I desire mercy, not sacrifice

Jesus made this reference from Hosea 6:6 in two places:

Matthew 9:13: But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 12:7:  If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.


The context of the first reference was the calling of the Gospel writer Matthew himself (Matthew 9:9-13). Notice the reaction of the Pharisees when Jesus hung out (and presumably ate) with the "sinners". Jesus responded by telling them to "learn" the meaning of Hosea 6:6 (which should be quite familiar with the Pharisees). Jesus then claimed: "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The context of the second reference was again directed to the Pharisees who accused Jesus' disciples for doing something unlawful on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8). Jesus then made this claim: "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”.

I have been reading from the book of Amos these last many days. In today's passages (Amos 8:4-6, 9-12) the first passage (8:4-6) is an accusation to those (who are God's people!) "who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land" and the second passage (9-12) is God's severe response to them. These are not easy words to hear. Although I don't feel I belong to those who are being accused, there is still a lesson to be learned here. How do I view the poor? And what should be my attitude when I serve the poor?

In light of my recent bike accident (I was on my way to BBQ for the homeless people in a downtown church - my regular Friday volunteering work), I am becoming more aware of the 200-300 faces I serve. I often had these thoughts - "where do they get the money for all the tattoos on their bodies?"; "why do they own dogs when they can't even feed themselves?"; "if only they don't spend money on cigarettes they maybe able to feed themselves"; "they take welfare cheques and don't bother to work". What is the point of sacrificing my time for them?

Today Jesus is telling me to learn the meaning of this: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice"!
Oh how I desire to be like Jesus, whose love for the poor and sinners is so perfect. "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. " (Romans 5:8)