It is unfortunate that we can only think of Zacchaeus as the 'wee little man' that we know him to be through the infamous Sunday school song. Poor guy. He is much more than that. No one ever sings about him being a 'son of Abraham', do they? This is what Jesus calls him. Why don't we sing about that?
There is a powerful word from the passage in Luke 19. It is the word, 'too'. In referencing him to be a 'son of Abraham', Jesus makes sure to use this word. Here is what it says from Luke 19:9 -
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
Why does Jesus speak like this? On whose behalf is he speaking for? Many might think that in the beautiful declaration that Jesus is speaking Zacchaeus' new identity into being. However, with the use of the word, 'too', he includes a different listener into his hearing. He is not so much speaking to Zacchaeus, but to others, even us.
How many times have we placed others on the outside of our category, group, or faith, while all along they were part of the 'too'. Jesus is inclusive on this point. He includes Zacchaeus as part of the great faith story that we share.
Who are those that we have tried to keep on the outside that Jesus has been trying to say to us, 'Yes, this person, too, is a Son/Daughter of Abraham'.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Regret
Mosaic Series
Lent 2013 - Regret.
Luke 19: 1-10
The story of Zaccheaus is lifted up as an example for us to move past our 'past' and into the new life that Christ offers.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Sister Winter
It’s cold.
With our eyes
focused upon the weekly forecast of potential snow, rain, or other frigid
temperatures, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about Sister Winter.
Many have
commented to me that Easter is early this year. As we plan our ‘Easter Egg Hunts’ we not only have to plan
on rain, but snow contingency plans.
Lovely.
With Easter
being so early it can draw us deeper in the season that the Church refers to as
Lent. Though not all take part in
some form of observance, most could probably relate to this season being a time
of prayer, sacrifice, and fasting.
This is a time in the church where we try to get out into the
wilderness, spiritually speaking.
What better way than for us to have Lent during the winter. Easter comes with the new birth of
Spring and we see life being renewed, but we still need that wilderness
experience of winter.
Unfortunately,
for some reason God seems to do the best character-development work when we are
in the wilderness. Throughout the
Biblical text we see men and women out in the wilderness and in the
‘wintertime’ of their spiritual lives and walk with God that God decides to do
something new. Jesus himself went
out into the wilderness and was actually led by the Spirit into such a
place. If I was God, then we would
learn the most in the summertime of our faith, but I am not God. And in fact, we glad – God knows what
He is doing. God’s ways are
different than our ways, and often – we need to be out in the wilderness.
Don’t be afraid
of the winter. If we are honest
with ourselves, we find ourselves there more often that we like. The circumstances and situations of our
lives have placed us in periods of restlessness, frustration, anxiety, and
depression. As difficult as those
places are, God shapes us there.
Embrace the winter – spring is coming.
“Oh my friends I've begun to worry right
Where I should be grateful, I should be satisfied
Oh my heart I would clap and dance in place
With my friends I have so much pleasure to embrace
But my heart is returned to sister winter
But my heart is as cold as ice”
-
Sufjan Stevens
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Restlessness
Mosaic Lenten Series -
God take take the broken pieces of our lives and create His masterpiece.
This week - Restlessness. Matthew 11: 28-30
Thursday, February 14, 2013
bow down to me
Matthew 4: 8-11
The final installment of the Jesus' Temptation series. Where are we tempted to seek power or control?
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Justice & Compassion
There is a man who is drowning in a river. We ought to feel a compulsion to throw him a life-raft and pull him to safety. When we see this man and throw him a life-raft we have COMPASSION on him.
Compassion is a necessary part of life. In fact it makes us the true people we wish to be. Caring for one another defines our purpose in what it means to be a person.
What happens when we see another person come floating down the river struggling to swim? Our natural inclination is to repeat our compassionate behavior and throw this person a life-raft. Person after person we reveal our compassionate hearts as we help one another. Other times we can become embittered and even tired in doing good and give up saving people from the river. 'It's probably their fault anyway', we think to ourselves.
In some of us there is a moment when we realize that the fact that people are floating down the river struggling and drowning isn't right. We may even have the courage to walk upstream to investigate why people are getting into this river. Are they falling? Or are they being placed there by someone else? When we seek the answer to why people are in the river in the first place, our compassion changes and is defined in another word; JUSTICE.
As Christians we are called to do both. I fear, however, that most of what we have been taught is that we should be compassionate. There is nothing wrong with this, but when we leave justice out of the picture then people will just keep floating down the river. Justice is always the harder conversation because it gets to the heart of why people are in the river to begin with. To do justice require great courage, especially when the injustice is discovered.
"When I feed the poor they call me a saint. When I ask, "Why are they poor?", they call me Communist." - Romero
Micah 6:8 - What does the Lord require of you? Seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
throw yourself down...
Jesus is tempted to be spectacular. We are continuing in the study of the Temptation of Jesus from Matthew 4.
Jesus calls us to community and a mutual sharing together.
We overcome solitude by confession and forgiveness.
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