#zacchaeus

[momentsbeforemass]

Right now

Sometimes the haters get it right.

Today’s Gospel is the story of Zacchaeus. An admitted extortionist, and a successful one.

But also, someone who wants to see Jesus. So badly that he’s willing to embarrass himself by climbing a tree. Just to get a glimpse.

Jesus’ response to Zacchaeus? “Today I must stay at your house.”

Of course, the people who hate Jesus have to say something. And they do – “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”

Sometimes the haters get it right.

Let’s be clear, Zacchaeus isn’t just a morally questionable person who’s extorting other people for his own profit.

He’s a sell out to the foreign power that’s occupying his homeland. He’s helping Rome collect taxes. So that the Jewish people can pay for the cost of the foreign army that’s keeping them in line.

Zacchaeus is getting paid to do that. Then making it worse by overcharging people. And keeping the extra for himself.

Sometimes the haters get it right. But not in the way they think.

Because Jesus doesn’t wait for Zacchaeus to fix everything. Jesus doesn’t wait for Zacchaeus to become a good person (whatever that means) or to clean up the mess of his life.

Jesus responds to Zacchaeus by meeting him where he is. Right in the middle of his train wreck of a life. Right now.

Which, as Jesus explains, is the whole point, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Which means what?

That God isn’t side eyeing you, saying “come see me when you’ve got it all sorted out.” God isn’t waiting for you to become a good person (whatever that means) or to clean up the mess of your life.

God isn’t looking for perfection.

What is God looking for?

God is looking for you.

Just as you are. Right now.

Today’s Readings

[whosoeverdotorg]

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Jesus and Zacchaeus

5 When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.” 6 Zacchaeus came down quickly and was glad to welcome him into his home. — Luke 19:5-6 | International Standard Version (ISV) The International Standard Version of the Holy Bible Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. All Rights Reserved internationally. Cross References: Luke 19:2; Luke 19:4; Luke 19:7

[craigtowens]

Held Back By Comparisons

There’s one important thing that could be holding us back from living the way that God wants us to. Check out this latest episode of The Podcast.

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.  https://craigtowens.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/held-back-by-comparisons.mp3 There’s one important thing that could be holding us back from living the way that God wants us to.  Check out this episode of The Podcast. Some resources from this episode: The passages of…

[twistytwine]

[ultrachoppedpenguinbouquet]

The story of Jesus

[pastorhogg]

Timeless Truths in a Modern World

Unraveling Matthew 10:40-42 Across Scriptures and Today’s Faith Matthew 10:40-42 resonates with a timeless theme found throughout the Bible: hospitality and its divine implications. In the Old Testament, we encounter numerous instances where hospitality plays a central role in demonstrating faithfulness and obedience to God. For example, Abraham’s welcoming of three strangers in Genesis 18…

[prayercare]

INVITE.

“Lord, like Zacchaeus, I invite You into my home…my internal space. In Your name. Amen.”

[godswordforyourweek]

BY NAME.

In Luke 19:5.

“And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.”

Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name, which means ‘pure’; yet this corrupt government official was anything but pure. In Jesus calling Zacchaeus by name, He was affirming what he saw in Zacchaeus, not who Zacchaeus was. 

John 10:3 says Jesus call us by name. He not only knows where we are, he also knows who we are.

This week invite into your life the One who knows your name and who sees your worth. 

Pastor Robin.

[fardell24b]

Church notes 10th December 2023

10th Luke 19:1 - 10 Luke 18:9 - 14

Zaccheaus Roman rule

Salvation

Zaccheaus

For us

Romans

They used puppet rulers whenever possible.

Therefore they favoured the existing power structure.

Therefore while Jesus was drawing large crowds Rome wasn't concerned, nor involved. However, the Jewish Leaders were concerned that if things got too far that Rome would intervene in a way that wouldn't end well for them.

John 11:41 - 50 That they would loose everything.

Zaccheus Roman Taxes

Land tax

Import and Export

Entering Judea via Jericho because Samaria was avoided.

The tax collectors had a reputation of cheating others.

Salvation vs 9 Repentance. The starting point. Sin

It is more than being naughty or disobedient.

There is more going on.

Genesis 3 Adam and Eve wanted to know more and to decide for themselves what was Good and Evil.

Sin

Removing God from the situation.

The parable The Pharisee was boasting to God about how good he was.

Repent Turning around. The tax collector knew he was in the wrong.

The starting point. Also the continuing point. We should always be calling upon Him,

Ezekiel 36:25 - 27

He comes into our heart and He works on it.

Zaccheaus A sense of right and wrong.

There is an objective right and wrong This is determined by God.

We are all sinners

We need to be in a relationship with God.

[friarmusings]

Standing Still

The gospel for today tells the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus from the Gospel of Luke. St. Luke is a pretty good story teller. Luke chapter 15 is a wonderful collection of parables about things lost and found: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. Different kinds of lost, but one kind of found. Continue reading Untitled

[momentsbeforemass]

Right now

Sometimes the haters get it right.

Today’s Gospel is the story of Zacchaeus. An admitted extortionist, and a successful one.

