Colossians 1:11-20
There is nothing that says you are the king of the hill or the top of the heap then when you are literally made the center of the world. So says a medieval map, the Ebstorf mappamundi, drawn in 13th century Saxony. This map depicts the Christian worldview at the time within the body of a crucified Christ. Christ literally covers this map and holds it all together. Christ’s head is in the East, at the top of the map, the direction of Paradise. His hands mark the northern and southern limits of the known world, and his feet are at Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic. In the middle of the map we see Jerusalem, the spiritual center of Christendom, located at Christ’s navel. Europe is in the bottom left quadrant of the map, Africa in the bottom right, and Asia dominates the upper half. It is both a sacred object glorifying the Body of Christ and also a tourist map of the strange and wonderful places that formed the background of medieval storytelling. The original map was 12 feet by 12 feet, painted on 30 goatskins sewn together. This mappa mundi was found in a convent in the city of Ebstrof in northern Germany in 1843. Sadly, the original was destroyed 70 years ago, during the World War II bombing of Hanover in 1943. All that survives is a set of black-and-white photographs and several color facsimiles.
The original mappa mundi is lost, but not our belief in the Son of God who holds all things together. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes that Christ "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created" (Colossians 1:15-16).
For Paul, Jesus is not simply a Galilean peasant who grew up to be a religious leader. No, he is "the image of the invisible God," the human face of our divine Lord. He is "the firstborn of all creation," the one who joins with God as being created "at the beginning of [God's] work" (Proverbs 8:22).
He is the One in whom "all things in heaven and on earth were created." We hear this echoed in the gospel of John, in which we are told that all things came into being through the Word of God, "and without him not one thing came into being" (John 1:3).
Image of God. Firstborn of God. Creative power of God. The Christ who is being described to the Colossians is not small and insignificant, meek and mild. The Christ being described is the Christ who can spread his arms across a mappa mundi of the Christian world and hold together the north and the south. "All things have been created through him and for him," says Paul. "He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:16-17). Nothing in all creation is beyond the powerful grasp of the eternal Son of God.
The amazing thing about this ancient set of verses is that it puts us in touch with one of the oldest sets of beliefs about Jesus. The letter to the Colossians is telling us that Christ "himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (v. 17). Not just some things. All things. In fact, to emphasize this point, Paul repeats the word "all" eight times in these ten verses of Scripture. In Christ, all things hold together.
This unifying power of Jesus was one of the oldest of Christian beliefs, and it has become one of the most controversial of claims today. In his New York Times bestseller called Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, pastor and author Rob Bell says that the insistence of the first Christians was that when you saw Jesus -- a first-century Jewish rabbi -- you were seeing God in skin and bones, flesh and blood. "Jesus, for these first Christians, was the ultimate exposing of what God has been up to all along."
No big surprise there. But what was God's mission, as revealed in Jesus Christ? "Unity," says Rob Bell. "Unity. To all things. God is putting the world back together, and God is doing this through Jesus."
Perhaps you’ve heard by now about our brothers and sisters in Christ at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas. They have our presbytery tied up in a civil legal case that’s hurting all involved more than it is helping. The Highland Park congregation held a congregational meeting to vote whether or not to stay in the PCUSA and they voted to leave us. Is this what it means to be the body of Christ in the world? Such behavior pulls people apart. It drives wedges between the various parts of the body of Christ. Have they forgotten that, “He (Jesus) himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body and we are the parts.” The eye can’t say to the arm, “I don’t need you.” Or the arm to head, “I don’t need you”. We cannot afford to continue to allow our differences to control us and pull us apart as God’s people in a time when maintaining the unity of the body of Christ is so badly needed.
The discovery of a medieval map of the world featuring Jesus at the center of the map invites us to put Jesus at the center of our "map," that is, our world. This leads us to wonder what would Jesus be replacing? A web search of what priorities people value reveals that men have different priorities than women, husbands than wives, teenagers than adults and so on. For example, one site said that the top ten priorities in a man's life are: sex, sleeping, food, work, sports, activities (playing video games, cars, friends, motorcycles, etc), making money, family, new electronic devices, wife/girlfriend.
