture – 

promoting his own version of “Exclusivity for Everybody”. Only what’s at that stake is

 not access to vodka. It was something much more important. It’s access to God. 

That’s right – Jesus’ critics accused him of breaking every rule in the book on how 

you become holy and stay holy in the presence of the Almighty. Because the Bible 

teaches only those who are holy will be acceptable and pleasing in God’s sight. So, to

 his opponents, Jesus was tearing down any distinctions between the righteous and 

sinners. In short, he was making a mockery of their faith.

For religious folks in Bible times, it was clear how you got holy. First, God – and God

 alone – forgave your sins. That happened through sacrifices and the high priest in

 the Temple in Jerusalem, especially on the Day of Atonement. Then, to stay holy you 

needed to obey God’s laws and commandments. Among the most prominent were 

rules about what was clean and unclean. Certain foods were forbidden; certain times 

in your life required ritual cleansing afterwards; certain people known as ‘sinners’

 were to be avoided altogether. 

Jesus as a rabbi knew all of this. That’s why his opponents are so disgusted. Not only 

does he go around unilaterally forgiving sins, he welcomes the most unholy people 

you can think of to be his followers. As they say, you’re known by the company you 

keep.

Case in point: Matthew. His call story is also found in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, 

though they identify him as Levi. We’re not sure if this is the same Matthew who wrote 

the Gospel of Matthew, but we do know this Matthew was a tax collector. And he was 

one of the 12 original disciples. 

Now, what’s the problem with tax collectors? Every government needs revenue to 

operate. Well, the Roman government had a special way to collect taxes in outlying 

regions of the Empire. They farmed it out. Local agents would bid for the job. 

Whoever got it wasn’t paid a salary. You were told how much you were expected to 

collect, and as long as you turned that amount over to the Treasury, the rest was 

yours to keep. No questions asked. 

So, as you can see, the system was just ripe for cheating. And that’s what usually 

happened. The government got its money, their agents got their money, and the 

ordinary guy couldn’t do a thing about it – just pay up.

But actually, there was something the ordinary person could do to push back, at least 

against ‘tax farmers’ who were your own people. You shunned them. You made them 

social outcasts in their own community. No one felt sorry for them because they 

ripped off their own people in service to pagan rulers. As one preacher put it, Matthew 

would have been rejected by his people, his faith and his God. His only friends would 

have been other tax collectors and sinners. Repentance was hopeless because 

they’d have to give up their lucrative position and repay all the money they stole. 

I think then what is so remarkable about the call of Matthew is Jesus came to him, not 

the other way around. This tax collector hadn’t climbed up in a sycamore tree for the 

Lord he wanted to see. He hadn’t been up at the Temple praying for God’s 

forgiveness. Matthew was just going about his daily crooked business, when Jesus 

passes by and says, “Follow me.” And Matthew followed him. And they dined together 

with the other disciples and apparently other tax collectors and sinners. This of course 

scandalizes the religious leaders. What kind of message is Jesus sending? Glad you 

asked. Because this is what he wants us to know:

One, Jesus never saw ‘sinners’ as people to be condemned and excluded. Instead, 

they are people who are sick and need a physician, just like those suffering from 

disease. As American theologian Stanley Hauerwas says, “Both sickness and sin are evils. Neither should be part of God’s good creation.”[1]

Second, God’s chief intention for a sick and sinful humanity then is restoration. That’s 

why Jesus gives so much attention to healing the sick and forgiving sins. He refused 

to accept any limits to his Heavenly Father’s grace and mercy. But Jesus can’t heal 

those who don’t recognize they are sick; he can’t forgive the sins of those who believe 

they’re righteous. But he can heal those who know they are not well; he can forgive 

those who know they are not righteous. 

