Last Sunday after Pentecost, Year C

“THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON JESUS CHRIST, KING OF KINGS”
Proper 29 - Last Sunday after Pentecost: Jeremiah 23: 1 – 6; Psalm 46; Colossians 1: 11 – 20; Luke 23: 35 – 43
A sermon by: The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, November 25th, 2007

During my seminary days, I once had a theology professor who would begin each and every class with this phrase, “Class, it’s a pleasure to do theology today.”

As we come now to the end of this liturgical year, standing as we are at the end of a year-long journey with Christ, as we have awaited His birth during Advent, celebrated His incarnation in His birth at Christmas, carefully noted the spreading of His divine light into the world during the Epiphany season, prepared for His passion and death during Lent, and stood with awe at the open and empty tomb at Easter, we then began applying the His teachings to our lives once the Holy Spirit had come upon us at Pentecost, as we made our way through the season that follows Pentecost.

So now, we are at the place where we can reflect on the meaning of Jesus Christ’s coming among us. It’s appropriate on this Christ the King Sunday that we engage in the “pleasure of doing theology”, as we have walked with Christ during the Church Year, which will soon give way to a new Church Year.

Let’s do some theological reflection on Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Before we begin, we should offer some basic definitions that are before us this Christ the King Sunday:

• Christ: God’s anointed one. The title comes from the Greek word for “anointed”. (“Messiah” comes from the Hebrew word meaning the same thing.) It denotes Jesus Christ’s unique person and purpose, given by God the Father, to be the Savior of the world.
  
  
• King: A sovereign or monarch; who holds by life tenure the chief authority over a country and people.[1]
  
  
• Lord: a person who has authority, power or control over others; God; Jesus Christ, the Savior.[2]

In Jesus Christ, God’s great design comes together, binding the whole of human history together with God’s eternal plan to redeem and save the human race from its fallen state.

So we begin with the thread of human history as it is woven into God’s plan, beginning with our reading from Jeremiah….Writing in the sixth century before Christ, Jeremiah laments the shepherds of God’s people who have led the Chosen People astray. Soon, Jeremiah would live through the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC and the subsequent deportation of much of the population eastward to Babylon.

But Jeremiah is able to look beyond the depressing circumstances of his own day to foretell the time when God would raise up a successor to David, a righteous branch who shall reign as king and deal wisely. God will gather His people together in this time of renewal, Jeremiah predicts.

After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, His followers began to understand that these events were the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy, as people everywhere were gathered together into God’s fold, a “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.”[3]

Similarly, in Jesus’ suffering and death, they were able to see that was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s description of the Suffering Servant (chapters 52 and 53).

And so, by this understanding, it’s clear that Jesus is King not of the nation of Israel, a military conqueror like King David who would drive out the hated Romans and re-establish the “glory days” of ancient Israel. (As a side note, it’s important to remember that this understanding of the coming of the Messiah – as an earthly king - was one of the main reasons so many Jews resisted Jesus’ ministry and message. It was most likely one of the bases for Pilate’s decision to crucify Jesus – remember the sign that was erected over Jesus’ head on the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”.[4])

But the cross is the part of the human thread that doesn’t make sense….indeed, St. Paul acknowledges the difficulty….Writing in I Corinthians 1: 23, he says, “But we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles….” If we might unpack Paul’s statement a little, we can understand the Jews’ resistance to the importance of the cross, for in Deuteronomy 21: 23 we read, “Anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse”. Likewise, the Greco-Roman world honored leaders who were mighty conquerors, not victims of a criminal’s death…..No wonder the Jewish leaders scoffed at Jesus on the cross, as Luke reports.

The cross is the door through which we may understand Jesus Christ’s true nature, His eternal kingship. For the cross is the way to the resurrection: Good Friday leads us directly to Easter morning.

Death, the ultimate enemy, has been conquered forever. On the other side of Easter, we can clearly see Jesus Christ not only as a human being – Jesus - born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, but as the eternal Son of God, “True God from true God” (as the Nicene Creed puts it). And it is to this “cosmic” Christ, the Christ that embodies all the glory of God, that St. Paul refers. Writing to the Colossians, he says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through him and for him.”

Theologians would refer to St. Paul’s portrayal as high Christology. That is, Paul is describing Jesus Christ’s divine nature. (Low Christology refers to Jesus Christ’s human nature.)

Eventually, the Church would come to understand that, in Jesus Christ, His humanity and His divinity were united, without diminishing either nature.[5]

Even the name by which we know Our Lord refers to His human – Jesus – and divine – Christ – natures.