This list certainly does not describe the priorities of many, perhaps not even most, men, but certainly some. But that's not the point. The focus here is: Just what, or Who, has our attention? To whom are we listening? Whom do we try to please? Whom do we serve? Who is at the center of our "map"? May it be Christ!
May we allow Christ to be the center of our “map”, the center of our world so we may be a part of the awesome work Christ is doing in the world; so he might come to have first place in each of our lives. Amen.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
The Steward's Reward
Isaiah 65:17-25
Today’s lesson is about God’s joyful promise to us. Our verses for today proclaim God’s promise is to obedient believers. Obedient believers obey God’s will by practicing authentic stewardship; caring for God’s gifts knowing they are on loan to us to build up the Kingdom of God.
Our scripture text takes us back to around the year 475 B.C. The women and men who lived in Jerusalem at this time were not to be envied. Two generations had passed since their ancestors, with much rejoicing, had left from Babylon to repopulate the city of David. Those days were exciting as well as frightening. Their prophets had spoken of how Yahweh would lead the people home from exile as all creation rejoiced (Isa. 40:1–11) and had spun visions of a glorious new Temple set within a sparkling city (Ezek. 40—48). These images must have danced in the heads of the returning Jews, yet other Jews chose to remain within the safe precincts of Babylon. Their unwillingness to return served as a reminder of the sorry state of the ruined city to which a remnant were returning. There was still a lot of distance between the vision and the reality!
That was a half a century ago, yet the brick-and-mortar Jerusalem was little changed. There was a restored Temple, but it was shabby when compared with the great edifice of Solomon, which had stood on the same spot before the Babylonian invasion. There were as yet no city walls, and tons of rubble remained where houses and markets had once been packed with crowds of people. You can hardly blame those who returned, who once had a new hope of new Jerusalem, for doubting the grand promises of yesteryear.
In this despairing situation, however, certain individuals began to raise their heads. Certain individuals began to sing the old songs of joy and hope, but in a new key. They came to realize that God’s ancient promises had been true all along, but in a far grander way than anyone had realized. Women and men had thought about the new Jerusalem in only tangible terms—the city of bricks and stones their ancestors had inhabited since the days of David. They began to understand that this was not quite right. The new Jerusalem that Yahweh had in mind far transcended the new Jerusalem of the merchants and traders and families who called the city of David home. Yes, that Jerusalem had been restored—somewhat, at least. But God’s eye was on another Jerusalem also—a Jerusalem not of bricks and mortar, but of the human heart.
Our reward as stewards, as is the reward for the returning, obedient exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem, is the opportunity to have our hearts, minds and spirits re-created in order to live in God’s new creation caring for God’s gifts to us. As God is about to “create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight,” the people’s response in Isaiah 65 is pure joy. When all is said and done, in the end we as God’s stewards will experience joy ourselves and thus become stewards of joy. This joy from God is meant to be a blessing to us. We hear about it throughout the New Testament. Matthew writes of the wise men, “When they saw that the star had stopped (over Jesus’ birthplace), they were overwhelmed with joy” (Matthew 2:10). Joy is a gift from on high. Jesus tells his disciples, “I have said these things to you so that MY joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). The writer of 1 John confesses, “We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:4). Even Paul expresses his gift of joy by writing: “Yes, you are our glory and joy!” (1 Thessalonians 2:20).
As often as we appeal to joy, we also know full well the reality that little in church life reflects the joy we proclaim. Those things Isaiah states as passing away – death, plunder, vain labor – still remain today. It seems perhaps as if we have misplaced our joy.
Isaiah reminds us today of God’s promise to obedient stewards and believers. We must be willing to recognize this in order to develop into a faithful steward. We must be willing to recognize that God owns everything because God is the creator of everything. To live in that knowledge is to live a life of joy. Where is the joy in your life?
On February 12, 1996, The Los Angeles Times reported that David Suna and John Tu sold 80 percent of their company, Kingston Technology Corp., the world’s largest manufacturer of computer memory products at the time, for $1.5 billion dollars. The two men decided to share their windfall with their employees. The average bonus payment their workers received was just over $75,000.00. Mr. Suna summarized their decision: “To share our success with everybody is the most joy we can have.” For Mr. Suna and Mr. Tu, their success was more than material in nature. The joy they experienced in sharing their success was their beautiful reward.
