Bishop Teemu Laajasalo’s sermon at St Asaph Cathedral at the Partnership Eucharist on 7 July 2026, 11 am.
“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’
While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, ‘My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.’ And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.’ Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, ‘Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district.
Matt. 9: 9–13, 18–26
Dear Bishop Gregory, dear friends of this Diocese of St Asaph,
This is a joyful day! It’s a great pleasure to be here in Wales today. I’ve been waiting for this occasion for a long time. The Diocese of Helsinki in Finland and the Diocese of St Asaph in Wales are now joined in fellowship as partnership dioceses. This is much more than an administrative agreement or a formal arrangement. Its purpose is to help Christians get to know each other, pray for and support each other, and remind each other that the Church of Christ is bigger than any single parish, diocese or nation.
We in Helsinki want to build our fellowship with you. We want to learn from and encourage each other, and to walk together as followers of Christ. It is this that makes today’s gospel so appropriate for this day of celebration. In the gospel Jesus meets a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth. He says only two words to him: “Follow me.”
And those words of Jesus – follow me – are enough. Matthew gets up and follows him. But this isn’t an invitation for Matthew alone. It is the essence of Christian faith. Jesus still calls people to follow him.
But what does it really mean to follow Jesus, brothers and sisters? Today’s gospel gives us three answers.
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First, to follow Jesus is to be a healer.
The gospel tells us of a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She touches Jesus’s cloak and hears the words: “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”
Healing happens in the presence of Jesus. It makes people more whole. He restores dignity, hope and a future to people. When Jesus calls people to follow him, he also calls them to join in the same work.
Not everyone performs miracles. Not everyone heals diseases. But all of us who follow Jesus can ask: does my presence bring more or less life to those around me? Do I build up, or do I tear down? Do I give others hope, or do I snatch it from them?
Sometimes the greatest act of healing is not a miracle but ordinary human presence. Sitting by a hospital bed, answering a lonely person’s phone call or just saying sorry can change the course of a person’s life. Many of us remember someone whose kind words came at just the right time, helping us make it through another day.
The world has many wounds. Loneliness, fear, bitterness, sadness and broken relationships. One who follows Jesus does not add to those wounds. They strive to heal them.
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Second, following Jesus is about focusing on the sick and those who sin.
Immediately after Matthew sets out to follow Jesus, the gospel tells us of the controversy arising from Jesus’s dining with tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees just don’t understand why this teacher spends time with such people.
Jesus’s response to the Pharisees gives pause to and instructs every follower of Jesus. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”
The attention of Jesus is always directed at those who have been left behind. Those whom others don’t value. Those whose lives are untidy.
Each of us can imagine what it feels like to be left out. We’ve all seen the person who wasn’t invited, who wasn’t noticed, or whose need wasn’t seen. That’s why we’re so deeply touched by the example of Jesus: he sees the person the rest of us have already passed by.
It’s not that Jesus despises the pious. The problem is self-righteousness. The problem arises when a person begins to think they don’t need God’s grace.
Jesus guides us in our work in St Asaph and Helsinki. The first mission of the church is not to care for those who already feel they belong to the inner circle. It is the church’s mission to see those who are too easily invisible.
Following Jesus means learning to see the world through his eyes.
It isn’t about who has earned their place. It’s about who needs love now, at this moment.
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Third, following Jesus is about striving to be merciful.
In today’s gospel, in the middle of the discussion, Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea, which we also heard separately today: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
This is the key that unlocks the whole of today’s gospel. The Pharisees talk about correct practices. Jesus talks about people. The Pharisees ask who they can eat with. Jesus asks who needs love. The Pharisees look at what the rules are. Jesus looks at what is in a person’s heart.
Being merciful doesn’t mean that the law and truth are irrelevant. So love comes first. The Christian faith is not a religion of the perfect. It is a religion of the merciful.
The most challenging thing about mercy is that it is precisely when the other person does not seem to deserve it that it is needed. It is precisely when we’ve been disappointed by someone, precisely when someone has failed or upset us, precisely when Christ calls us to remember God’s patience with us. Being merciful doesn’t change the past, but it can open up the future.
That’s why Christ himself calls those who follow him to treat others as God treats him. Not coldly, but with kindness. Not with judgement, but with mercy. Not by excluding others, but by inviting them. Not by closing doors, but by opening them. Not by taking opportunities away, but by making them over and over and over again.
***
Dear friends,
Today’s gospel begins with Jesus’s call: “Follow me.” And the same gospel tells us what it means to follow. It means to share in the work of the healer. It means paying attention to the sick, to sinners and to the marginalised. It means striving to be merciful.
And today’s gospel begins with a meal. Jesus sits at the same table as those whom others have deemed worthless. He doesn’t invite the perfect to join him at the table. He calls those who know of their need of God’s mercy.
Today, in this beautiful cathedral, we too will shortly gather at his table. The altar reminds us that we are all equally invited guests. None of us is here on their merits. None of us is here because they are better than anyone else. No one comes here perfect and healthy. We come because Christ himself invites us.
And it is precisely in the miracle of the eucharist, in the bread and wine, that Christ himself continues to do what in today’s gospel we read of him doing two thousand years ago. He heals. He seeks out those who need him. He shows us his mercy.
Let us come to his table with joyful and grateful hearts. And let us go out from here into all the world as his followers – to build fellowship, as bearers of hope, and showing the mercy we have ourselves received.
Amen.