Returning now to the idea of Christ the King…What reflections might we consider as we wrap up this old liturgical year, about to pass into history? Our thoughts might include:

• Jesus Christ’s enduring Kingdom: If Jesus had been an earthly king, a successor to King David as an earthly ruler, then we might read about his dominion and rule in history books (perhaps the Jewish historian, Josephus[6], might have written about his military exploits, and about the rule that he established). But almost certainly, such an earthly rule would be a matter of history, not of the current age. However, Jesus Christ’s kingdom – which He repeatedly said is “not of this world”- is an enduring one, and the victory that ensured its creation – the cross of Calvary, and the victories – over addictions, sin and death – that ensure its eternal nature, are permanent expansions of the Lord Jesus Christ’s rule and dominion over all.
  
  
• The distinct nature of Jesus Christ’s kingship: Our Lord Jesus Christ comes as servant of all, even as He is Lord of all….He came to immerse Himself fully in our human experience, even to the point of a humiliating death on the cross. God takes the initiative by reaching out to us, and this is the distinctive mark of the Christian faith: that God cared enough to send the very best – Himself – to save us from our own sinful predicament.
  
  
• Our humanity is forever changed by Christ’s Incarnation: The eternal life we have as a guarantee by the merits of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection are ours to claim and possess now. A foretaste of the heavenly life we will enjoy in God’s presence in the world to come is also ours here and now, the “already-and-not-yet” reality of God’s kingdom.

One final thought: how might we see evidence of our Lord’s kingship in our own lives? What victories have been ours by His divine power during the past year (or years)?

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”.[7]

AMEN.


[1] This meaning adapted from Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary.
[2] Ibid
[3] Revelation 7: 9 (NRSV)
[4] All four Gospel writers – including Luke, read today – record the title that Pilate set up over the cross.
[5] The Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) articulated the orthodox Christian understanding of Jesus Christ’s human and divine natures. Please see the Book of Common Prayer, 1979, p. 864 for the statement which this council produced.
[6] Josephus lived from c. 37 – 100 AD.
[7] Revelation 19: 16

25 Pentecost, Year C

"SOME THINGS PASS AWAY, OTHERS ENDURE"
Proper 28: Malachi 3: 13 – 4: 2a, 5 – 6; Psalm 98; II Thessalonians 3: 6 – 11; Luke 21: 5 – 19
A sermon by Fr. Gene R. Tucker, read by Mr. Barney Bruce, Licensed Lay Worship Leader, at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, November 18th, 2007

“Some things pass away, others endure.”

That seems to be the “bottom line” for Jesus’ teaching, heard in our Gospel reading for today, Luke 21: 5 – 19.

Let’s remind ourselves that Jesus is in the Temple in Jerusalem, and as He walks its grounds, some of His disciples look around and notice how splendid a structure it was.

Notice that word: “was”….For by the time Luke was writing his Gospel account, that magnificent Temple no longer existed….it had been utterly destroyed by the Roman army in the year 70 AD, and not one stone rested on another, just as Jesus had predicted some 40 years before.

So the Temple had passed away, but Jesus’ words endured.

What might Jesus be saying as he strolled across the Temple’s grounds that day?

As I ponder that question, more and more I think one answer might be : some things pass away, and some endure.

So, let’s look at today’s reading from that perspective, noting those things that were – and are – no more, and those things that continue to be.

But before we consider the two, let’s remind ourselves about the Temple….

King Herod the Great began the building of the Temple in the year 20 BC, when he had been king for 18 years. Its building extended almost until the time of its destruction (beyond Herod’s lifetime). By the time Jesus walked through its courts, it was complete enough to grasp its monumental nature, and its grandeur. The Jewish historian Josephus (who lived from c. 37 – 100 AD) tells us that 1,000 priests labored on it, supplemented by tens of thousands of others.

It was ornate: Josephus describes it this way (in his volume The Jewish War):

“The sacred edifice itself, the holy temple, in the central position, was
approached by a flight of twelve steps. The façade was of equal height and
breadth, each being a hundred cubits (roughly 150 feet!); but the building
behind was narrower by forty cubits (60 feet), for in front, it had as it were
shoulders extending twenty cubits (30 feet) on either side. The first gate
was seventy cubits (105 feet) high and twenty five (40 feet) broad, and had no
doors, displaying unexcluded the void expanse of heaven; the entire face was
covered with gold, and through it the first edifice was visible to a spectator
without in all its grandeur, and the surroundings of the inner gate all gleaming
with gold fell beneath his eye.

