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A Seat At The Table 6.7.26 · St. Paul Podcast

0:06
SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone and welcome to the St.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: Paul Podcast.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: My name is Mark Neethammer, senior pastor at St.
0:11
SPEAKER_01: Paul Lutheran Church, located in Davenport, Iowa, part of the Greater Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois.
0:18
SPEAKER_01: Right here, each week, you will find beautiful music and a message of hope and good news to guide your life.
0:25
SPEAKER_01: I am hopeful that this podcast can inspire you and help you on your journey of faith as you grow in love and trust in our God.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: Hello, I'm Sarah Yodter, the pastoral intern here at St.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: Paul.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: As we continue our journey through the Gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus traveling through the region, healing the sick, forgiving sins, and proclaiming the good news.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: Along the way, he challenges community leaders and others to notice those who have been overlooked.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: This week we encounter Jesus shortly after the Sermon on the Mount at the beginning of his public ministry.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: He is traveling through the area around Capernaum, a town often referred to as his own.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: Wherever he goes, Jesus is teaching, performing miracles, and living out the very mission he has been proclaiming.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: Our reading begins in the ninth chapter of Matthew.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: As Jesus walks along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection station, and he said to him, Follow me.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: And he got up and followed him.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?
1:44
SPEAKER_00: But when he heard this, he said, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: Go and learn what this means.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: For I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader came in and knelt before him, saying, My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her head, and she will live.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus got up and followed him with his disciples.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak.
2:25
SPEAKER_00: For she was saying to herself, If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: Jesus turned, and seeing her, he said, Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: And the woman was made well from that moment.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus came to the leader's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: And they laughed at him.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.
2:59
SPEAKER_00: And the reported this spread through all of the district.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: The Gospel of the Lord.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: One of the things I love about the Gospel of Matthew is the way ordinary encounters often reveal something much bigger.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: A conversation, a meal, a moment of healing.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: What seems simple on the surface often opens a window into the heart of God.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: As I reflected on these stories this week, I found myself thinking about a very different community and a group of people I spent time with this past weekend.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: This weekend I got to spend some time with my camp people.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: And there are a few things you need to know about camp staff.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: Generally speaking, we are the most random collection of people imaginable.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: We come from different countries, cultures, economic backgrounds, and life experiences.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: Some grew up with plenty in their family homes, while others relied on assistance programs and foster care systems.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: We're future lawyers, nurses, teachers and athletes, musicians and tradespeople, and people still figuring out what they want to be when they grow up.
7:12
SPEAKER_00: On paper, we don't have much in common.
7:16
SPEAKER_00: And yet, every summer we live together, work together, worship together, laugh together, and without fail, we become a family.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Not because we share the same story, not because we always get along, but because we share the same purpose, to root ourselves in Christ's love, and to pass that love on to others.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: When that becomes the thing that matters most, all those other labels begin to lose their power.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: There's room for everyone.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: If you look closely at each of our three stories this morning, you may begin to notice a pattern.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is always making the table bigger.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: Everywhere he goes, another chair gets added, and the people around him keep drawing lines, and Jesus keeps stepping across them.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: The people try and decide who belongs, while Jesus keeps making room for everyone.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: One of the things that frustrates people most about Jesus, especially those in positions of authority, is that he's constantly spending time with the wrong people.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: One of those people is Matthew, the tax collector.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: He sits in his booth, likely on the main stretch of road, constantly interacting with people, yet utterly alone.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: His betrayal to society was twofold.
8:46
SPEAKER_00: He collected the hard-earned wages of his neighbors as their taxes, and he was the beneficiary of an unjust system and in cahoots with the Roman government.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: While everyone else sees a traitor.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: Jesus just sees Matthew, and he simply says, follow me.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: And Matthew's response, upon hearing those two words, is that he gets up, he leaves his booth, and follows.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: No questions asked.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: And then he does something fascinating.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: His first act as a disciple is not preaching a sermon or sharing the good news, it is setting a table.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: He invites his friends, the other tax collectors, the outcasts in town, because no one else will associate with him.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: And this is where the scandal really begins, because Jesus sits down at the table with them.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees see what everyone else sees.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: The wrong people, at the wrong company, at the wrong table.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: They look at the guests and see reasons they should be excluded from the society.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: While Jesus looks at the same people and the same table and sees people worthy of mercy.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: So they ask what Jesus is doing.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: Almost as if to say, does he even know who these people are?
10:15
SPEAKER_00: Does he know what they have done?
10:17
SPEAKER_00: Of course, Jesus knows.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: And who they are in the s eyes of society is not the issue.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Jesus would have sat down at that table, no matter whose company he was keeping.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not concerned about the boundaries that the people have set for themselves.
10:35
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is concerned with mercy.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: After all, doctors do not avoid the sick, but they move toward them.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: They extend a hand and Jesus does the same.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: The hemoglobin woman has suffered for twelve years.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: Twelve years of pain and isolation.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: She slips through the crowd, hoping not to be noticed, and reaches out to touch Jesus' cloak.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus sees her.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: In a crowd full of people, Jesus notices the one person trying not to be seen.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: He heals her, calls her daughter, and restores her place in the community.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: Another chair is pulled up to the table.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: Then there's the leader whose daughter has died.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: And while everyone else sees a funeral, Jesus sees a child.
