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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The prophet Hosea lived 800 years before Jesus in what is now northern Israel. He’s considered a minor prophet. But his book in the old testament contains this gem: God says “I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
And during his ministry, after Jesus had called the tax collector Matthew, he was confronted by the religious leaders of his day. “Why do you eat with tax collectors and sinners,” they asked Him. And Jesus replied: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” And then he dismisses the Pharisees by saying, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
If Jesus were alive today, where would he look for his modern-day disciples? I have an uncomfortable thought. He’s more likely to go to the gazebo near the Wisconsin River where the drunks and addicts hang out. I think he’d walk beside people who’d just been paroled from the Marathon County jail. He might stay with the homeless. Or encourage the young people who think their lives have no meaning.
It’s recorded nowhere in Jesus’s ministry that he dined with kings or prominent people. He never once slept in a castle. He had sharp words for religious leaders who were more obsessed with following the law than helping others. Their rules for proper religious observance were a tremendous burden to those who were trying to be faithful. Imagine what they must have thought when Jesus said to them, “all who are burdened and heavy laden, come to Me and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy.”
Many of our churches today are still hung up on ceremony. During service, we kneel at this time. We stand for other things. Only certain people can take communion. Observe these special holy days. Perhaps God doesn’t care about those things.
So, consider as you go through the next week, which is more important: putting the right amount in the offering plate, or sharing a meal with someone who’s lonely? Is it going to Bible study, or offering to babysit a single mother’s children? Do them all if you can. But remember, mercy before sacrifice.
Chris Conley
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