Jeremiah foretells of a righteous branch that will come from the house of David. He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land, and he will be called “The Lord is our righteousness.” This is a vision of a Davidic Messiah who reigns temporally - a political king. This is the hope of the exiled children of Judah. Move ahead in history 400 years or so and we have Paul writing to the congregation of Colossae and we have a new vision of this kingdom and its king. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. Quite a different vision of the heavenly king. Jesus is the divine king, not only Son of God, but God dwells in Him. Through Him, God grants us pardon and release from our sins. We are granted peace through the blood of His cross.
We have the temporal hope of redemption the prophet Jeremiah proclaims, and we have Paul’s prophetic proclamation of a divine King. These are both a hoped for future. Judah never realizes its hope of an independent Jewish state until 1948. Even today, as we are witness to the state of Israel, does righteousness and justice exist in the land? Paul realizes this temporal world is beyond human redemption. Only the Son of God, Jesus Christ can offer us the promise of salvation in a heavenly kingdom, where Jesus reigns. We work for the kingdom, we pray the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Until that day arrives we have the promise of the heavenly kingdom offered to us upon our leaving this temporal world.
Yet it is the cross upon which Jesus dies as “King of the Jews” that is the divine scepter extended to us, for our pardon, our release, our redemption. What kind of king is this? The power Jesus gives is not of this world, it is divine power and authority given to Him by God. Jesus is righteous, for he learns to use this power to glorify God, and resists the temptation to use it for his own self aggrandizement. Jesus completely submits to and obeys the will of God. We are called to follow Jesus, even if it leads to the cross.
Are we any better than the thieves who are crucified with Jesus. We may not be thieves, but we succumb to sin in the same manner they did and we sin. Who knows what cross we bear on which we will suffer upon? Could it be illness, financial ruin, heartache from the loss of relationship, chronic pain, that is the cross we suffer upon? One thief rebukes Jesus, taunting Jesus, as if in a spate of anger, Jesus would preform a miracle and free himself and the thieves from this anguish. The other thief confesses his sin, asks for pardon: “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He asks this with the hope and promise that Jesus can grant him divine pardon and redemption. And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Christ our King makes this promise to us. No earthly king can do this, no earthly king lives as righteously and extends justice and mercy as can Jesus Christ. If I want to trust in a King, I will trust and have faith in the promises Jesus extends to me and to the thief with him on the cross. Today you will be with me in Paradise. Amen.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion + Monday 15 November 2010
NRSV Luke 21:5 -6 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."
Jesus is speaking prophetically about the temple. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. Not one stone was left on top of the other. The only remnant of the temple remaining is the western retaining wall - The Wailing Wall. We are fragile creatures and the work of our hands, while we are around, endures. But the work of our hands ultimately succumbs to time. So what is eternal?
1 John 5:11b - 12a; God give us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life. John 3:14; And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:16; For God so lived the world that he gave his only Son, So that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 11:25-27; Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." Jesus, the Logos the Word of God incarnate is eternal and he extends the offer to us, to join Him in eternal life in the Kingdom of God. The world and all our creations may come crashing down around our ears, but Jesus transcends our frail physical world and extends to us a world that is timeless, eternal, everlasting. Jesus asks us the same question he asks Martha: “Do you believe this?” The thin frail thread of faith is all that links us to this promise. Even though it is thin and fragile, it is enough to secure the promise Jesus offers us. We believe Jesus is the Christ, our messiah who comes to save us and offer us eternal live. As Martin Luther would say: “This is most certainly true.”
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On the History Channel I really enjoyed watching - Life After People. I was fascinated by how time and nature slowly deconstructs everything we have constructed. When people are no longer around to maintain structures or build new buildings - time takes its toll on our grand achievements. Our great cities and their great architecture will slowly revert back to nature. It may take 10.000 years before you would not be able to recognize a cityscape, but the change would be complete. All the materials we use to build cities would revert back to the earth, courtesy of the weather, plants, animals, insects and the greatest leveler of them all - time.Jesus is speaking prophetically about the temple. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. Not one stone was left on top of the other. The only remnant of the temple remaining is the western retaining wall - The Wailing Wall. We are fragile creatures and the work of our hands, while we are around, endures. But the work of our hands ultimately succumbs to time. So what is eternal?
