“Attitude Adjustment—Salvation” (Luke 19:1-10)

Since becoming a grandparent, I have been inundated with children’s movies . . . I have seen them all!  One thing that I have noticed about children’s movies is that there is a pattern that keeps the kids coming back for more.  It is a simple pattern . . . make one character despicable . . . someone no one likes . . . and then make that character have a metamorphosis—a major change and become a redeemable and loveable character.  Someone saved!  Kids eat this up.  Apparently, we adults do too.

 One movie that I have enjoyed is Despicable Me.  Despicable Me is about Gru.  Gru is a man who delights in all things wicked.  He is a supervillain.  He is a “bad” guy looking to do “bad” things.  With him are his hundreds of minions . . . little yellow twinkie-like characters who assist with his dirty work.  In the original movie Gru adopts three little girls to use in stealing a shrink ray from his rival.  The story involves how these three little girls transform Gru from a despicable person into a loving and caring individual who learns to love them.  As with all children’s stories and movies there is a happy ending as Gru changes.

 

That scenario should sound familiar because we heard it just this morning in our scripture reading.  Zacchaeus!  From bad to good we see a transformation in the story we heard.  Zacchaeus is a bad guy . . . he is a tax collector, but not just any tax collector—he is a chief tax collector.  Right there is enough to make him despicable in the eyes of the people.  He is also rich . . . very rich.  It was a wealth that the people assumed he made off the backs of their hard labor and the force of the Roman government.

 

Zacchaeus is a despicable character.  Yet by the end of the story, he comes out smelling like a rose.

 

Despised he probably could not get a good place along the parade route to get a view of Jesus.  Add to the fact that he was short . . . well, he had to figure out some way to get a good view of Jesus . . . thus, he climbs up into a tree.  This is not something rich people do.  Rich people do not climb trees.  Now not only is he despicable, but he is also seen as foolish and immodest by the people gathered.  But he does it anyways because he wants to see this man whom all the people have been talking about.

 

Out of all the people milling around Jesus picks Zacchaeus to host him in his home. 

 

Well . . . the people are floored at what they are hearing and witnessing.  All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”  They couldn’t believe it!  A sinner . . . a despicable one at that!  Of all the people Jesus could have picked and honored he chose the worse one of all.  Jesus honors Zacchaeus and his foolish behavior by announcing he will eat with him.  Eating with anyone was a sign of social approval.

 

But the crowd disapproves.  Jesus doesn’t care as he proclaims: “Today salvation has come to this house . . . for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  And according to the popular understanding we see Zacchaeus repent, change his ways, and become a “good” guy.  In this understanding of this story, it is a perfect kid’s movie.  Good to bad with a happy ending.

 

But that is not “real” life.  Reality is somewhere between “good” and “bad” . . . “happy” and “sad” . . . between a laugh and a tear.  That is why I like the Despicable Me movies . . . in the subsequent flood of sequels of the movie, despite the transformation of Gru, he cannot quite make a complete transformation.  There are parts of him that are still “despicable”.  There are parts of him that lean towards the wicked . . . and he just can’t help it.  That is who he is.  It just leaks out from time to time.

 

So, it is for Zacchaeus.  He is who he is . . . and the people have it right.  He is a “sinner’.  We all are.  That is a part of who we are.  We make mistakes.  We forget.  We sin.  And yet God still loves us.

 

If you read the story closely, Zacchaeus rises to the occasion of the accusations against him as being a despicable person by pointing out the good works he already does.  These are not works of promise he makes of how he is going to change his behavior . . . no!  These are things that he is already doing.  He says: “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Nowhere in this story is there any mention of repentance . . . these are things that he is already doing.  Zacchaeus is not promising to change his behavior, he is pointing out that he is already doing.

 

The most reliable translation of verses 7 and 8 comes from The Message:

Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, “What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?”

 

Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.”

 

This, then, is what Jesus does . . . he acknowledges Zacchaeus’ good works and solidifies his honoring of Zacchaeus by declaring that salvation has come to his house, and that Zacchaeus is indeed “one of us,” a son of Abraham.  With this Jesus restores Zacchaeus into the social fabric of Jewish life in the community.