That means, third, that Jesus, the tax collectors and sinners are exactly where they 

needed to be – together in holy communion. The rest of us? You want to be holy? Go 

and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. That’s the first Great Commission.[2]

Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. How does that apply 

to us today in Kowloon Union Church? I struggled a bit here because KUC is well 

known for its stand on social justice, peacemaking and caring for the marginalized. So 

who am I to be preaching to you about this? So, I thought the most honest thing to do 

is to share some stories from my own life where I needed to go and learn what this 

means.

The first story I have shared on RTHK-Radio, but I’m not sure if I’ve told it to you. If I 

have, I hope you don’t mind hearing it again. It happened when I was in jr. high school 

in Mississippi, USA. Maybe 8^th grade. I rode the bus to school with my two older 

sisters. The bus made different stops along the way for the 30 minutes it took to reach 

the school in the next town. My oldest sister always saved the seat next to her for 

Linda, a mentally disabled girl who attended special education classes. I never 

thought anything about it. Until one day, my sister was sick and didn’t go to school.  

When the bus got to Linda’s stop, she got on and was looking for my sister. She 

began to panic going up and down the aisle. Finally, the bus driver shouted, 

“Someone give Linda a seat!” There was an empty seat next to me but I didn’t look 

up. I can’t remember where Linda finally sat, but I know it wasn’t next to me. 

The next story happened in my late 20s. I was living in Washington, DC then. My 

father back in Mississippi died suddenly. Our whole family was traumatized. My 

parents ran a small grocery business but my mom couldn’t run it by herself. So in just 

a few short weeks, we had to close the store, sell our house, and prepare to move her 

to California where my brother lived. Our customers, mostly African-Americans, were 

upset too. My parents ran a good business and gave them credit to charge groceries 

and pay up at the end of the month. Some of them asked how they could settle their 

bill now. We told them to come to our house and my mom would take care of it. You 

have to know my mom didn’t speak much English and no customer had ever been in 

our house before. But here they came one by one, paying respects to our family and 

paying my mom. I remember one black woman in particular. She was a domestic 

worker. A few years earlier, her husband had tragically taken his own life. Little by 

little, she paid back what he had charged at our store. My dad had told her it wasn’t 

necessary. But she insisted. And my mom had never forgotten. So when this dear 

lady came to our house and paid her bill, my mom did something I’ve never seen her 

do with anyone outside our family. She reached over and touched the woman’s cheek 

as a blessing. And I’ve never forgotten that either.

The last story – finally! It happened in Hong Kong back in the 90s. I was with an 

interfaith group called the HK Network for Religion and Peace. We were visiting the 

Hare Krishna center in Tsimshatsui. I knew there would be a talk about their faith and 

a meal together. I didn’t know we would join them in the Temple to offer food to their 

Lord before we ate. The Hare Krishna members were in front of the altar, chanting 

and dancing. We guests were on the side. The leader invited us to join in if we 

wished. I sat silently and watched. I didn’t feel comfortable to join in as this was like 

worshipping a foreign god. 

Then I looked over and saw Fr Harold Naylor, beloved Catholic priest and teacher at 

Wah Yan College, Kowloon. He was standing up and dancing and clapping away. Fr 

Naylor! Now those of you who knew him maybe wouldn’t be surprised, but I was 

shocked. Still I ate the meal afterwards and it was delicious. I haven’t thought about 

that for over 20 years. And I see it a bit differently now – that another faith group had 

offered the hospitality of their home and table. And Fr Naylor graciously accepted 

without reserve. I’m still not sure if it were to happen again tomorrow whether I would 

join in the dancing and clapping. But I would eat the meal. Perhaps I still have things 

to learn. 

I share these stories, not knowing whether they resonate with you or not. They are 

just small snapshots from my own life. But I encourage you to spend some time in this 

coming week to recall some of your own stories. Times perhaps when God was 

asking you what it means to be holy. And whether it’s obvious or not, I pray you’ll see Jesus there too because he is in essence the face of God’s mercy.[3] Go and learn.

Amen.