1 John 5:11b - 12a; God give us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life. John 3:14; And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:16; For God so lived the world that he gave his only Son, So that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 11:25-27; Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." Jesus, the Logos the Word of God incarnate is eternal and he extends the offer to us, to join Him in eternal life in the Kingdom of God. The world and all our creations may come crashing down around our ears, but Jesus transcends our frail physical world and extends to us a world that is timeless, eternal, everlasting. Jesus asks us the same question he asks Martha: “Do you believe this?” The thin frail thread of faith is all that links us to this promise. Even though it is thin and fragile, it is enough to secure the promise Jesus offers us. We believe Jesus is the Christ, our messiah who comes to save us and offer us eternal live. As Martin Luther would say: “This is most certainly true.”
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We Pray: Gracious God, the thin thread of faith is all that we have which links us to the promises of Jesus. Even though we may have doubts, this does not mean we lack faith. Help us to gain understanding of your Word to us through faith. Help nurture and strengthen this thread. Help us to grow deep in our faith, confident of the Word Jesus gives to us. In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
25th Sunday after Pentecost
As we approach the end of the Church year we are in a transition period. The question: What happens to followers of Jesus after he is taken away? Our Gospel text from Luke does not offer his disciples or us much comfort of what they can expect. Yet as we read verses 9 through 11, I would ask us: When has there been a time in history when none of these things have occurred? Human history has had very few instances where there has not been war, natural disasters, famine, plagues. This is part and parcel of the human condition. In modern times it is even brought into our lives with greater presence and timeliness through our mass communication. We don’t hear of rumors of these events, we see the events on our television or computer in our homes, so very far removed from events. Calamitous events are always before us, we cannot be removed from them.
Jesus is saying to us, that our grand plans do not have permanence - everything will eventually break down, be destroyed, whether it be anything we build or construct, information or ideas, time has a way of eventually wearing down and destroying all that we try to do and accomplish. The History Channel offered a show called Life After People. This show graphically portrayed what would happen to our cities and structures, if all of a sudden there were no persons around to care for them. I found this show fascinating. Time will destroy anything we have ever created, if we are not around to maintain it. About the only two things that could withstand the onslaught of time - gold and intact containers of honey - everything else will break down, returning to the earth from whence it came.
Jesus is being very realistic in his assessment of history and time. We all face some sort of calamitous experience in our life times. The Derby Fire is an example of one such instance.
Those who were immediately threatened by the fire know, just how helpless we are before such a natural disaster. In Baltimore, I knew people who were refugees of war. They lived in Lithuania or East Prussia, and when the Eastern Front collapsed they were forced to flee, taking only what they could carry, leaving everything else behind.
Jesus tells us what we may expect if we defend our faith against those who are hostile to our Faith in God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Members of the early church did indeed become martyrs for their faith. They faced persecutions, torture and death for their faith in Jesus Christ. Such persecution goes on in the world today. Christians in Iraq, Iran, India, China face the threat of attack, physical assault, and death for practicing their faith in Jesus and gathering together to worship.
While we here in Absarokee may not face such persecution directly, we face a continual and subtle nibbling away of our faith, by a thousand cuts, distractions and temptations that lure us away from living as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. But is this all hopeless? As Paul would say: By no means. Jesus gives us hope; Jesus promises to give us wisdom and words to respond to those who would disparage or deride our faith. Jesus promises us - we will not perish, not one hair on our head will perish. Jesus will gird us with strength. Jesus will endow us with the mettle to endure. Jesus says to us: “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” No one can take this away from us. Jesus gives us the courage to persevere; Jesus walks with us through that dark lonesome valley. Yes the journey may be terrifying at times, we may be fearful and afraid - this is the time and place where Jesus is with us. We do not walk alone, we do not stand alone - Jesus is with us. Amen
Jesus is saying to us, that our grand plans do not have permanence - everything will eventually break down, be destroyed, whether it be anything we build or construct, information or ideas, time has a way of eventually wearing down and destroying all that we try to do and accomplish. The History Channel offered a show called Life After People. This show graphically portrayed what would happen to our cities and structures, if all of a sudden there were no persons around to care for them. I found this show fascinating. Time will destroy anything we have ever created, if we are not around to maintain it. About the only two things that could withstand the onslaught of time - gold and intact containers of honey - everything else will break down, returning to the earth from whence it came.