The exterior of the building wanted nothing that could astound either mind or
eye. For, being covered on all sides with massive plates of gold, the sun
was no sooner up than it radiated so fiery a flash that persons straining to
look at it were compelled to avert their eyes, as from the solar rays.”

Even if Josephus was exaggerating a little (and some scholars think he might have stretched the truth a bit here and there), the magnificence of the Temple comes through to us, even considering his archaic writing style.

No wonder the disciples were awed by its grandeur and its size…it seemed so permanent!

After all, the Temple Mount, upon which the Temple itself stood, was enormous, with walls 50 to 80 feet above the surrounding streets and the Kidron Valley on the eastern side. Its walls were made of gigantic stones, some of which weigh 20 tons. (I often wonder how they moved those heavy stones!).

The Temple Mount can be seen today, the stones of its walls bearing the distinctive edging that Josephus describes as being a mark of construction projects that Herod undertook.

And yet, the Temple itself was utterly destroyed….its permanence disappeared, its significance had passed away. Today, an excavated street on the western side of the Temple Mount bears silent witness to the stones from the Temple that were thrown down, crushing the paving stones 50 feet below.

Some things pass away, others endure.

And so, we return now to the text, and to the things that have passed away, and to the things that endure:

We’ve already considered the Temple’s passing.

Yet Jesus’ prediction endures….

In fact, in verse eight, Jesus warns of the false prophets who will be present during the time of the destruction of the Temple. He says, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, “The time is near!’ Do not go after them.”

Josephus’ words seems strikingly similar to Jesus’ prediction. In The Jewish War he says, “A star resembling a sword stood over the city; a comet continued for a year; a light as bright as the day shone around the altar for half an hour; a cow gave birth to a lamb in the Temple; the great brass gate of the inner court swung open of its own accord; chariots appeared in the air and armed battalions hurtled through the clouds; and one Jesus, son of Ananias, stood up in the Temple and pronounced woes on Jerusalem.”

Now even discounting the symbolic language that may be a part of Josephus’ description, we can still come to the conclusion that the awful times that Jesus predicted did, in fact, come to pass.

But Jesus’ prediction goes on. Now, He turns His attention to the hardships that His followers will face: They will be:

• arrested and persecuted
  
  
• handed over to synagogues and prisons
  
  
• brought before kings and governors
  
  
• betrayed by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and
  
  
• some will be put to death.

In short, Jesus is describing His own betrayal, trial and crucifixion. He is saying that those who follow Him would face the same things He did.

And so, this part of Jesus’ prediction had already taken place by the time Luke set his account to writing….the first organized persecutions took place under the Emperor Nero about the year 64 AD. These hardships followed the imprisonments, trials, and martyrdoms of people like James, Peter and Stephen (see Acts chapters four through eight, particularly).

Jesus’ words endured.

And yet, before we leave today’s text, we ought to note two statements that don’t seem to go together….They are:

“And they will put some of you to death.” (Verse 17)

-and-

“But not a hair of your head will perish.” (Verse 18)

How can those two statements go together?

Maybe the answer lies in things that are passing away, and things that endure….

Here is a possible explanation:

If some of Jesus’ followers would be put to death, then their earthly life passes away, it ceases to exist. Returning to the image of the temple, their earthly temple passes away.

And yet, if “not a hair of their heads” will perish, then their eternal existence with Christ endures, just as Jesus’ words endure. For we read in Matthew 10: 28 – 30, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

And so, Our Lord encourages us, concluding with these words, “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

Some things pass away, and others endure.

Thanks be to God!

24 Pentecost, Year C

"THE LIFE EVERLASTING"
Proper 27 -- Job 19: 23 – 27a; Psalm 17; II Thessalonians 2: 13 – 3:5; Luke 20: 27 – 38
Given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, November 11th, 2007

“We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

With these closing words of the Nicene Creed, we affirm our belief that there is life with God at the end of our earthly life.

Life after death is at the heart of the question that the Sadducees posed to Jesus, heard in our Gospel reading from Luke, chapter 20, today.

But since Jesus affirms the reality of everlasting life, today’s Gospel account calls us to examine our focus on the two lives we are leading: the everyday, physical life of this world, and the eternal life that we are guaranteed by Jesus’ resurrection.