John 9 includes a story about Jesus healing a man born blind. After the man is healed, everyone the man encounters cross-examines him. Here is a man who has been healed of a life-long disability, yet all anybody wants to know is the gory details: When? How? Why? John’s account draws out not a single ounce of joy from those who should be jumping with delight at this man’s good fortune. Nobody – no neighbors, parents or religious authorities – offer any congratulations or joy for what has happened in the life of this man who once was blind but now he sees. Is this the story of the church today? Do we rejoice whenever we can? Have we lost our way?
In his book entitled Clowning in Rome, Henri Nouwen compares the Christian life with the clowns Nouwen encountered in Rome. Nouwen compares the clowns to the way that Christians are to be in the world. The clowns did not take themselves too seriously, yet they offered themselves to all those who watched as reminders of life’s joy and hilarity. Perhaps all of us can be stewards of the joy God offers us as reminders of life’s gift and blessedness.
We must all remember that, according to author C.S. Lewis, “Joy bursts in on our lives when we go about doing the good at hand and not trying to manipulate things and times to achieve joy.” How often do we try to manufacture scenarios in order to experience joy? How often do we simply allow the joy of the Lord to burst into our lives and into the life of this church?
This reminds me of a story of a pastor who was leading worship at a leper colony on the island of Tobago while on a short-term mission trip to this island. A certain woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around. The pastor recounted, “It was the most hideous face I had ever seen. The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, ‘Can we sing “Count Your Many Blessings”?’” Overcome with emotion, the pastor left the service. He was followed by a team member who said, “I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again.” “Yes I will,” the pastor replied, “but I’ll never sing it the same way ever again.” Joy had captured his heart.
God calls us to be stewards of His resources and by doing so we express the joy of our salvation found in Jesus Christ. We receive joy from becoming a part of God’s kingdom on earth. We receive joy when we build houses and inhabit them; plant vineyards and eat their fruit. We receive joy when we live and rejoice forever in what God is creating; a new Jerusalem where the sound of weeping and cries of distress will be no more. The Jerusalem of the new creation will be like a new Eden, its inhabitants blessed with long life, abundant food, and a joyful closeness in their relationship with God. Only through this communion between the divine and humanity can the community of the faithful offer to the world its unique gifts of joy, hope, and love that will not be broken until that day when, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw with the ox; but the serpent – its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.” (Isaiah 65:25) Amen.
Today’s lesson is about God’s joyful promise to us. Our verses for today proclaim God’s promise is to obedient believers. Obedient believers obey God’s will by practicing authentic stewardship; caring for God’s gifts knowing they are on loan to us to build up the Kingdom of God.
Our scripture text takes us back to around the year 475 B.C. The women and men who lived in Jerusalem at this time were not to be envied. Two generations had passed since their ancestors, with much rejoicing, had left from Babylon to repopulate the city of David. Those days were exciting as well as frightening. Their prophets had spoken of how Yahweh would lead the people home from exile as all creation rejoiced (Isa. 40:1–11) and had spun visions of a glorious new Temple set within a sparkling city (Ezek. 40—48). These images must have danced in the heads of the returning Jews, yet other Jews chose to remain within the safe precincts of Babylon. Their unwillingness to return served as a reminder of the sorry state of the ruined city to which a remnant were returning. There was still a lot of distance between the vision and the reality!
That was a half a century ago, yet the brick-and-mortar Jerusalem was little changed. There was a restored Temple, but it was shabby when compared with the great edifice of Solomon, which had stood on the same spot before the Babylonian invasion. There were as yet no city walls, and tons of rubble remained where houses and markets had once been packed with crowds of people. You can hardly blame those who returned, who once had a new hope of new Jerusalem, for doubting the grand promises of yesteryear.
