WATCHWORD:
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “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.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-9
As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. Mark 10:46-52
Meditation:
Shoeboxes of Cash or Redemption?
Yesterday’s Gospel lesson was Mark 10:46-52, the story of Jesus restoring sight to Bartimaeus, a boy blind from birth. That tapped into some research that I have done for a story I wrote regarding Jesus’ ministry. What I understand is that Jesus, on his final journey to Jerusalem, had stopped in Jericho, staying overnight at the home of the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus. The tax collector and his family were changed by that encounter. Then, as Jesus started toward the Jericho Road, he passed by Elisha Spring where Bartimaeus was begging and there Jesus restored his sight.
You get the distinct impression from the scripture passage that the tax collector was aware that his sinful behavior was wrong. Let’s be clear, he wasn’t just a tax collector, he was the chief tax collector of the region, and as such, he took a cut from all of his other tax collection booths throughout the region. As one minister put it, “In his closet were shoeboxes full of the denarii. He was, in short, a white-collar crook, and very successful at it.” The impact of Jesus was to change that, and he owned up to it.
Okay let’s think about this. This sneaky sinner of a tax collector, encountered Jesus and repented of his thievery, which must have been a difficult thing to do in that small town. How about you and me. Oh, I’m not suggesting that we steal, or cheat other people, but neither am I suggesting that we all live sin-free lives. Most of us have tremendous built-in defenses against seeing ourselves as we are. Some of us have hearing loss the moment someone points out a flaw in our imagined perfection. When that comment comes from someone you love and respect, uh oh. Bingo, unbridled truth. Saying less, becomes more.
If we haven’t already done so, we need to take seriously the stories we read in the pages of our Bible. Most are very familiar to us, like the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, and the converted tax collector. The lessons from our Lord and Savior are embedded in those stories, and if we cannot see parts of ourselves in the meaning of the story, then we need to look more closely.
Take to heart from these words from the “Confession of 1967”: “The new life (in Christ) takes shape in a community in which people know that God loves and accepts them in spite of what they are. They therefore accept themselves and love others, knowing that no one has any ground on which to stand except God’s grace.”
Take your shoeboxes of wealth from your closet or portfolio, and put it to God’s good use. So be it.
Bulletin Board:
One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it.
The six-year-old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up; stood beside him and said quietly, “Good morning, Alex.” “Good morning, Pastor,” still focused on the plaque. “Pastor, what is this?”
The Pastor replied, “Well, son, it’s a memorial to the young men and women who died in the service.”
The two stood there for some time, before little Alex spoke, barely audible and trembling with fear, asking, “Pastor, which service, the 8:00 or the 10:30?”
Closing Prayer:
Gracious heavenly father we confessed to You that we are flawed human beings who too often have leaned toward our advantage, rather than reaching out to our fellow man. Heavenly Father we wish to become fully your child. We wish to become Your voice and Your hands in our own community. Please help this flawed sinner to be truly Yours in every way. Help us to imitate Your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and our savior, and it is in his name that we pray. Amen.