We can illustrate the dual focus by portraying each of them as a circle, and, to get a sense of the double focus we Christians are called to maintain, by overlapping the two circles….the overlapped area of the two circles represents our life in this world, and the eternal life that is already under way as a result of our baptism and our coming to faith in Christ, the two existing in our lives here and now.

Before we can consider how we might best maintain our focus on this life and the life of the world to come, we should consider the background of today’s interaction between the Sadducees and Jesus.

Not much is known about the Sadducees, who were one of four main groups which could be found in Judaism 2,000 years ago.[1] The second century historian, Josephus, sheds some light on them, telling us that they were a “philosophical school” whose name was taken from Zadok, King David’s high priest. As such, they were an upper class group, associated with the priests of the Temple in Jerusalem, who were quite traditional in their outlook (they not only rejected the concept of a resurrection, they also accepted the authority of only the five books of Moses, and they rejected the existence of angels). In maintaining each of these beliefs, they differed from the Pharisees,[2] for the Pharisees accepted the concept of the resurrection, the existence of angels, and they accepted the authority of the other writings in what we now call the Old Testament.[3] In addition, the Pharisees recognized an oral tradition which had been passed down through the ages, whereas the Sadducees rejected that oral tradition.[4]

So the Sadducees were a very traditional group, while the Pharisees were more progressive. As an interesting footnote, it’s worth noting that the Sadducees did not survive the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, while the Pharisees did, so the treatment of the Sadducees is not very favorable in the Jewish rabbinical writings of the post-Temple period.[5]

So the Sadducees “tip their hand” rather quickly in asking Jesus to rule on the rightness of their question….For Luke reminds us that they “denied the resurrection”.[6] Their question, “at the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be?” rings hollow.

Now the mechanism the Sadducees use to pose the dilemma to Jesus is the ancient practice of levirate marriage. In ancient times, if a woman was left as a widow, it was her husband’s brother’s duty to marry her (providing support for her and the surviving children in the process), and also to provide an inheritance for the deceased husband by fathering children so that the family name could survive.[7]

You see, in those days, the way a person achieved immortality was through the inheritance of children….a person “lived on” by being the seed of a new generation.

And now, as we consider the importance of raising up a new generation for the survival of the nation, we can begin to understand Jesus’ response, for the procreation of children was the main purpose for marriage (as we can see in the institution of levirate marriage).

But in affirming the reality of immortality through resurrection, Jesus instructs us that, in the life everlasting, there will be no need for marriage, nor for the procreation of children, for persons who achieve the resurrected state will never die, thereby negating the need for a new generation to replace the current one. Jesus affirms this (verse 36) by saying, “For neither are they able to die.”

Jesus’ own resurrection affirms the reality of the resurrection. His resurrection is the basis for our own hopes for life everlasting….St. Paul says as much, reminding us that, if there is no resurrection, we are the people “most to be pitied”,[8] for we have placed our hope in something that is a complete falsehood!

But St. Paul goes on to portray Jesus’ resurrection as the “first fruits”[9] of believers. In essence, Jesus’ death and resurrection becomes the “seed” of new and unending life for all who are in Christ.[10]

If then, Jesus’ own physical resurrection from the dead assures us that we, too, will join Him in His resurrection, then when does this new life begin?

St. Paul fleshes out this important point in Romans, chapter six….We read in verses three through five the following, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.”

Paul seems to be assuring us that the reality of the resurrected, immortal life is already ours. It’s ours for the claiming, here and now (although we have not received this new life in all of its reality yet – we receive by way of God’s guarantee through Jesus Christ).

If he is right about that (and, it’s fair to say, that has been the clear Christian conviction since the beginning), then the new and everlasting life we have in Christ is already a reality, even as we continue to live in this earthly life.

So, this earthly existence and our immortal life overlap, like two circles which are intertwined.

And so, before we leave the topic, we ought to consider the issue of focus…

What should our focus be, since we have two realities at work in our lives at the same time: earthly and heavenly life?

Should we be like the Sadducees, firmly rooted in this physical life, anchored as they were in the truths of the past as they had been received from Moses, devoted as they were to this world, its glory and its finality?

Or, should we be like the early church in Thessolonica, whose members seemed to spend a lot of time looking into the skies, awaiting the Lord’s return in the clouds with the blast of the trumpet?[11]

Down through the ages, Christians often seem to come down on one side of the equation or the other….

For example, those who focus on the reality of this world tend to emphasize the importance of leading a moral life, doing “good works”.