In this despairing situation, however, certain individuals began to raise their heads. Certain individuals began to sing the old songs of joy and hope, but in a new key. They came to realize that God’s ancient promises had been true all along, but in a far grander way than anyone had realized. Women and men had thought about the new Jerusalem in only tangible terms—the city of bricks and stones their ancestors had inhabited since the days of David. They began to understand that this was not quite right. The new Jerusalem that Yahweh had in mind far transcended the new Jerusalem of the merchants and traders and families who called the city of David home. Yes, that Jerusalem had been restored—somewhat, at least. But God’s eye was on another Jerusalem also—a Jerusalem not of bricks and mortar, but of the human heart.
Our reward as stewards, as is the reward for the returning, obedient exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem, is the opportunity to have our hearts, minds and spirits re-created in order to live in God’s new creation caring for God’s gifts to us. As God is about to “create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight,” the people’s response in Isaiah 65 is pure joy. When all is said and done, in the end we as God’s stewards will experience joy ourselves and thus become stewards of joy. This joy from God is meant to be a blessing to us. We hear about it throughout the New Testament. Matthew writes of the wise men, “When they saw that the star had stopped (over Jesus’ birthplace), they were overwhelmed with joy” (Matthew 2:10). Joy is a gift from on high. Jesus tells his disciples, “I have said these things to you so that MY joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). The writer of 1 John confesses, “We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:4). Even Paul expresses his gift of joy by writing: “Yes, you are our glory and joy!” (1 Thessalonians 2:20).
As often as we appeal to joy, we also know full well the reality that little in church life reflects the joy we proclaim. Those things Isaiah states as passing away – death, plunder, vain labor – still remain today. It seems perhaps as if we have misplaced our joy.
Isaiah reminds us today of God’s promise to obedient stewards and believers. We must be willing to recognize this in order to develop into a faithful steward. We must be willing to recognize that God owns everything because God is the creator of everything. To live in that knowledge is to live a life of joy. Where is the joy in your life?
On February 12, 1996, The Los Angeles Times reported that David Suna and John Tu sold 80 percent of their company, Kingston Technology Corp., the world’s largest manufacturer of computer memory products at the time, for $1.5 billion dollars. The two men decided to share their windfall with their employees. The average bonus payment their workers received was just over $75,000.00. Mr. Suna summarized their decision: “To share our success with everybody is the most joy we can have.” For Mr. Suna and Mr. Tu, their success was more than material in nature. The joy they experienced in sharing their success was their beautiful reward.
John 9 includes a story about Jesus healing a man born blind. After the man is healed, everyone the man encounters cross-examines him. Here is a man who has been healed of a life-long disability, yet all anybody wants to know is the gory details: When? How? Why? John’s account draws out not a single ounce of joy from those who should be jumping with delight at this man’s good fortune. Nobody – no neighbors, parents or religious authorities – offer any congratulations or joy for what has happened in the life of this man who once was blind but now he sees. Is this the story of the church today? Do we rejoice whenever we can? Have we lost our way?
In his book entitled Clowning in Rome, Henri Nouwen compares the Christian life with the clowns Nouwen encountered in Rome. Nouwen compares the clowns to the way that Christians are to be in the world. The clowns did not take themselves too seriously, yet they offered themselves to all those who watched as reminders of life’s joy and hilarity. Perhaps all of us can be stewards of the joy God offers us as reminders of life’s gift and blessedness.
We must all remember that, according to author C.S. Lewis, “Joy bursts in on our lives when we go about doing the good at hand and not trying to manipulate things and times to achieve joy.” How often do we try to manufacture scenarios in order to experience joy? How often do we simply allow the joy of the Lord to burst into our lives and into the life of this church?
This reminds me of a story of a pastor who was leading worship at a leper colony on the island of Tobago while on a short-term mission trip to this island. A certain woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around. The pastor recounted, “It was the most hideous face I had ever seen. The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, ‘Can we sing “Count Your Many Blessings”?’” Overcome with emotion, the pastor left the service. He was followed by a team member who said, “I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again.” “Yes I will,” the pastor replied, “but I’ll never sing it the same way ever again.” Joy had captured his heart.
