Prayer
"Zaccheus," sermon discussion from Frederick Buechner, Frederick Buechner Blog.
"What a strange mixture of passions must Zaccheus have now felt, hearing one speak, as knowing both his name and his heart!"
"Maybe justice is our way of tracking each other, our way of defining each other, of keeping count, of keeping score, of following who's in and who's out, who's up and who's down. If this is so, if God's love regularly trumps God's justice ? and I believe Jesus dies precisely to show us that it is ? then we're operating with flawed categories."
"Zacchaeus and the Reformation," David Lose, Dear Working Preacher, 2010.
Zacchaeus climbs up into the tree trying to see Jesus. He wants to see and know who Jesus is. Previously the blind man (18.38), who could not see, indeed recognizes and knows who Jesus is – the Son of David. The blind see the Messiah; they are healed and follow Jesus. So you and I are meant to pause here, only sentences away, and wonder if Zacchaeus, who can see but is blind to who Jesus is, will gain his sight as well. Will his faith make him well?
Jesus, who is seeking the blind and lost, stops under the sycamore tree and tells Zacchaeus that he is coming to his home. Jesus has come and wishes to “remain,” to dwell with Zacchaeus. This is his opportunity to see who Jesus is. This is the moment when Zacchaeus will have the opportunity to welcome the living word of God into his house, and the home of his heart.
The crowd grumbles. They are upset because Zacchaeus is clearly a sinner and a tax collector. Tax collectors are of course beloved by the minority for whom they work and generally despised by the majority from whom they take the tax. In those days the tax collector collected some seven layers of taxes from the day laborer. They also collected from the overall total some money for themselves upon which to live.
But Zacchaeus is not an ordinary tax collector. He has climbed up into this tree because he has already seen and known that amendment of life is essential in the reign of God. He tells Jesus that he has already been giving away half of his possessions to the poor. And if he has cheated someone he is already making restitution. He is fulfilling the law from Exodus 22.1. Zacchaeus has faith. He is being made well before he ever meets Jesus.
Salvation happens because Zacchaeus is living the life foretold in the Lazarus parable. He is a wealthy person but is making a difference in the lives of others.
This is not simply a moral tale though. It is a story of the reign of God coming and making inroads throughout the community. We are clear in the teachings over the past weeks that piety alone does not mean that individuals will: a) welcome the Lord b) change their lives c) live out through action the will of God. Many will be saved, many will glorify God and many will welcome the Gospel of Jesus, the Living Word into the home of their hearts.
We end our parable today knowing the answer to the question from 18.26: Who then can be saved? A blind beggar and a rich tax collector can be saved.
For you and I, we must ask ourselves the perennial Lukan question: Are we faithful but not acting? Jesus seeks us out hoping to find us living out our faith in the world with him through the changing of people’s lives as in the story of Zacchaeus; or proclaiming and glorifying God as in the story of the blind man, which precedes today’s pericope.
There is that wonderful story of the man who stood up just before the offertory at Christ Church and proclaimed: I am Jesus. The Dean turned to the clergy on his right and said, “What should we do?” The answer: “Look busy.”
Jesus challenges us in Luke’s Gospel to see the Living Word of God, the Son of Man, in the person of Jesus, and to not only look busy but be busy in the kingdom work to which we have been invited.
Recently a friend told me that they are not worried about the end of the world because the bible says it won't happen until Damascus falls. (Isaiah 17) A week later a woman told me her son-in-law believed we were in the midst of the end of the world...so I told her that the bible says that Damascus must fall before that happens. She was comforted and it enabled us to talk more about what was really troubling her. I tell you this story only because concern over the end times is not something new by any stretch, and perhaps is only more prominent because of the many start-up churches and internet sights willing to talk about it, the successful series of books entitled "Left Behind", and our culture's fascination with post-apocalyptic movies!
One of the key theological issues Paul is dealing with is the idea that the end is here. He instead begins: As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here."
Paul is aware that there are people spreading such news and with it panic. He offers to them examples of signs that must occur but have not yet occurred. Paul is clear that the "lawless" one is not yet among us and therefore that we should not be concerned with such things but rather redouble our efforts in other areas.
Things are not looking good. Habbakkuk does not bring good news. When things were going well and the people were threatened from outside oftentimes the prophets preached against the enemy that was out there. However, Habbakkuk turns his attention to the people themselves. Today's lesson is a conversation - a talk hearkening to Abraham and God.
"With its stunning poetry, inspiring call for justice, and complex portrayal of God, Isaiah 1 is one of the most memorable chapters of biblical prophetic literature."
Commentary, Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Blake Couey, Pentecost 12C Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2016
So, let us find our place. We are at the beginning of Isaiah, and it is rarely read and given as an opportunity for preaching. In fact, this is track 2 of our offerings this week, so it is more likely you will have Habakkuk before you - also a rarity. In these first chapters, Isaiah is rehearsing the historic relationship between God and God's people. He is offering a vision of the present situation which is not looking good and will be prophesying judgment and justice because the people have forgotten God and lost their way, they no longer care for the poor and the orphans. They have forgotten their covenant with God and so, God is not going to stay God's hand.
If you hadn't figured out we are headed toward the end of the preaching year!
We will get to the hopeful Isaiah much later, but that is not the first Isaiah (as the author is often called).
People aren't worshiping God and others is no sincerity or truth. The rulers are focused on themselves. They no longer reflect God's beauty and love, but instead are repugnant and an abomination. So, God is turning away. God is no longer going to listen.
The people have an opportunity along with their rulers to change their ways and be willing participants in the life of God and be obedient to their agreements. They must stop refusing the prophetic words that offer guidance and must become obedient to God. No longer will it be enough to proper materially but the people must seek deep wisdom, prayer, and spiritual depth. Or, God through the prophet promises their demise.
What is really powerful here is the notion that our actions have reactions, and our faithfulness or lack thereof has actions. I don't believe that God is going to smash us down. However, nations and people without charity, without generosity, and without consideration of others will bring down upon themselves. We actually do get the world we live in, our faithfulness to a loving God who wishes us to remember the widows and orphans creates a different world.
I guess sometimes, it begins with us. If we chose to be a different society where everyone gets as much as they can, people win if they die with the most toys, and the world should bow before our might, then we may be creating an unrighteous community has been forgotten. The God we worship invites us to feed the hungry, visit the prisoner, heal those who need healing, welcome the stranger, house the unhoused, and treat each other with dignity, loving each other as family members. When we abandon these things I am pretty sure the modern-day powers will come knocking on our doors too.