 

Through it all, Zacchaeus remains himself.  He does not renounce his occupation as a chief tax collector.  Like all of us, Zacchaeus remains compromised, impure, sinning. 

 

In understanding salvation, we need to come to the understanding that salvation is not an “end state”.  It is not a “once and done” event.  It is not arriving at or being given the state of perfection.  Salvation is the process, the healing and reconciling that is needed for creating right relationships.  Relationships in which compromised, impure, and sinful people—like us—can live within, and in response to, and toward, the Kingdom of God.  The salvation that comes to Zacchaeus is the restoring of his right relationship within his community.

 

Like last Sunday’s story, it is the attitude of the crowd that is being challenged by Jesus.  When Jesus declares that salvation has come to Zacchaeus’ house, he is in effect also declaring that healing or salvation has also come to the crowd since it is Zacchaeus’ relationship with them that is being healed.  It opens the door for them to see the contradiction of their assumptions to what is actually taking place.  Zacchaeus is welcomed. . . warts and all . . . by Jesus despite how despicable others see him.  Jesus knows that it is a journey, and that Zacchaeus is well on that journey.

 

We are who we are in the eyes of others and in the eyes of God.  Those views of us do not always line up to make a perfect picture.  Like Zacchaeus we are sinners . . . we are despicable.  Yet God still loves us.  Still wants to work with us.  Desires us to take our place at the table and be family.  God cheers us on.  Salvation is that journey towards creating those relationships that bring us together in love . . . that establishes our community . . . that realizes the Kingdom of God in this time and place.  It is always a work in progress.

 

God cheers us on!  God cheers us on no matter how despicable we might be.  Amen.

 

 

“Indifference” (Luke 18:9-14)

Who is the “bad” person in the reading we just heard?  In one corner we have the assumed villain in the Pharisee—a pious, religious person who is set in the rituals of his faith . . . who is quite confident in the words that he is speaking.  In the other corner we have the tax collector—a societal scrounge who feeds off the people for a government despised by the people . . . who isn’t too sure about his faith but is willing to admit that he is at the mercy of God.  Is it the Pharisee?  Is it the tax collector?

 Who are you putting your money on?

 

Jesus, in telling this parable, never says.  God hears both of their prayers, but only one receives his request.  Jesus never states that one is a better person than the other . . . only states that they both present their prayers differently.  The villain or should I say villains are the people who are addressed in the reading . . . those to whom Jesus is telling the story.  Remember, the reading began: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable . . .”

 

It has been said that one should never judge another until he or she has walked in the other person’s shoes.  One of the most difficult things about being a human being is that we have a tendency to be judgmental and often our judgments are based on ignorance . . . we just don’t know any better. 

 

Don’t believe me?  Well, how quick were you to jump on the wagon and declare the Pharisee a villain?  Think about it . . . all you know about the Pharisee are the words he spoke in prayer.  You know nothing else about the person . . . not a thing.  But all of us are ready to brand the guy a villain. 

 

It is true that the Pharisee has a way with words . . . knows how to sell himself . . . how to make himself look good.  Likes to toot his own horn.  But is he a “bad” person?  We don’t know. 

 

On the other hand, is the tax collector a “bad” guy?  We do know a little about being a tax collector.  Often tax collectors were chosen from the ranks of the people being taxed.  We know that they were working for those who were deemed to be enemies of the people.  We know that their main job was to collect the government’s taxes and turn them in . . . if they collected more than needed the government did not care as long as they got what they wanted.  And, we know that there were probably those who took advantage of the situation and the people thus earning all tax collectors a bad reputation. 

 

Do we know whether this tax collector was one of those rogues?  No, we do not.  We know nothing about this person other than the fact that he is a tax collector and not too flowery with his words.  We do not know if this man was forced to do this job or face the consequences of refusing.  We do not know whether he was an honest collector who took no more than the government wanted.  We know nothing.  Nothing at all.  We just know that he did not have much self-esteem . . . that he did not think highly of himself.  After all his prayer says it all: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

 

But God knows.  God knows the heart.  It is not the words of our mouths that signify faithfulness but the actions of our lives.  Remember, love is not a noun but a verb.  Verbs denote action. 