God calls us to be stewards of His resources and by doing so we express the joy of our salvation found in Jesus Christ. We receive joy from becoming a part of God’s kingdom on earth. We receive joy when we build houses and inhabit them; plant vineyards and eat their fruit. We receive joy when we live and rejoice forever in what God is creating; a new Jerusalem where the sound of weeping and cries of distress will be no more. The Jerusalem of the new creation will be like a new Eden, its inhabitants blessed with long life, abundant food, and a joyful closeness in their relationship with God. Only through this communion between the divine and humanity can the community of the faithful offer to the world its unique gifts of joy, hope, and love that will not be broken until that day when, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw with the ox; but the serpent – its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.” (Isaiah 65:25) Amen.
Monday, November 4, 2013
The Ultimate Tax Return
Luke 19:1-10
The late Johnny Cash is known internationally as the greatest country singer of all time. In fact, more than forty years after his debut on Sun Records (with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis), Johnny Cash was still used by a number of companies as a “spokesman” for their products. In the early days, however, Cash found that his rise to stardom brought more than fame and fortune. It brought problems. While he was rising in the charts, with gold records being added to his collection, his personal life was falling apart. Show business pressures soon drove him to take pep pills, and soon he was addicted. His first arrest came in 1965, when he was caught holding more than one thousand pills. He went from a healthy 200 pounds to 140 pounds. The side effects of the drugs he took caused him to have a severe car accident in which he sustained several broken bones and a concussion. Then on May 9, 1971, Johnny Cash sat in a pew of a small church in his hometown. The pastor finished his sermon and appealed to the congregation to come to the Lord and make things right with God. Johnny Cash stood up and walked up to the wooden alter that day and surrendered.
For Johnny Cash, seeking his own fame and fortune did not fulfill him. He wasn’t happy. In fact, all of it made him difficult to be around when the drugs took over. He ostracized himself from his friends and even his family. He forfeited his soul for the sake of fame and fortune. Something was missing. Something wasn’t right. He was looking for something more.
Zacchaeus found himself in similar straits. As an ambitious young man, he went to the big city to gain his fortune and happiness. As a tax collector for the Roman Empire, Zacchaeus did indeed gain great fame and fortune. He worked hard every day to collect the most taxes he could. He was the first one in the office in the morning and the last one to leave at night. He was obsessed with getting rich and was drunk with the power that comes from working as a tax collector.
This is where we find Jesus. He is making his final trip to Jerusalem from the Galilee. He traveled the main trading route that ran parallel to the Jordan River to Jericho and beyond. Jericho stood at a major crossroads. It commanded both the route to Jerusalem and the crossing of the Jordan River which gave access to the lands east of the Jordan. And because of their location, Jericho was a very wealthy, powerful and important town. It had a great palm forest and world-famous balsam groves which perfumed the air for miles around. It had many gardens of roses which were known far and wide. It was called "The City of Palms".
Because of the great wealth the town generated, it was also heavily taxed by the Roman Empire. The Romans outsourced the tax collecting to local entrepreneurs like Zacchaeus. Each tax collector had a certain amount to collect for Rome and anything above and beyond that was for the tax collector. Tax collectors could collect as much as they wanted, as long as Rome received their part. Because of this tax collectors became very wealthy.
Now Zaccheaus had worked his way up and had gained favor with Rome. So much so that he became the chief tax collector for that region. Not only did he get rich from collecting taxes, but he also had tax collectors working for him, from whom he possibly received a cut of what they collected. Zaccheaus finds himself at the top of the heap, king of the hill, the big kahuna, Big Poppi. He is on top of the world. He has all this great wealth at his disposal. Imagine the parties he could have, the fine clothes he wore and the rich food he ate, a condo in Jerusalem, vacations to the Mediterranean coast, a bigger house and nicer cars. He's the top dog in one of the wealthiest cities around and loving' it. Or is he?
There is a problem here.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, in Jericho liked Zacchaeus.
He had reached the top of his profession, and he was the most hated man in Jericho. He gained the whole world, but had forfeited his soul. His graft and greed had filled his pockets at the expense of his own countrymen. With Zacchaeus in charge, he and his fellow tax collectors became wealthier while the poor and the outcast had next to nothing. The people of his district watched as Zacchaeus’ house became more lavishly decorated, as more slaves ran about at his bidding, as he purchased whatever his heart desired. Everyone knew that this was their money and they he had no right to it; everyone knew that there was nothing they could do about it.