By contrast, those who are anxiously awaiting their arrival in heaven, there to be in the Lord’s presence, face-to-face, often pay little or no attention to the realities of this life, and the associated problems of the world that confront us as Christian believers every day.

We are called, however, to a dual focus….we affirm this in our Rite I Holy Communion service as we hear the “Summary of the Law”, Jesus’ own words (from Mark 12: 29 – 31), “Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…”[12]

These words call us to consider the eternal nature of God and our inheritance in everlasting life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We cannot ignore the reality of our unending joy in the presence of God when this life is over. We are called to ponder that reality, and to prepare for it by a life of study and prayer (one of the main reasons for our worshipping and studying together!). The focus of this first commandment is on God.

However, we are also called to love others, reflecting the love that our Lord Jesus Christ showers on us by virtue of his death and resurrection. (Make no mistake: the reason we love others is because Christ first “loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God”[13]…we cannot generate this sort of love on our own, nor are we able to self-generate genuine acts of love without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God). The focus of this second commandment is on others around us in this world.

Like two circles intertwined, we focus on the life we lead in this world, even as we focus on the life of the world to come.

May the Holy Spirit enable us to keep both lives in focus and in balance.

AMEN.

[1] The others were the Pharisees, the Essenes, and the Zealots.
[2] The Pharisees were primarily a lay group, unlike the Sadducees, who were associated with the priestly group.
[3] St. Paul incited a heated argument between the Sadducees and the Pharisees by speaking to them of the hope of the resurrection. See Acts 23: 7 – 10.
[4] For an excellent treatment of the Sadducees, see the commentary Sacra Pagina, Volume 3, pp. 312 – 319 (Collegeville: Collegeville Press, 1991).
[5] Sacra Pagina, p. 312
[6] Verse 27
[7] The requirement for Levirite marriage (the name comes from the Latin word for “brother-in-law”) are laid down in Deuteronomy 25:5.
[8] I Corinthians 15: 19
[9] I Corinthians 15: 20
[10] Paul’s argument may be found further along in I Corinthians 15, verses 36 and following.
[11] See I Thessalonians 4: 13 – 18 and II Thessalonians 3: 6 – 13. Apparently, many in the church there were idle, waiting for the Lord’s immanent return.
[12] Book of Common Prayer, 1979, p, 324
[13] Ephesians 5: 2

23 Pentecost, Year C

“CLIMBED ANY TREES LATELY?”
Proper 26: Isaiah 1: 10 – 20, Psalm 32, II Thessalonians 1: 1 – 12, Luke 19: 1 – 10
Given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, November 4th, 2007

Climbed any trees lately?

It’s risky business, climbing trees…..a person could fall.

A person could lose their dignity, climbing trees….After all, when was the last time you saw a grown person climbing a tree (unless their line of work demanded it?)

Not much has changed since Biblical times: for a grown person to climb a tree was risky from the standpoint of their honor, and we should remember that the very traditional society that existed 2,000 years ago was all about honor-and-shame.

So the chief tax collector Zacchaeus took a risk, climbing that sycamore tree that day in Jericho, for grown men didn’t do such things.

Neither did grown men of that age run anywhere, not unless their life depended on it.

Wait a minute? Did Zacchaeus’ life depend on running to see Jesus?

Yes, it did, spiritually….

For Zacchaeus was dead, spiritually….the victim of his own career choice (tax collecting), the victim of the attitudes of the Jewish society of his day, Zacchaeus was stuck, stuck in being an outsider, for devout Jews of Jesus’ day did not associate with tax collectors, those Jews who collaborated with the occupying Romans in extorting tax monies out of Jews for the purpose of perpetuating the Roman occupation.

No, tax collectors were lumped with the sinners…How often have we heard that phrase in Luke’s Gospel account, “Tax collectors and sinners”? The two terms are almost synonymous.

Zacchaeus was the last outsider that Jesus would encounter on His trip from Galilee to Jerusalem….And as He met lepers, the blind, the lame on His journey, all along the way, Jesus’ purpose has been twofold:

• To fold the outsiders into the Kingdom of God
  
  
• To upset the status quo

Meeting Jesus means change!

It met change for Zacchaeus, and the change that came into Zacchaeus’ life also meant change for the society in which he lived.

Let’s look at the status quo that confronted Zacchaeus, Jesus’ challenge to that status quo, and those unchangeable things that Jesus challenges in our own lives and times.

The status quo is “the way things are”, and it is this seemingly unchangeable reality that Jesus comes to challenge.