Jesus is being very realistic in his assessment of history and time. We all face some sort of calamitous experience in our life times. The Derby Fire is an example of one such instance.
Those who were immediately threatened by the fire know, just how helpless we are before such a natural disaster. In Baltimore, I knew people who were refugees of war. They lived in Lithuania or East Prussia, and when the Eastern Front collapsed they were forced to flee, taking only what they could carry, leaving everything else behind.
Jesus tells us what we may expect if we defend our faith against those who are hostile to our Faith in God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Members of the early church did indeed become martyrs for their faith. They faced persecutions, torture and death for their faith in Jesus Christ. Such persecution goes on in the world today. Christians in Iraq, Iran, India, China face the threat of attack, physical assault, and death for practicing their faith in Jesus and gathering together to worship.
While we here in Absarokee may not face such persecution directly, we face a continual and subtle nibbling away of our faith, by a thousand cuts, distractions and temptations that lure us away from living as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. But is this all hopeless? As Paul would say: By no means. Jesus gives us hope; Jesus promises to give us wisdom and words to respond to those who would disparage or deride our faith. Jesus promises us - we will not perish, not one hair on our head will perish. Jesus will gird us with strength. Jesus will endow us with the mettle to endure. Jesus says to us: “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” No one can take this away from us. Jesus gives us the courage to persevere; Jesus walks with us through that dark lonesome valley. Yes the journey may be terrifying at times, we may be fearful and afraid - this is the time and place where Jesus is with us. We do not walk alone, we do not stand alone - Jesus is with us. Amen
Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion + Monday 8 November 2010
Ephesians 1:17-19 NRSV I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
All Saints Day we remember the saints who have gone before us who are in God’s eternal care. This is our hope for them and this is our hope for us, too. Jesus promises us, we will join him in the Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints and partake of the heavenly banquet that has no end. This is the Easter promise God demonstrates to us with the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. This is the hope to which he has called us. This is our rich inheritance, an inheritance that we share, proclaim and live.
The church year ends of Christ the King Sunday. How better to end the year with a bang, than to proclaim - Jesus Christ is our King - thanks be to God. God cares enough to give the very best to us, his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We surrender ourselves to Jesus as his followers and walk his way. It is a hard way, but Jesus leads the way; Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the sovereign to whom we submit ourselves, whom we obey and follow. Jesus promises us life eternal with all the saints who have gone before us. Jesus offers to us relationship with God, a relationship that is eternal, loving, consoling and rich beyond all earthly measure. This is our rich inheritance - Thanks be to God, now and forever.
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The month of November is a very active month in the church calendar. We end the month of October with Reformation Day, All Saints Day is celebrated 1 November, just before Thanksgiving we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, we have Thanksgiving and then usually the first Sunday after Thanksgiving is the First Sunday of Advent. There is a slow crescendo as we approach the end of the church year. All through the Sundays after Pentecost we have heard about the ministry of Jesus, we have heard about the parables he told, the miracles he performed. In November we get an understanding of the mission Christ came to accomplish while he was on this earth for such a precious, short time - Jesus tells us of this rich inheritance God offers us.All Saints Day we remember the saints who have gone before us who are in God’s eternal care. This is our hope for them and this is our hope for us, too. Jesus promises us, we will join him in the Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints and partake of the heavenly banquet that has no end. This is the Easter promise God demonstrates to us with the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. This is the hope to which he has called us. This is our rich inheritance, an inheritance that we share, proclaim and live.
The church year ends of Christ the King Sunday. How better to end the year with a bang, than to proclaim - Jesus Christ is our King - thanks be to God. God cares enough to give the very best to us, his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We surrender ourselves to Jesus as his followers and walk his way. It is a hard way, but Jesus leads the way; Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the sovereign to whom we submit ourselves, whom we obey and follow. Jesus promises us life eternal with all the saints who have gone before us. Jesus offers to us relationship with God, a relationship that is eternal, loving, consoling and rich beyond all earthly measure. This is our rich inheritance - Thanks be to God, now and forever.