But also, someone who wants to see Jesus. So badly that he’s willing to embarrass himself by climbing a tree. Just to get a glimpse.

Jesus’ response to Zacchaeus? “Today I must stay at your house.”

Of course, the people who hate Jesus have to say something. And they do – “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”

Sometimes the haters get it right.

Let’s be clear, Zacchaeus isn’t just a morally questionable person who’s extorting other people for his own profit.

He’s a sell out to the foreign power that’s occupying his homeland. He’s helping Rome collect taxes. So that the Jewish people can pay for the cost of the foreign army that’s keeping them in line.

Zacchaeus is getting paid to do that. Then making it worse by overcharging people. And keeping the extra for himself.

Sometimes the haters get it right. But not in the way they think.

Because Jesus doesn’t wait for Zacchaeus to fix everything. Jesus doesn’t wait for Zacchaeus to become a good person (whatever that means) or to clean up the mess of his life.

Jesus responds to Zacchaeus by meeting him where he is. Right in the middle of his train wreck of a life. Right now.

Which, as Jesus explains, is the whole point, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Which means what?

That God isn’t side eyeing you, saying “come see me when you’ve got it all sorted out.” God isn’t waiting for you to become a good person (whatever that means) or to clean up the mess of your life.

God isn’t looking for perfection.

What is God looking for?

God is looking for you.

Just as you are. Right now.

Today’s Readings

[edelweissacermacrophyllum]

Jesus loves the loud and obnoxious

Deuteronomy 29:1-30:10, Proverbs 10:1-10, Luke 18:31-19:10

Okay, so to temper my previous statement about the rich going to hell, we now have the story of Zacchaeus. He's a tax collector, or in today's terms, a crooked government auditor who exclusively audits poor people. He's Jewish, but is on the side of the Romans and would likely use the soldier's might to take what people wouldn't give.

That whole bit about Zacchaeus climbing the tree doesn't seem super important except to give the story either a ring of truth because of some weird detail or to make it attractive for kids.

But Jesus just looks up at him and says, "Come on down. I'm going to eat dinner at your house. And Zacchaeus welcomed him gladly. And Zacchaeus says, without prompting apparently, that he's going to give all his money away, especially to people he has robbed. Jesus says that salvation has come to the house that day.

I think like Zaccheus a lot, knowing there are many things I do that are bad for me and not really even that fun. And sometimes something comes along and shakes me out of it and I just do the things that I always know that I am supposed to do. And it's wonderful. There are, in my experience, very few important ethical diliemmas that I have to deal with. The important dilemma is just having to buckle down and live a life that honour's God.

A group of people I spend a good deal of time around are the unpleasant poor. These are the people who struggle with mental illness and addictions in unsexy ways that hurt the people around them constantly. Perhaps they've learned that if they are agressive, people will pay them just to go away. Perhaps they had been so failed by their trusted adults that they don't have any idea how not to be obnoxious. The first point is that these people are people. Jesus cared about Bartimeus shouting at him across the street and we should follow Jesus's example. The second point is that we may never grow to the point where interacting with these people becomes anything other than horrible.

And yet we have to. Jesus begins this passage by predicting his death yet again and all the disciples are just baffled. It doesn't show any of them being like, "Hey, do you want to. . . uh, talk about it?" Were Jesus's best friends ever mental health supports for him? What would it imply if they were? It sure doesn't show it. But Jesus handled the worst that humans could do and asked us to do the same. So don't walk past the obnoxious poor. Stop and chat. Because though you may never be able to enjoy their company, compassion is an intoxicating habit, and it's likely that you will learn to see them as human and even enjoy doing so.

[gettruthgetlife]

LESSONS FROM THE STORY OF ZACCHAEUS

Luke 19:1-2 (KJV) – “1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.” “The chief among the publicans,” Zacchaeus, was a Jew, and detested by his countrymen. His rank and wealth were the reward of a calling they abhorred, and which was regarded as another name for injustice and extortion. Yet…

[loudmouthdreamwalker]

Do you think The Chosen will depict the story of Zacchaeus? I think it should because many Pastors hold contradictory views about the story. Ed Trevors says the story is about an honest man who was misunderstood by the crowd, and he connects the story to gay bars and how gay people are misunderstood. Brian Zahnd says the story is about a man who is losing his soul.

Oh wow. That's wild, I hadn't heard about those interpretations.

I'm sure that the show will depict the story of Zacchaeus, especially since it's so well known. And knowing Dallas and his team, it will be as faithful to the words of Scripture as possible.

I would really enjoy seeing how the story is used to reach out to those who feel like rejects and outcasts, like we've seen with Matthew's story.

As usual, guess we gotta wait to Come And See!

Pax Christi y'all.

~LD~

[life-in-every-limb]

Our Patient Father

People love to make fun of the songs we sang at church in the early 1970s, but I was a little girl then and I remember many of them fondly. Today’s Gospel took me back to that time instantly, to the refrain of a  song written by Medical Mission Sister Miriam Therese Winter in 1965: “There was a man in Jericho called Zaccheus. There was a man in Jericho called Zaccheus. Now the Hebrews, they were…