A rejected block of marble that Donatello scorned became, years later, Michelangelo’s David. That image opens a reflection on Jesus meeting Matthew, a tax collector shut out of his own nation (Matthew 9), a man to whom Jesus sets no conditions and simply says: follow me. The sermon asks whom we write off by the cover, and why the church can never be a place where anyone feels unwanted. Listen and see what Jesus notices in a person everyone else has already given up on.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Matthew was a tax collector in Capernaum, seen by his own people as a thief and a traitor working for the occupiers. What does it tell us about Jesus that He said to this man, "Follow me"?
- How do you understand Jesus' reply to the Pharisees in Matthew 9:12-13: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" and "I desire mercy, not sacrifice"?
- Jesus gave Matthew no conditions: He did not tell him to change first or to give back what he had stolen. What in this invitation moves you most, or makes you push back?
- The sermon said that only someone brave enough to stand before the mirror and admit they need a doctor can follow Jesus. What helps you see yourself in that light?
- Donatello rejected the block of marble, while Michelangelo saw David in it. What do you usually judge people by, and who do you find it easy to write off like that "flawed stone"?
- A pastor handed a former prisoner the keys to the church, and William Booth told his son in a pub, "These are our people." Who specifically can you invite or welcome this week the way Jesus welcomed Matthew?