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We pray: We give you thanks, O God for the richness of your inheritance to us, your son Jesus. We thank you for his atoning sacrifice of our sin through his blood on the cross for us. Reveal to us this rich gift when we are headstrong and stubborn in our own self centeredness. Help us to see the light, the light that is Jesus in our lives. In your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
All Saints Sunday + 6 November 2010
I encourage you to read Holy Scripture, whether you use Taking Faith Home or use the daily lectionary I have in the Sweet Feet Messenger Newsletter, or you just pick up the Bible and start reading. The Bible is not a novel that you can read easily from beginning to end; it can be done, but it is not necessary to do this to gain an understanding of what God’s plan is for us and how we have come to understand it. Holy Scripture is not necessarily black and white - it is multi-hued and varied in tonal shading. There are time when I read scripture and color it black and white and paint myself in the white portion. The truth is I am as multi-hued in my life’s experiences as the Bible is in telling me of God’s relationship with us.
Our Gospel lesson from Luke is such an example. This is a very multi-hued text. We read of those who are blessed. As I look out over this congregation, I would imagine there have been times when any one of us have been so blessed. There may have been times when we have been poor - not just poor in spirit, but monetarily poor; when we have been hungry, and not just for the Word, but physically hungry; and there have been times when we have been in deep sorrow. For any rational person this does not sound as though it is a blessing. But Jesus tells us we are blessed and that what afflicts us will change.
Yet we can be included in the woes as well. Any one of us can say: Yes, at any time I have experienced blessing and woe as Jesus defines it in the Gospel of Luke. Life is a continuum, life ebbs and flows, it never really remains static, changes occur - sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. How are we to make any sense of this scripture?
Today we celebrate All Saints Sunday. We honor the saints who have gone before us, who from their labors rest. They led lives not too much different than ours. They had their share of “blessings” as defined by Jesus, and they experienced their woes as well. We are both Saint and Sinner, at the same time. This is the paradox of life. We are all capable of very saintly activity and also very capable of satanic activity. Usually, we do not swing to such extremes, our swings are milder, but we still oscillate between saint and sinner. We are not blessed unless God is a part of our life. Even when we have experienced the darkest moments of our life, God was with us.
We may not have been able to experience it, but when it is the darkest for us, God is with us.
Back in Baltimore, I spoke with a woman who was originally raised Greek Orthodox, but married into the Lutheran Church. She was telling me of a time when she had returned from a troubled family visit in West Virginia and on her return she came to the pastor and specifically requested communion. She needed to have the physical experience of God’s presence and promise that she could sense in the bread and the wine. We are blessed when God is with us, and God walks with us in the darkest times of our life. At such times we need God’s love and care the most.
And when are we the richest in our life? The text from Ephesians tells us, our riches are the hope to which we are called, the glorious inheritance of the saints - saints with us today and saints who now share the Glory of God at the feast that has no end. This is the glorious inheritance the saints who have gone before us now receive and this is the promise of us saints who reside here waiting and working for the Kingdom of God each and every day. We are blessed by the saints in our lives today. The ones who are a witness to this hope and inheritance Jesus offers and promises to us.
Jesus tells us: “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. And blessed are you when you are there to be with those who are hated, excluded, reviled, and defamed. You are the face of Christ to those who are hurting, when you are able to be there with them in their darkest moments of despair, when you share and take on their pain, loss and hurt. This is the territory where saints are made, and where those who are afflicted are blessed.
When ever I am feeling down and discouraged - for what ever reason - I make the effort to go on a pastoral visit to parishioners who live this promise out in their lives. Their witness of faith strengthens me and lifts me up. These are the saints among us who quietly, yet faithfully live their lives. Their faith shines through. Their strength nurtures me when I am weak. We don’t have to be perpetually jolly to lift people up. We just have to be ourselves and offer ourselves as a blessing to others, and we will be blessed, as they are blessed. Amen.
Our Gospel lesson from Luke is such an example. This is a very multi-hued text. We read of those who are blessed. As I look out over this congregation, I would imagine there have been times when any one of us have been so blessed. There may have been times when we have been poor - not just poor in spirit, but monetarily poor; when we have been hungry, and not just for the Word, but physically hungry; and there have been times when we have been in deep sorrow. For any rational person this does not sound as though it is a blessing. But Jesus tells us we are blessed and that what afflicts us will change.
Yet we can be included in the woes as well. Any one of us can say: Yes, at any time I have experienced blessing and woe as Jesus defines it in the Gospel of Luke. Life is a continuum, life ebbs and flows, it never really remains static, changes occur - sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. How are we to make any sense of this scripture?
