"Called, Welcomed, and Made Whole"
- alisonwale
- Jun 8
- 6 min read
On Sunday 7th June our Lay worship Leader gave this homily, reminding us of God's all encompassing welcome
When you were at school, were you ever in the situation where two or three children were choosing who would be on their team for a particular game? You knew which names would be called first – the sporty ones, the popular ones – and then there was a group of children eying each other anxiously, hoping not to be the last to be picked, hearing their name reluctantly called “Oh, I guess I’ll have to have Alison then…”
Probably many of us know what it feels like to wonder, "Would anyone choose me?"
Most human societies sort people into categories. We admire some, ignore others, welcome some, and avoid others. We decide who is respectable and who is not.
Yet the story of Scripture consistently shows a God who does not see people the way we do.
In today's readings we encounter a God who:
Calls the unlikely.
Welcomes the outsider.
Honors faith rather than status.
Heals both the respected and the marginalized.
Creates one family from all who trust in him.
God calls, welcomes, and makes whole.
God calls – and when God calls, we see his call goes beyond human expectations.
In both the Old Testament and the Gospel readings we see God calls unlikely people to do his work. We have Abram, a man beyond his prime, he and his wife Sarai had no children, and he’d been living his end days quietly. But then Abram is called to leave everything familiar and follow God's promise into an unknown future. Why him? If you were going to choose someone to be the founder and ancestor of a nation would you choose an old man with no children? I certainly wouldn’t. But God calls, and Abram follows.
And we have Matthew, a Jewish man working for the occupying Romans; probably seen as a collaborator, a snitch, a moral failure. Would you call him to join your group of followers? I certainly wouldn’t. But Jesus calls and Matthew follows.
The remarkable thing in both these stories is not that Abram and Matthew obey the call, but rather that God calls them both to do remarkable things. God's call is not limited by reputation, background, mistakes, or social standing.
Throughout Scripture we see God repeatedly chooses unexpected people:
Abram the wandering nomad.
Moses the reluctant speaker.
David the youngest son.
Matthew the tax collector.
We see it throughout history also: John Newton, the slave trader called to become a slave abolitionist, the obscure nun, Teresa, who was called to go to India and founded a world renown charity, the German Bonhoeffer, brought up in an intellectual, largely secular family, who went on to be called to fight and die opposing Nazism And God continues to do the same today. We do not need to consider whether or not we are worthy enough for God's call.
The question is whether we are willing to respond to that call.
God welcomes – and when God welcomes we see that God's Family Is Built by Faith, Not Status.
In the reading from Romans, we hear Paul making a revolutionary argument. He says that God’s promise to Abram did not come because Abram was a high achiever, or an exceptionally religious person, doing all the right things, making all the right sacrifices. It came through faith. Even when the odds seemed against it, Abram trusted that God would deliver.
This argument is revolutionary because it is saying Abraham is not merely the ancestor of one nation. Rather he is the father of all who believe.
God's family is not defined by ethnicity or wealth; education, respectability, or religious credentials mean nothing. God’s family, of which Abram is the forebearer, is defined by faith in God’s promises
And this truth is illustrated beautifully in the Gospel. Matthew – that untrustworthy collaborating tax collector - hosts a meal and fills the room with his colleagues and with other dubious characters – including that itinerant preacher fellow, Jesus. The religious leaders are scandalized. Jesus is not.
For Jesus does not wait for people to become respectable before welcoming them. He welcomes them so that they may be transformed.
So what does that mean for us? Well, firstly, it means we thank God that he didn’t wait around, twiddling his thumbs, waiting for us to become “worthy” enough to be called. But it also means that we need to recognise that Church is not a place for the already respectable to gather. Jesus invited people to his table with no criteria other than they heard his invitation and wanted to respond. Jesus’ table has always been a place for sinners, doubters, outsiders, and seekers. Because every one of us comes by grace.
God makes us whole – and we see that God heals both the Marginalized and the Respected; there are no limits to his loving care.
We see this in the two intertwined stories of healing. First, we have Jairus, a respected Synagogue leader, influential, well regarded. And then we have the unnamed woman who had lived with a haemorrhage for twelve years, considered unclean, an outcast, and isolated from her society. Two very different people, from either end of the social scale, but united in their desperation – and their faith.
Jesus does not rank one over the other, he does not say one is more deserving than the other, he does not show more attention to one than the other. He stops what he is doing to speak to the woman. He stops what he is doing to go with Jairus. Both are worthy of Jesus’ attention, and care and love. He restores them both. The woman is not only healed physically; she is restored socially and spiritually when Jesus gently calls her "daughter," including her in his family. And Jairus is restored as he sees his daughter quietly woken, and brought back from death with a smiling “she is not dead, she is only sleeping”
Within the whole Gospel reading we hear the stories of three people: the morally suspect tax collector, the respected influential leader and the invisible outcast woman. Jesus responds to all three with the same compassion and grace: Matthew is called, Jairus is heard and responded to, the woman touched and restored. They all discover the same truth: that at the feet of Jesus, all stand on equal ground, and that the Kingdom of God is big enough for all of them
We too know that unconditional acceptance of Christ. We understand that while the world measures people by success, influence, or popularity Jesus measures differently. He sees every person as a beloved child of God – and we are called to see our neighbour through his eyes. The Kingdom of God is big enough for us also – whoever we are.
God calls, welcomes, and makes whole.
And Psalm 33 reminds us that behind every story stands the faithful God. "The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord." We see this steadfast love reflected in all the stories told in today’s readings, all intertwined with God’s love: Abram's call. Matthew's call. Abraham's faith. The meal with sinners. The healing of the woman. The raising of Jairus' daughter.
None of these events happen by accident. They reveal God's sovereign purpose and steadfast love. The God who calls is the God who keeps his promises. The God who welcomes is the God who remains faithful. The God who heals and restores is the God whose love endures forever
Today's readings paint a picture of the Kingdom of God.
A place where the unlikely are called, and the outsider is welcomed. A place where faith matters more than status. A place where the wounded are restored, the dead are given life, and all are invited into God's family. A place where there are people with different stories, different circumstances but the same grace is received by all.
The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus still calls, still welcomes, and still makes whole. And when we respond in faith, we discover that we too belong in the family God has promised to bless and gather from every nation, every background, and every walk of life.
And not only that, but when we respond we find that our church, instead of being a place of exclusion, where only the “worthy” are welcomed, becomes a joyous, raucous party where all are accepted for who they are and what they are, but with the knowledge that God has called us, God has welcomed us, and God will make us all whole again.
Lord Jesus,who called us when we were hesitant, and calls us stillwho welcomed us when we felt unworthy, and welcomes us stilland who made us whole where we were broken, and heals us still
Teach us to see others as you see them:not by status or success,but as beloved children of God.
May we follow you in faith,serve you in love,and share your welcome with all.
Amen.
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