Mercy not Sacrifice!
Discipleship Questions for
Sunday June 8, 2008
Scripture Readings:
First Reading: Hosea 6:3-6
Psalm Reading: Psalm 50
Second Reading: Romans 4:18-25
Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13
Hos. 6:3
Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hos. 6:4
“What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.
Hos. 6:5
Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth;
my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.
Hos. 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Psa. 50:0
A psalm of Asaph.
Psa. 50:1
The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my consecrated ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. Selah
Psa. 50:7
“Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
Psa. 50:16
But to the wicked, God says:
“What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You speak continually against your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done and I kept silent;
you thought I was altogether like you.
But I will rebuke you
and accuse you to your face.
Psa. 50:22
“Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:
23 He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,
and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Rom. 4:18
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Matt. 9:9
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
Matt. 9:10
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
Matt. 9:12
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners
Discipleship Questions:
1. Please read all of the readings for today and then focus on the following verses: Hosea 6:6, and Matthew 9:13. Jesus encourages us to go away and seeking to understand what he means when he says, “I desire mercy not sacrifice.” What do you think He means?
2. If I asked some of your friends would they use the adjective “merciful” to describe you? What words might they use? Please discuss.
3. What does a merciful person look like, talk like, act like, think like? Please discuss.
4. What does this verse mean to you? “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
5. Please read the following and discuss: The Hebrew word for mercy is “hesed” is thought to have come out of the Arabic word for “to gather to give aid.” It’s variously translated by the following words:
kindness,
mercy,
faithfulness,
goodwill, and
love.
Perhaps the most helpful translation that I was able to glean in the 10 pages was the following statement:
Merciful acts are the manifestation of a “hesed” attitude.
So you can see how the idea of “love and kindness and faithfulness and goodwill” are all good translations for the word “hesed.” So perhaps the best advise we could take is this: when we hear the word “mercy” let’s also think “love, kindness, faithfulness and goodwill.”
This word – this virtue – that God delights in so much is lovely isn’t it?
God loves love,
He loves mercy,
He loves faithfulness and
kindness and
goodwill!
A very dear friend of mine by the name of Fr. George Koseki wrote a number of books about Sister Faustina – known primarily through her association with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy once said to me that when God speaks from His loving heart we hear and feel mercy!
Ah! Mercy is love expressed – that’s the key for us!
6. Please read the following and discuss: My Compact Oxford Dictionary defines it this way,
“It is the forbearance and compassion shown by one person to another who is in his power and who has no claim to receive kindness or it’s the kind and compassionate treatment in a case where severity is merited or expected.”
The definition “unmerited favor” comes to mind but this has always been the default meaning for the word - . . . . ‘Grace’” Interesting isn’t it that the word “hesed” includes our understanding of God’s infinite “grace.”
This really is a massive word – massive because it describes not only what God delights in but because it’s probably the best word other than the word “love” to describe who God really is.
Our God is “mercy” incarnate!
He loves and this love is expressed in His forgiveness! In His forgetfulness of our sins! He is a merciful God!
Yes, it’s His infinite mercy which is what we experience of Him! It’s this that touches us – it’s this which draws us to Him and it’s this that calls out in us!
7. How merciful are you? Can you imagine a “you” who is more and more merciful? Try to – you will bless God in this very very much – Amen!