Today we celebrate All Saints Sunday. We honor the saints who have gone before us, who from their labors rest. They led lives not too much different than ours. They had their share of “blessings” as defined by Jesus, and they experienced their woes as well. We are both Saint and Sinner, at the same time. This is the paradox of life. We are all capable of very saintly activity and also very capable of satanic activity. Usually, we do not swing to such extremes, our swings are milder, but we still oscillate between saint and sinner. We are not blessed unless God is a part of our life. Even when we have experienced the darkest moments of our life, God was with us.
We may not have been able to experience it, but when it is the darkest for us, God is with us.
Back in Baltimore, I spoke with a woman who was originally raised Greek Orthodox, but married into the Lutheran Church. She was telling me of a time when she had returned from a troubled family visit in West Virginia and on her return she came to the pastor and specifically requested communion. She needed to have the physical experience of God’s presence and promise that she could sense in the bread and the wine. We are blessed when God is with us, and God walks with us in the darkest times of our life. At such times we need God’s love and care the most.
And when are we the richest in our life? The text from Ephesians tells us, our riches are the hope to which we are called, the glorious inheritance of the saints - saints with us today and saints who now share the Glory of God at the feast that has no end. This is the glorious inheritance the saints who have gone before us now receive and this is the promise of us saints who reside here waiting and working for the Kingdom of God each and every day. We are blessed by the saints in our lives today. The ones who are a witness to this hope and inheritance Jesus offers and promises to us.
Jesus tells us: “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. And blessed are you when you are there to be with those who are hated, excluded, reviled, and defamed. You are the face of Christ to those who are hurting, when you are able to be there with them in their darkest moments of despair, when you share and take on their pain, loss and hurt. This is the territory where saints are made, and where those who are afflicted are blessed.
When ever I am feeling down and discouraged - for what ever reason - I make the effort to go on a pastoral visit to parishioners who live this promise out in their lives. Their witness of faith strengthens me and lifts me up. These are the saints among us who quietly, yet faithfully live their lives. Their faith shines through. Their strength nurtures me when I am weak. We don’t have to be perpetually jolly to lift people up. We just have to be ourselves and offer ourselves as a blessing to others, and we will be blessed, as they are blessed. Amen.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion + Monday 1 November 2010
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Romans 3:21-25a NRSV But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. +
One of the first classes I took when I started my theological education was at St. Mary’s Seminary - Ecumenical Institute of Theology in Baltimore; the class was Spirituality of the Early Church. A husband and wife team where the instructors; they both had Th.D.s from the Pontifical Institute in Montreal. They were very well versed in the early church and very smart. We were talking about Paul and the early church and the instructor asked the class a question and I remember responding with the verse from Romans 3:23. This was only the second class I had enrolled in and I did not have a very secure grasp of scripture. As I had attended church in the years before I enrolled in this class, I must have been paying some attention to what I heard, for every so often I have heard read this third chapter of Romans. I will not claim that I was always paying attention when the lessons are read, but apparently I was able to recall this verse from Romans.Many people love Jesus, but hate the church. All to often, modern culture and media portray the church as composed of a bunch of straight laced, moralistic, judgmental hypocrites. People give this as a reason not to be involved in a church. To some extent there is truth in their evaluation of the composition of the church. But, I have heard it said: “there is always room for one more.” If the church were composed of people who have not sinned, we would have no need for church. We all fall short of the glory of God and sin. There is no getting around it. We come together in church to admit we are sinners, and to ask God to forgive our sinful nature. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We cannot redeem ourselves. Jesus has redeemed us by his death on the cross, once and for all. Paul is offering us a liberating truth. We are sinners; sinners of God’s redeeming, through the blood and body of Jesus Christ. As we acknowledge this truth, we can get on with our life.
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We pray: Most merciful and loving God, we come before you as repentant sinners, sinners of your redeeming. Walk with us through life, as we face our struggles, our fears, our concerns. Always remind us that we are your beloved children, even when we sin and fall short of your glory. Our steps may be faltering as we walk with you, you are there to help steady us and guide us on our life’s journey. In your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
Reformation Sunday + 31 October 2010
I have decided to preach from the Gospel of Luke today. The usual text for Reformation Sunday is from John. This is the Gospel text for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost. The story of Zacchaeus is indeed about being justified by grace. Zacchaeus responds by acting faithfully, by bearing good fruit. Zacchaeus is indeed a son of Abraham, he is living righteously.
