Rev. Kerry Boese

This powerful message invites us to confront a truth that runs counter to everything our culture teaches: that we are nothing apart from Christ. Drawing from Matthew 9, we encounter a parade of people society deemed worthless—Matthew the tax collector, a woman bleeding for twelve years, and a dead child. Yet Jesus meets each one exactly where they are, not after they've cleaned up their act or proven their worth. The tax collector is called while still sitting at his booth. The bleeding woman is healed despite her ritual uncleanness. The dead girl is raised without doing anything at all. This is the scandalous beauty of grace: Jesus specializes in taking our nothingness and transforming it into something eternal. When we stop trying to make ourselves significant by worldly standards and embrace our spiritual poverty, we discover that Christ has already clothed us in His righteousness and named us children of God. The question isn't whether we're good enough—we're not. The question is whether we're willing to bring our emptiness to the One who fills it with His everything.