 

That is why Jesus addresses his parable to the group that is listening.  They were self-righteous . . . confident in their righteousness . . . and, because of this they cared not for anyone else.  They looked down on everyone else.  All of us want to look good in the eyes of others . . . want to make a good impression.  We’ve all tooted our own horns from time to time.  The problem with that is when we allow such righteousness to be the hammer we use on others . . . or should I say, use to not care for others . . . to show indifference.  That was the problem with this group that Jesus was addressing . . . they didn’t care about others . . . they were indifferent.

 

Elie Wiesel was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor.  In 1958 he published his book, Night, which was based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. The book has sold over ten million copies in over thirty languages.  He says this about indifference: “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”

 

Indifference . . . to not care.  How sad when we know that we are all in this together.

 

God cares . . . the question is: do we care?

 

Jesus wants to know.  Not by the words that we speak, but by the actions of our lives . . . by what we do.

 

As the followers of Jesus, we have to care.  We cannot make assumptions in our assessment of others . . . in our judgments of others.  If we truly knew others and ourselves, would we be so quick to be judgmental . . . to be indifferent . . . to not care?

 

I recently met a person who said that whenever she meets someone she doesn’t know the first thought in her mind is, “What I don’t know.”  In particular she wants to discover what it is about this individual that she does not know.  She wants to know about them . . . their lives . . . their interests . . . their loves . . . everything that she can.  She wants to know the person because in knowing the person makes that individual valuable, wanted, and even loved.  She wants to know the whole story.  In this she discovers the thread that connects her to the other.  She believes that we all need to do this in our lives and that if we did the world would be a different place.  In her way she is willing to walk in another’s shoes before making judgment.  Shouldn’t we all?

 

Indifference is slowly seeping into the world we live in.  That indifference is destroying the civility we once knew.  It is walking away from God’s will to build the kingdom . . . to live in love.  As the followers of Jesus, we cannot allow the words that we proclaim to be the opposite of what we do.  If we do that then we are no better than those for whom the parable was told.  And God knows . . .

 

A couple of weeks ago on our church’s Facebook page there was a quote by William Wilberforce.  The quote said: “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”  It is the indifference that exposes the heart and God knows the heart.  Remember they will know we are Christians—followers of Jesus—by our love.  Amen. 

“Persistence” (Luke 18:1-8)

Persistence . . . typically our scripture reading this morning is presented as persistence in prayer.  Persistence in prayer will eventually get our prayers answered.  So, it seems in the parable that Jesus shares.  A widow feels that she has been wronged by an adversary and she wants justice.  In seeking justice, she persistently harasses the local judge who is known to be a cold and callous guy.  But each day she stands on the road as the judge passes by and demands justice.  For the most part the judge ignores her.  But her persistence pays off.  The judge begins to fear what this woman can do to him . . . fears that she might harm him.  Worn out by her persistence, fearful of what she can do, the judge gives in and grants her justice.

The moral of the parable?  Persistence pays off . . . so pray with persistence!

 

I don’t know about you, but I have found that persistent people can be a royal pain in the rear end.  I can remember watching my children bother their mother when they wanted her attention . . . especially when she was trying to take a nap.  They would stand at the door and bang . . . mommy . . . mother . . . mama . . . mom . . . mommy . . . mother . . . mama . . . mom!  Over and over the mantra would go until eventually their mother would give in, open the door, and ask what they wanted.  Typically, the person responding to their persistence was not usually in a receptive mood.  I tried to warn them to let sleeping bears lie.