This is a story of the one who is a seeker becoming the sought after one. Of all the stories in the Gospel of Luke - this is the one where by the Word of Jesus, a person is justified out right. But Zacchaeus is a tax collector and apparently a very good one at that. Our opinion of tax collectors has not really changed a whole lot since Biblical times. The only difference is that in Biblical times the tax collector was not an impersonal bureaucratic extension of the government, it was an individual who may or may not have been a Jew, who collected taxes for the occupying government of the time - The Empire of Rome. It is one thing to disdain a bureaucracy, but disdain can be much more palpable when it is a person you interact with day in and day out. Zacchaeus is such a person. As a tax collector, the tax collector gets a cut of the taxes he is able to collect. Ironically Zacchaeus means pure one or righteous one. Zacchaeus was not disdained and called a sinner for doing his job of collecting taxes, he was called a sinner for his working with Romans, foreigners, those who are ritually unclean, impure. That he collected taxes and was rich, did not help win him any friends either.
So here is this “little” man who wants to see Jesus. Because of the crowds he cannot see Jesus, so he climbs a tree in order to better see Jesus when he walks past. What the text does not tell us is the motivation behind his wanting to see Jesus. How many of us would want to see the Lord Jesus if we heard he was coming this way? Why would we want to see Jesus, what would be our motivation at wanting to see Jesus? Our motivation or reasons for wanting to see Jesus are as varied as we are. Zacchaeus just wants to see the Lord Jesus; he is seeking Jesus out. Zacchaeus is out on a limb so to speak and Jesus is walking underneath, looks up and says to Zacchaeus: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. If Jesus turned to any one of us and made the same announcement would we greet the announcement with happiness; would we thing that Jesus was being a bit “forward”or would we be worried that we were behind in our house keeping? I don’t think it would matter to Jesus. Jesus just wants to be with us, us sinners.
As we read this text closely, we realize that things have not really changed a whole lot since the time of Jesus. ‘All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”’ Apparently the crowd grumbled because they must have assumed that they do not sin, they are righteous and pure, pure as the wind driven snow, and wouldn’t Jesus be more comfortable staying with them? Jealousy and envy are still alive and well and these sins still tempt us today. Yet as Zacchaeus is a sinner, so are we. But that does not stop Jesus from asking to be a home with him or us. Jesus is saying to Zacchaeus, I want to be with you and eat with you. Jesus offers us the same invitation today. Jesus invites us to the table where he offers us a meal he hosts, in his holy house.
How does Zacchaeus react to the presence of Jesus in his life, this gift of grace coming to his home? ‘Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord: “Look, half my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”’ The text does not say Zacchaeus repents or has faith, but Zacchaeus responds to the Grace of God, through the presence of Jesus Christ in his life. He freely responds to this gift of grace. ‘Then Jesus said to him: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.”’ Salvation comes through the Word, the Word made flesh and dwelling among us - Jesus Christ. We seek to see Jesus, we long to hear this word of salvation, this promise of Life eternal offered to us. Luther feared God; he was seeking to find the merciful, loving God. Luther realized there was nothing he could do to attain God’s mercy, love and salvation - no amount of works could justify him. Life in our world is just as chaotic and uncertain as it was in Jesus’ Day, as it was in Luther’s day. Life’s uncertainties are so often beyond our control. When we think we have everything squared away, something happens, a decision is made - beyond our control - and all our best laid plans have gone awry. Through the Word of Christ we hear that salvation has come to us today. Jesus does not offer us an IOU - we have the promise given to us now, today. This is what we believe and hold fast to when everything else around us falls to pieces. This is why we gather together - we hear the Word of God proclaimed, we hear Jesus promise to us of salvation, today; we gather at the table and have the meal that is the physical promise given to us of God’s love and mercy. We receive God’s grace of the forgiveness of our sin given to us by the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This is how we are made righteous - justified by God’s grace through our faith in Jesus. Jesus who comes to us, us poor sinners and says to us: “I want to be with you, I want to stay in your home; I will be with you always.” Listen, Jesus is standing, knocking at the door - open the door and Jesus will come in and be with you and will eat with you. And we say: “Come Lord Jesus, come and be our guest, come and be part of our lives.” Amen.