We begin with the status quo of Zacchaeus’ day, and we have already alluded to it in the remarks made above:

• Devout Jews did not associate with “tax collectors and sinners”. These were the outcasts of society, unable (unless they repented) of being folded into the worshipping community (and even then, the Bible seems to describe a hard-hearted attitude which might well have prevented their inclusion even after repentence). Notice how the onlookers say, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”[1]
  
  
• Perhaps Zacchaeus’ neighbors simply accepted the fact that Zacchaeus was rich, and that Zacchaeus would always be rich, extorting tax monies out of them.
  
  
• Maybe Zacchaeus himself thought that he could never be included in the community of the faithful, or into the society of his city. Perhaps he accepted his lot: rich, but an outcast, as an unchangeable reality.
  
  
• But Jesus challenges the status quo, and He does so in today’s account, as He has done consistently as He makes His way toward Jerusalem. Challenging the status quo involves taking risks (after all, that’s what led to His crucifixion – for He challenged the religious status quo of 2,000 years ago). But, as we look at the text, we can see that both Jesus and Zacchaeus took risks, as follows:
  
  
• Zacchaeus runs and climbs the tree: We’ve mentioned this a short time ago….Grown men simply didn’t do either one, not unless their lives depended on it!
  
  
• Jesus calls out to Zacchaeus by name (I think that’s significant), and tells Zacchaeus that He will be staying with him that day (remember, devout Jews do not associate with “tax collectors and sinners”).

Being in Jesus’ presence is an awesome thing! I suspect that’s why Zacchaeus made the amendment of life that he did. Notice that Jesus says nothing to Zacchaeus about his career choices, nor of any instances in which Zacchaeus may have cheated anyone in the course of his duties. Jesus says nothing.

And yet, I suspect it’s Jesus holiness that causes Zacchaeus to repent of his past behavior.

We aren’t ever told much about Zacchaeus’ motivations for wanting to see Jesus….we only know from the text that he wanted to get a better look, so he climbed the tree since he was so short. But why did Zacchaeus climb the tree? Was he simply curious? Had he heard about Jesus’ healing of the blind man on the edge of Jericho?[2]

Did he think Jesus could help end his isolation, burying the status quo of his life forever?

We simply don’t know.

But whatever the reasons for Zacchaeus’ risk-taking that day in climbing the sycamore tree[3], unexpected change breaks into his life as Jesus says, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

How about the unchangeable things in our own lives?

Maybe we have many of those:

• The person who will never change
  
  
• The situation that will never get better
  
  
• The problems that will never go away

Hear the word “never” in each of those situations? Jesus comes to challenge the “nevers” in our lives. For with Christ, no person, no situation, no problem is beyond the power of God to solve.

By way of illustration, let me show you what I mean….

You see, my father was a Zacchaeus….Plagued by situations and problems that seemed to have no solution, my father – who was a very talented and hard-working man, was an alcoholic. Alcohol was his way of coping with the situations in his life, the unmet dreams, the insecurities, the running away from God.

Then, one night in a hospital in Eugene, Oregon, God called to my father, Jess Tucker, lying on a hospital gurney, as a team of doctors and nurses struggled for over three hours to get his heart started again so that it would continue beating.

Finally, they succeeded.

But, you see, my father was in a risky situation, like Zacchaeus, for that gurney was his tree…My father would never have wound up in a shameful place like a hospital gurney if it weren’t for the fact that he had “bottomed out”….Sometimes, I wonder if Zacchaeus hadn’t “bottomed out”, and figured he hadn’t much more to lose by climbing the sycamore tree.

At any rate, that gurney was the place where God came calling to my father, saying, “I want to live with you today”.

And my father accepted the offer….Like Zacchaeus, there were no professions of faith (my father was a very private and introverted man), but, like Zacchaeus, my father’s actions proved that he had found God, and had been found by God. “Salvation had come” to my father.

For the rest of the family, we didn’t think there was any way that the awful reality of the status quo in my father’s life would ever change. However, my mother never gave up hope, and never gave up praying for him…she did so for nearly 35 years before God intervened.

For, you see, no person, no situation, and no problem is beyond God’s ability to change.

Climbed any trees lately?

AMEN.


[1] Verse 7
[2] See the passage immediately preceding today’s reading, Luke 18: 35 – 43.
[3] The commentaries point out that the sycamore tree in this account is different from the sycamores we would know in North America. It was most likely an evergreen tree with many lower branches, which would have made it ideal for Zacchaeus’ purposes.