 

But here is the point.  Most people are going read or hear this parable and conclude that persistence is going to get them what they want . . . especially when it comes to prayer.  Is that what Jesus is talking about in this parable?  I am not so certain.  I think that the parable goes a little deeper than telling one to be persistent in prayer.  At the end of the parable Jesus poses a question: “. . . when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

 

The central character in this parable is the widow.  What was it like to be a widow in the time of Jesus . . . to be a woman?  The society in which this parable takes place . . . in the time that this takes place, was not a society in which everyone was entitled to their day in court.  This was especially true for women in the time of Jesus.  Women had no rights.  Women had no access to judges.  They were nothing but a piece of property in a male dominated world.  Add to this the fact that the woman in the story is a widow, she has no man to stand up for her.  She is effectively walled out of the world in which she lived.  Women were property and treated as such.  In this society the widow would have no voice . . . she would be silenced.

 

Yet, this woman demanded justice.  She had been wronged and she wanted justice.  She believed she should receive justice.  Believing this she does the only thing that she can do . . . she heckles the judge.  Each day she stands on the road and demands justice as the judge passes by on the way to work.  She is persistent.

 

The judge, on the other hand, really doesn’t care about the concerns of the woman.  From what we hear the judge doesn’t care too much about what anyone wants.  But this woman is persistent.  She is there each and every day . . . crying out . . . badgering . . . demanding justice.  She does this not because she believes in the judge.  She does this because she believed in the process . . . believed in the cause . . . believed that the right thing should be done.  She does not believe in the judge.  She believed in justice. Justice would be served.

 

God believes in justice.  It says so throughout the old and new testaments of the Bible.  Jesus even says so in our reading this morning: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”  Jesus believes in justice.  And justice takes action . . . action on the part of those who witness and suffer the injustice . . . action on the part of those who perpetuate the injustice.  Together justice is delivered through action . . . persistent action.

 

Why does this woman succeed?  She succeeds because she believes . . . she has faith that she will receive justice and she isn’t going to give up until she gets it.  She believes that she will get justice.  Her faith makes her persistent.

 

At the story’s end Jesus wonders if such faith will be found on earth when the Son of Man returns.  Will God’s will be done?  Will justice be found?  Will the kingdom be realized?  Or will nothing have changed?  Will the Son of Man discover a faith based on love . . . loving God and loving others as God has loved them? 

 

Life is tough.  These are chaotic times that we are living in.  Scary times.  All around us we see the signs of how difficult life is.  There is war.  There is crazy weather.  Divisiveness.  Injustice.  And so much more that points to how difficult the times and our lives are becoming.  And through it all, each week, each day, we lift up our prayers to God . . . deliver us!  Save us!  It all seems so bleak.

 

But this is where the widow becomes the teacher.  The widow had no rights.  She was nothing in the society in which she lived.  She had no access to the judge . . . no access to the legal process to receive her justice.  Yet, she believed.  She kept right on calling, trusting despite all the evidence to the contrary that there would be a breakthrough in her hopelessness.  She believed and because she believed she kept on trying.  And through it all, God was with her.  God felt her pain.  Felt her despair.  Heard her pleads for justice.  God was always there with her.

 

The question would become whether or not anyone else heard her.

 

Eventually the judge did, and justice was served.

 

Faith is demonstrated in the act of not giving up despite the seeming unattainable odds.  Faith is demonstrated in persistence of striving towards the goal of what is being sought.  For Jesus, faith doesn’t fix things as much as it gives the capacity and courage to bear the unbearable as one strives towards the goal.  Faith is what keeps us alive and working towards God’s will . . . of establishing God’s kingdom in our lives and times.

 

And that seems like a daunting task considering the craziness of the world and times we are living in.  Life doesn’t follow the script we write for it, but instead seems to wander around taking us into situations that we rather not be in.  A lot of those situations seem to be a far cry from what God desires.  Yet, we need to trust.  We need to trust that we are not alone.  That God is with us.  That God hears our prayers.  And we need to trust that good things will come . . . that we will see the Kingdom of God in all of its perfectly imperfect glory. 

 

“Will the Son of Man find faith upon the earth?”

 

I don’t know about you, but yes.  Yes, if people who are immersed in dark nights of suffering dream, rather than despair.  If people hang tightly to their belief in the power of God’s love.  And, if they live their belief with a persistence that never stops until the dream is realized. The widow believed enough to never quit despite the long odds against her.  So, it is for us if we truly believe.  God believes in us, let us believe in God. Amen.