11:32
SPEAKER_00: He takes her by the hand, restores her to life, and once again, someone who society thought was beyond reach is welcomed back into the community.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: Matthew, the woman, and the child all experience different forms of separation.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: Yet in every case, Jesus sees them and restores them to community.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: He reminds them of their belonging.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: I think many of us have experienced moments when we catch a glimpse of what true belonging feels like.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it starts with something as simple as a meal.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: Food has always been one of humanity's basic mechanisms of gathering.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: Every culture in every era has found reasons to gather people and eat.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: Food sustains the body, but shared meals nourish something else.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: They fill a need often overlooked.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: They fill the need for connection and community.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: I've seen this happen around a dinner table.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: What started as a few friends sharing a meal slowly grew.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Week after week more people showed up.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: Eventually there weren't enough chairs.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: The furniture had to be rearranged.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: A second table extended the first.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: People squeezed together, bumping elbows as they ate.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: But nobody seemed to mind.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: Because something more important was happening.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: People were finding connection.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: People were building a community.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: Those mismatched tables and chairs became a place of belonging.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: It was easier to squeeze together than to tell someone there wasn't enough room.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: And something happens when people know that there is room for them.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: They come, they stay, and they invite others.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: This is the first thing that Matthew does.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: The mercy that he receives from Jesus immediately becomes the mercy that he extends to others.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: The belonging he experiences immediately becomes the belonging that he has offered to those around him.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: Matthew shows us that following Jesus is not just about accepting our place at the table, but it is helping make room for others.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: It means recognizing not only who is there, but more importantly, who is missing.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: It is identifying the biases and lenses that we look at the world with.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: It means asking ourselves, where are we drawing lines in the sand that Jesus would be crossing?
14:15
SPEAKER_00: What are the tax booths that we hide behind?
14:19
SPEAKER_00: Who in our community longs to be truly seen and known?
14:25
SPEAKER_00: Who assumes that they don't belong?
14:28
SPEAKER_00: Where can we add another chair?
14:31
SPEAKER_00: How can we make room?
14:34
SPEAKER_00: Radical hospitality is not always comfortable.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: It stretches us.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: It forces us to acknowledge where we fall short and to examine the places that we overlook.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: It's hard work, but it is work we are called to do because we have a God that constantly chooses mercy, grace, and belonging over separation.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: A God who sets the table and calls us to gather.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: Every week we come to this table, the Lord's table, carrying our own stories.
15:11
SPEAKER_00: Some of us, like Matthew, are painfully aware of our shortcomings.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: Some of us, like the woman, are carrying wounds that no one else can see.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: And some of us, like the grieving father, are wondering what hope can possibly be left.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: Yet Jesus continues to do what he has always done.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: Jesus sees us in our failures, in our wounds, and in our grief.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: And he gathers us together.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: He restores us to community, and he makes room for us at the table.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: Every week we gather around a table that is larger than we can see.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: A table that gathers everyone.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: Saints and sinners, the joy-filled and the grieving, the confident and the doubtful.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: A table filled with people whose lives look nothing alike and all belong.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: If you're filled with energy and joy, you belong.
16:18
SPEAKER_00: If you are tired and struggling, you belong.
16:23
SPEAKER_00: If you are carrying burdens, you belong.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: If you wonder if you even belong at all, you belong.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: Christ gathers us all in.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: No terms and conditions, no exceptions, no exclusions.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: You belong at this table.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: This is not a table where we had to earn our seats.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: You do not need to get everything right, and you don't need to prove what you are worth.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: This is a table for all, simply because Christ's love and mercy have made room.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: We come to this table because Jesus made room for us.
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SPEAKER_00: And we leave this table called to see others as Jesus sees them, to make room as Jesus made room, and to witness to the belonging that Christ offers to each and every one of us.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: Because the community grows one chair at a time, one invitation at a time, one act of mercy at a time.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: And the question I will leave you with is this Who needs another chair to be pulled up to our table?
17:35
SPEAKER_00: And how is Christ calling us to make room?
17:39
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: Give us today our daily bread.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
21:34
SPEAKER_00: Receive this blessing as you go into your week.
21:37
SPEAKER_00: May you rest in the promise that you are seen, known, and welcomed by Christ.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: As Jesus has made room for you, may you make room for others.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: One chair, one invitation, and one act of grace at a time.
21:52
SPEAKER_00: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: I hope you've enjoyed this podcast and thanks for your support of the ministries of St.
22:06
SPEAKER_01: Paul Lutheran Church.
22:07
SPEAKER_01: Our commitment to endeavors that lend hope to other people stretches across the country and around the world.
22:14
SPEAKER_01: We hope that in a good way you feel a part of that reach.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: Tune in next Thursday for another edition of the St.
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SPEAKER_01: Paul Podcast.