That is until Jesus came through the town. He saw straight through the layers of graft and greed, of callous contempt for his fellow citizens. And after that everything changed.
Zacchaeus was wealthy, but he was not happy. He was lonely. He had chosen the path in life that isolated him from others. Wealth and power can do that to us. He’s alone and he’s hurting and is looking for answers. More and more we as a society experience isolation and aloneness to the point that it takes a toll on our spiritual well-being. Mother Teresa once said, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer. It’s the feeling of being uncared for, unwanted, of being deserted and alone”. We were created not to be self-reliant creatures, but rather to be in relationship with a community. So many people in our lives and in our town are searching for something more, something true, and something that provides answers and poses challenging questions. Zacchaeus heard about this Jesus character who was friends with tax collectors and sinners. Perhaps, Zacchaeus wondered, he would have a moment to have a word with him to get answers. He was searching after the love of God.
Zacchaeus is determined to see Jesus and would let nothing stop him. How do we stand up for what we believe in the face of so many who mock it and have contempt for Christ? What are we looking for when we come to worship on Sunday mornings? For Zacchaeus to walk through crowds of people is a courageous thing to do. How many residents would take the opportunity to kick, nudge, or push the little tax collector. It was certainly an opportunity to get back at Zacchaeus and the crowd took great delight in it. He’d be black and blue by the time he rounded the corner from his neighborhood. And on this day, because he was short, he couldn’t see what was happening and the crowd took great pleasure in making sure of that. So he ran ahead and climbed a tree so he could see as if he were a little child. Things were not easy for Zacchaeus but the little man had the courage of desperation. Zacchaeus had gone up a tree seeking Jesus, but it was Jesus who came seeking Zacchaeus. "The Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost," says Jesus, and showing up in the house of this tiny tax collector demonstrated to everyone in the crowd that those who are lost, hurting, and alone were the ones Jesus was and is seeking. The salvation that Jesus offers changes Zacchaeus' life through and through, and, as a result, it benefits those around him.
Zacchaeus took steps to show all the community that he was a changed man. When Jesus announced that he would stay that day at his house, and when he discovered that he had found a new and wonderful friend, Zacchaeus immediately made his decision. His restitution went far beyond what was legally necessary. He decided to give half of his goods to the poor; the other half he did not intend to keep to himself but used to make restitution for the frauds of which he was guilty. The law of Moses states that if a robbery is a deliberate act of destruction, then a four-fold restitution was necessary (Exodus 22:1). If it was an ordinary robbery and the stolen good were not restorable, double the value had to be paid (Exodus 22:4,7). If a voluntary confession was made and voluntary restitution offered, the value of the original goods had to be paid, plus one-fifth (Leviticus 6:5; Numbers 5:7). Zacchaeus was determined to do far more than the law demanded. He showed by his deeds that he was a changed man. Actions speak louder than words. A testimony is worth nothing unless it is backed up by actions that demonstrate ones sincerity. It is not merely the changing of ones words Jesus is demanding, but a changed life; a life transformed from the inside out by the grace and love of God in Christ. And when Zacchaeus is saved, the whole community benefits.
Jesus came looking for people who were lost. Indeed, we've all been “up a tree” ever since that day in the garden when our spiritual ancestors went looking for something other than God (Genesis 3). Jesus has come to invite us down, to offer us a new life, to live lives that reflect the kind of healing, wholeness and salvation his kingdom brings. And once we have encountered Jesus, once we have accepted his invitation, then we are to invite others to lives that are firmly grounded in his grace.
Who do you know who's lost right now? Maybe it's that single mom in your neighborhood who is trying to hold down a job and care for a couple of kids. Maybe it's that elderly person who sits alone in McDonald’s and whom no one notices. Perhaps it's that guy at work who struggles with an addiction, or the kid who has been abandoned by his parents. Chances are there are lots of people around you every day who are lost and need to be found.
