Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

Matthew 9:13

“Go and learn what this means,” Jesus says in today’s gospel reading (Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26): “‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” He doesn’t say this to us. He says it to the Pharisees who were complaining about Jesus eating with the wrong people, in their eyes – with the tax collectors and sinners. And so Jesus answers the Pharisees by saying: “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’”

Now, we are not Pharisees, of course. But I still think it would be a good idea this morning to do as Jesus suggests – To go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Because this is not just good advice for the Pharisees, but for all of us. To learn what it means for us that God desires mercy, not sacrifice. So that’s what I want to do this morning.

Hesed

The first thing to realize about this quote from Jesus is that he is actually quoting the Old Testament. It is the prophet Hosea who first says this, in a passage from today’s first reading (Hosea 5:15 – 6:6). In Hosea 6:6, we read: “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice.” Steadfast love is what God desires. But what about mercy? What’s going on here? Did Jesus misquote Hosea? As it turns out, no, he didn’t. It is just that the Hebrew word which Hosea used is very hard to translate into other languages. 

The word in Hebrew is “hesed.” It’s an important word in the Old Testament. It is used hundreds of times. In fact, it is used over a hundred times in the Book of Psalms alone. It is used in some of my favorite verses. Like Micah 6:8 – “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness (hesed) and to walk humbly with your God?” Or Lamentations 3:22 – “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Or the end of Psalm 23: “Surely goodness and mercy (hesed) shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” 

Hesed is really important to God, and so it should be to us. But it is very hard to capture what this word means in English. Often it is translated mercy, but it is sometimes translated steadfast love, or goodness, or kindness, or compassion, or even loyalty. And all of these are attempts to capture what this word, hesed, really means. So, as we go and learn what this means – “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” – the first thing to note is that it means that God desires something more than just mercy. God desires kindness, and goodness, and loyalty, and God desires our steadfast love. God desires hesed, in other words, which means God desires all these things from us. Not just sacrifice. 

Sacrifice

Okay, but what does sacrifice mean here? And that goes back to the sacrifice of animals that was an important part of worship in the Old Testament. In an agricultural economy, tithing is less about giving money and more about giving part of our crop or our herd to God. These gifts would be given to God and used to support the priests leading worship. And it is important to God. 

I don’t think I will ever forget the offering that took place during the worship service at a Lutheran church in Tanzania, Africa. As the choir sang, all of the people came forward and placed their offering in a large basket. Grain, produce, but hardly any money. They did it joyously, enthusiastically, giving to God a portion of what they had, but it was not money, not for most of them. And these tithes and offerings are important to our worship, wherever and whenever we find ourselves. They are important to God. But not more important than mercy. 

But what does sacrifice look like for us? What do we give to God? Not crops or animals these days. Instead, we think about our time, talents, and treasure. And so, we work toward giving a tithe of our income to God. We give our time and talents by serving on a committee, or singing in the choir, or helping with the altar guild. We serve our community by helping with Community Table or Community Inn, or by helping with Meals on Wheels, or any number of other important ministries that help our church and community. And all of this takes sacrifice. And all of it is important to God. But not more important than mercy. 

And so, for example, suppose you are giving up your Friday mornings to help serve lunches at our Community Table (our local soup kitchen). This is a wonderful thing to do. And it is a sacrifice. But suppose, as you do this, that you are judging everyone you are serving, or gossiping about the people you’re working with, or not being kind. If that is the case, then this verse from Hosea and from Jesus might be one to ponder. 

God wants us to sacrifice our time, our talents, and our treasure, but not at the sacrifice of our mercy. None of these can substitute for our steadfast love toward God, and our kindness, mercy, and steadfast love toward our neighbor. 

It is just as Paul put it in First Corinthians: If we have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, we are nothing. If we give away all our possessions and if we hand over our bodies so that we may boast but do not have love, we gain nothing. Love, mercy, and kindness always come first, and last. That is what God desires. 

God’s Hesed

“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” But as we go and learn what this means for us, there is another aspect to this that is crucial to remember. And that is simply that this word for mercy, hesed, is used in scripture just as much to describe God’s relationship with us just as it is used to describe our relationship with God. In other words, God shows us this kind of steadfast love and mercy, this hesed, over and over again throughout Scripture, before ever asking it of us. We are not being asked to do something which God has not already done for us. 

It reminds me of a story that I once heard about Mahatma Gandhi. He was of course a beloved and influential person in India and throughout the world. One day, a mother in India approached him and asked him if he would talk to her son about the importance of eating right and cutting down, or even giving up, eating sweets. He agreed to talk with her son about this, and she went away pleased. But several weeks went by and he still had not talked to her son. She became frustrated and approached Gandhi again and asked him why he had not yet talked with her son. He said that he still intended to talk with her son, but that he was having a harder time giving up sweets than he expected. She was puzzled by this for a moment, and then realized that Gandhi could not and would not ask someone else to do something that he was not already doing. He could not ask her son to give up sweets until he himself had already done it.

I think that something similar is true of God and his asking us for our hesed, our steadfast love and mercy. God is only asking us for what God has already given us. Throughout the Old Testament, God shows us again and again that his steadfast love for his people endures forever. God shows us that his goodness and mercy – his hesed – follow us all the days of our life. 

But even that was not enough. God sent his only begotten son, Jesus, to show us this mercy and love in the flesh. And Jesus shows us, again and again, his steadfast love and his mercy for all of God’s children, and especially for those who most need it. Even in today’s gospel reading, we see Jesus doing this, when he shows that mercy to the leader of the synagogue by bringing his daughter back to life, and when he shows that very same mercy to the woman who had been suffering hemorrhages for twelve long years. Jesus showed mercy and loving kindness to whoever needed it – Jewish leaders and lepers, Pharisees and fishermen, the wealthy and the poor, the tax collectors and the so-called sinners. Jesus showed that same mercy to those who believed, and those who didn’t believe. His mercy is steadfast and it is unconditional, and it is for all of God’s children. It is why Jesus was born – to show us that love. To offer us that mercy. And to call not the righteous but the sinners. And to heal the sick. And to raise the dead. And finally to go to the cross, bearing all our sins. If that isn’t hesed, I don’t know what is. If that isn’t a steadfast, merciful, kind, good, loyal, everlasting, love, I don’t know what is. And that is the love that Jesus has for us all. 

And the first step toward becoming his follower, and a step that must be repeated often, is to realize just how loved we are. The God who created us could not love us any more, and could not love us any less. We are already fully and completely and unconditionally loved.  Long before we ever try to return that love, or share that love, that same mercy, that “hesed,” is given to us, to all of God’s beloved children. 

Closing

“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’” Jesus said. But it turns out that we don’t have to go anywhere to learn what this means. It is best learned from Jesus himself. He shows us hesed throughout his life on earth. And one day he will show us hesed face-to-face. In the meantime, what are we to do? First, accept this merciful love. Even if we don’t think we deserve it. Especially if we think we don’t deserve it. And then? Make sure to share it with others who don’t think they deserve it. Share it with whoever in our world might be the tax collectors and sinners. Share it with the least of these among us, the poor, the forgotten, the lonely. All who need God’s mercy. And isn’t that all of us?

Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” And then, once we have learned it, and received it, go and share it. To the glory of God. Amen.