This is a story of the one who is a seeker becoming the sought after one. Of all the stories in the Gospel of Luke - this is the one where by the Word of Jesus, a person is justified out right. But Zacchaeus is a tax collector and apparently a very good one at that. Our opinion of tax collectors has not really changed a whole lot since Biblical times. The only difference is that in Biblical times the tax collector was not an impersonal bureaucratic extension of the government, it was an individual who may or may not have been a Jew, who collected taxes for the occupying government of the time - The Empire of Rome. It is one thing to disdain a bureaucracy, but disdain can be much more palpable when it is a person you interact with day in and day out. Zacchaeus is such a person. As a tax collector, the tax collector gets a cut of the taxes he is able to collect. Ironically Zacchaeus means pure one or righteous one. Zacchaeus was not disdained and called a sinner for doing his job of collecting taxes, he was called a sinner for his working with Romans, foreigners, those who are ritually unclean, impure. That he collected taxes and was rich, did not help win him any friends either.
So here is this “little” man who wants to see Jesus. Because of the crowds he cannot see Jesus, so he climbs a tree in order to better see Jesus when he walks past. What the text does not tell us is the motivation behind his wanting to see Jesus. How many of us would want to see the Lord Jesus if we heard he was coming this way? Why would we want to see Jesus, what would be our motivation at wanting to see Jesus? Our motivation or reasons for wanting to see Jesus are as varied as we are. Zacchaeus just wants to see the Lord Jesus; he is seeking Jesus out. Zacchaeus is out on a limb so to speak and Jesus is walking underneath, looks up and says to Zacchaeus: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. If Jesus turned to any one of us and made the same announcement would we greet the announcement with happiness; would we thing that Jesus was being a bit “forward”or would we be worried that we were behind in our house keeping? I don’t think it would matter to Jesus. Jesus just wants to be with us, us sinners.
As we read this text closely, we realize that things have not really changed a whole lot since the time of Jesus. ‘All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”’ Apparently the crowd grumbled because they must have assumed that they do not sin, they are righteous and pure, pure as the wind driven snow, and wouldn’t Jesus be more comfortable staying with them? Jealousy and envy are still alive and well and these sins still tempt us today. Yet as Zacchaeus is a sinner, so are we. But that does not stop Jesus from asking to be a home with him or us. Jesus is saying to Zacchaeus, I want to be with you and eat with you. Jesus offers us the same invitation today. Jesus invites us to the table where he offers us a meal he hosts, in his holy house.
How does Zacchaeus react to the presence of Jesus in his life, this gift of grace coming to his home? ‘Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord: “Look, half my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”’ The text does not say Zacchaeus repents or has faith, but Zacchaeus responds to the Grace of God, through the presence of Jesus Christ in his life. He freely responds to this gift of grace. ‘Then Jesus said to him: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.”’ Salvation comes through the Word, the Word made flesh and dwelling among us - Jesus Christ. We seek to see Jesus, we long to hear this word of salvation, this promise of Life eternal offered to us. Luther feared God; he was seeking to find the merciful, loving God. Luther realized there was nothing he could do to attain God’s mercy, love and salvation - no amount of works could justify him. Life in our world is just as chaotic and uncertain as it was in Jesus’ Day, as it was in Luther’s day. Life’s uncertainties are so often beyond our control. When we think we have everything squared away, something happens, a decision is made - beyond our control - and all our best laid plans have gone awry. Through the Word of Christ we hear that salvation has come to us today. Jesus does not offer us an IOU - we have the promise given to us now, today. This is what we believe and hold fast to when everything else around us falls to pieces. This is why we gather together - we hear the Word of God proclaimed, we hear Jesus promise to us of salvation, today; we gather at the table and have the meal that is the physical promise given to us of God’s love and mercy. We receive God’s grace of the forgiveness of our sin given to us by the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This is how we are made righteous - justified by God’s grace through our faith in Jesus. Jesus who comes to us, us poor sinners and says to us: “I want to be with you, I want to stay in your home; I will be with you always.” Listen, Jesus is standing, knocking at the door - open the door and Jesus will come in and be with you and will eat with you. And we say: “Come Lord Jesus, come and be our guest, come and be part of our lives.” Amen.
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