We often feel that what we have to offer is insignificant, that it doesn’t add up to much, and that it doesn’t make an impact. So we hoard what we have, we hold tight, we clutch to our possessions, our family, our friends and our assets with an incredible grip. But it’s simply not true. We have all received the ultimate tax refund in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We have the Good News to share with others and we are to use are resources to make this a reality.
Can we be the church that follows Jesus' example, and invites them to dinner, to a conversation, to a new way of life? Oh, it's still a major social faux pas to invite ourselves to dinner at their house. Only Jesus can get away with that! But every one of us has the opportunity to invest ourselves in someone else's life, offering them the kind of grace and love that Jesus has offered us. And when we invest ourselves in others, that investment often translates to fruit that benefits not just us as an individual and as a church, but it benefits the whole community. When the lost and lonely begin to come through our doors, we begin to see the kingdom of God at hand.
For Johnny Cash, seeking his own fame and fortune did not fulfill him. He wasn’t happy. In fact, all of it made him difficult to be around when the drugs took over. He ostracized himself from his friends and even his family. He forfeited his soul for the sake of fame and fortune. Something was missing. Something wasn’t right. He was looking for something more.
I.
Zacchaeus found himself in similar straits. As an ambitious young man, he went to the big city to gain his fortune and happiness. As a tax collector for the Roman Empire, Zacchaeus did indeed gain great fame and fortune. He worked hard every day to collect the most taxes he could. He was the first one in the office in the morning and the last one to leave at night. He was obsessed with getting rich and was drunk with the power that comes from working as a tax collector.
This is where we find Jesus. He is making his final trip to Jerusalem from the Galilee. He traveled the main trading route that ran parallel to the Jordan River to Jericho and beyond. Jericho stood at a major crossroads. It commanded both the route to Jerusalem and the crossing of the Jordan River which gave access to the lands east of the Jordan. And because of their location, Jericho was a very wealthy, powerful and important town. It had a great palm forest and world-famous balsam groves which perfumed the air for miles around. It had many gardens of roses which were known far and wide. It was called "The City of Palms".
Because of the great wealth the town generated, it was also heavily taxed by the Roman Empire. The Romans outsourced the tax collecting to local entrepreneurs like Zacchaeus. Each tax collector had a certain amount to collect for Rome and anything above and beyond that was for the tax collector. Tax collectors could collect as much as they wanted, as long as Rome received their part. Because of this tax collectors became very wealthy.
Now Zaccheaus had worked his way up and had gained favor with Rome. So much so that he became the chief tax collector for that region. Not only did he get rich from collecting taxes, but he also had tax collectors working for him, from whom he possibly received a cut of what they collected. Zaccheaus finds himself at the top of the heap, king of the hill, the big kahuna, Big Poppi. He is on top of the world. He has all this great wealth at his disposal. Imagine the parties he could have, the fine clothes he wore and the rich food he ate, a condo in Jerusalem, vacations to the Mediterranean coast, a bigger house and nicer cars. He's the top dog in one of the wealthiest cities around and loving' it. Or is he?
There is a problem here.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, in Jericho liked Zacchaeus.
He had reached the top of his profession, and he was the most hated man in Jericho. He gained the whole world, but had forfeited his soul. His graft and greed had filled his pockets at the expense of his own countrymen. With Zacchaeus in charge, he and his fellow tax collectors became wealthier while the poor and the outcast had next to nothing. The people of his district watched as Zacchaeus’ house became more lavishly decorated, as more slaves ran about at his bidding, as he purchased whatever his heart desired. Everyone knew that this was their money and they he had no right to it; everyone knew that there was nothing they could do about it.
That is until Jesus came through the town. He saw straight through the layers of graft and greed, of callous contempt for his fellow citizens. And after that everything changed.
II.
Zacchaeus was wealthy, but he was not happy. He was lonely. He had chosen the path in life that isolated him from others. Wealth and power can do that to us. He’s alone and he’s hurting and is looking for answers. More and more we as a society experience isolation and aloneness to the point that it takes a toll on our spiritual well-being. Mother Teresa once said, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer. It’s the feeling of being uncared for, unwanted, of being deserted and alone”. We were created not to be self-reliant creatures, but rather to be in relationship with a community. So many people in our lives and in our town are searching for something more, something true, and something that provides answers and poses challenging questions. Zacchaeus heard about this Jesus character who was friends with tax collectors and sinners. Perhaps, Zacchaeus wondered, he would have a moment to have a word with him to get answers. He was searching after the love of God.
III.
Zacchaeus is determined to see Jesus and would let nothing stop him. How do we stand up for what we believe in the face of so many who mock it and have contempt for Christ? What are we looking for when we come to worship on Sunday mornings? For Zacchaeus to walk through crowds of people is a courageous thing to do. How many residents would take the opportunity to kick, nudge, or push the little tax collector. It was certainly an opportunity to get back at Zacchaeus and the crowd took great delight in it. He’d be black and blue by the time he rounded the corner from his neighborhood. And on this day, because he was short, he couldn’t see what was happening and the crowd took great pleasure in making sure of that. So he ran ahead and climbed a tree so he could see as if he were a little child. Things were not easy for Zacchaeus but the little man had the courage of desperation. Zacchaeus had gone up a tree seeking Jesus, but it was Jesus who came seeking Zacchaeus. "The Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost," says Jesus, and showing up in the house of this tiny tax collector demonstrated to everyone in the crowd that those who are lost, hurting, and alone were the ones Jesus was and is seeking. The salvation that Jesus offers changes Zacchaeus' life through and through, and, as a result, it benefits those around him.
IV.
Zacchaeus took steps to show all the community that he was a changed man. When Jesus announced that he would stay that day at his house, and when he discovered that he had found a new and wonderful friend, Zacchaeus immediately made his decision. His restitution went far beyond what was legally necessary. He decided to give half of his goods to the poor; the other half he did not intend to keep to himself but used to make restitution for the frauds of which he was guilty. The law of Moses states that if a robbery is a deliberate act of destruction, then a four-fold restitution was necessary (Exodus 22:1). If it was an ordinary robbery and the stolen good were not restorable, double the value had to be paid (Exodus 22:4,7). If a voluntary confession was made and voluntary restitution offered, the value of the original goods had to be paid, plus one-fifth (Leviticus 6:5; Numbers 5:7). Zacchaeus was determined to do far more than the law demanded. He showed by his deeds that he was a changed man. Actions speak louder than words. A testimony is worth nothing unless it is backed up by actions that demonstrate ones sincerity. It is not merely the changing of ones words Jesus is demanding, but a changed life; a life transformed from the inside out by the grace and love of God in Christ. And when Zacchaeus is saved, the whole community benefits.
V.
Jesus came looking for people who were lost. Indeed, we've all been “up a tree” ever since that day in the garden when our spiritual ancestors went looking for something other than God (Genesis 3). Jesus has come to invite us down, to offer us a new life, to live lives that reflect the kind of healing, wholeness and salvation his kingdom brings. And once we have encountered Jesus, once we have accepted his invitation, then we are to invite others to lives that are firmly grounded in his grace.
Who do you know who's lost right now? Maybe it's that single mom in your neighborhood who is trying to hold down a job and care for a couple of kids. Maybe it's that elderly person who sits alone in McDonald’s and whom no one notices. Perhaps it's that guy at work who struggles with an addiction, or the kid who has been abandoned by his parents. Chances are there are lots of people around you every day who are lost and need to be found.
We often feel that what we have to offer is insignificant, that it doesn’t add up to much, and that it doesn’t make an impact. So we hoard what we have, we hold tight, we clutch to our possessions, our family, our friends and our assets with an incredible grip. But it’s simply not true. We have all received the ultimate tax refund in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We have the Good News to share with others and we are to use are resources to make this a reality.
Can we be the church that follows Jesus' example, and invites them to dinner, to a conversation, to a new way of life? Oh, it's still a major social faux pas to invite ourselves to dinner at their house. Only Jesus can get away with that! But every one of us has the opportunity to invest ourselves in someone else's life, offering them the kind of grace and love that Jesus has offered us. And when we invest ourselves in others, that investment often translates to fruit that benefits not just us as an individual and as a church, but it benefits the whole community. When the lost and lonely begin to come through our doors, we begin to see the kingdom of God at hand.
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