Judging Book Covers - Luke 19 - Proper 26C

Judging Book Covers

Tony E Hansen

Sermon based upon Luke 19:1-10, Isaiah 1:10-18, Psalm 32

Opening prayer 

The story of Zacchaeus is familiar to many as this small guy climbs the tree to see Jesus and gives away large part of his wealth. A wee little man climbing a sycamore tree..

This is another example from Luke of lost being found and more. 

It also shows an example of judging book covers - hypocritical judging even. The looking at book; examine the title author; and making determination if it is good or not. People do that with other people.

Jesus goes through Jericho with crowds around him. The crowd is too big and so Zach climbs a tree. Jesus sees this and says, “I must stay at your house today.” 

There are some questions. 

This “wee-little” tax collector is possibly someone who wasn’t always a fair dealer, and the crowd questions, “grumbles.” But is there more to this story than what people think ? 

Instead of banning the story, let’s open and dive in.

Zaccheaus strikes a deal with Jesus or is it? This little person gives away half of his fortune. That is quite generous in many eyes.

For anyone he defrauds, he gives back plus 4 times. Essentially, he does the necessary penance assigned for committing fraud. More than that, he recognizes that he fails.

Nevertheless, he has wealth and we have read throughout Luke how the gospel questions the faithfulness of wealthy people. There are twists though, like many good stories. 

Last week, we read how Jesus uses the image of tax collectors to illustrate how one could pray. Even more, this person is a wee-little man who does rather big things. 

The proportions are wide apart like our lesson last week about righteous piety vs humble humility. That one path is not an exclusive path to salvation without the other.  That together, they form something that we can do in our everyday lives and how we conduct ourselves. 

There is some of that here too.  For Zaccheaus is short but big in the money department and gives away large sums. He may still be wealthy after giving away so much. 

How did he get his fortune and wealth as a tax collector? Did he fraud and extort? 

Perhaps, he was lost or is just an honest guy who knows people around him are not. For some reason, Zach heard that Jesus was near…just had to go and see what what Jesus represents. 

At seeing and hearing Jesus, he makes amends for possible wrongdoings - a public confession, a penance and then provides a welcome to Jesus. For when Jesus says “I must stay with you,” Zach gladly welcomes Jesus, and perhaps this visitation is enough to bend justice to repent for wrongdoings.

“For [God] came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Who is lost and who needs to be found? Who needs to seek out and what are you seeking? Who needed to be found, Zach, the people watching, or both?

Jesus is here, right in front of Zaccheaus, and the reaction is to change or to assert that Zaccheaus does this giving and amends perhaps as way of life, despite what people think of him (or tax collectors) being sinister greedy.

Does what we think about people always prove to be true? Does reading a book cover give us an accurate portrayal of the story or ideas revealed? Perhaps, we ought to take time to read the book. Sometimes, we could ask questions and get to know people before we judge, whether rich or poor, sick or in health, or even righteous or humble.

Nevertheless, Zaccheaus is generous and is amending. Did that need a personal visit from Jesus? 

If that is the way he lives, perhaps that is why Jesus wants to have dinner with him. He too is a “son of Abraham” despite what people may think. Not everything we do needs a KCCI news report, but when good is done, God knows.

Still, is that what we need in our lives, a personal invitation or visit from Jesus in order to reconcile, to repent, or to do the necessary (being dutiful, generous and making amends)? 

Do we see ourselves as befitting of grace as sons and daughters of Abraham ? Or do we exclude ourselves from that grace - only able to look from afar because of all the grumblings that judgy people put upon us?

Isaiah tells us to “learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow.”

God tells us to wash and remove evil from deeds and do the good work. Be the angel and heaven on Earth. Be the church. 

So if you feel lost, there is a path. 

When you do these; 

when you embody this welcoming and invitation - especially to strangers and immigrants; 

when you recognize that you do fall short; 

when you give generously; 

when you seek justice, feed the homeless, mentor youth, and stand up for oppressed and persecuted; 

and when you help children and grieving, 

that is when you do what God wants. 

When you screw up (and you will), take the words of Psalm 32 to heart and let God deliver you. 

People may grumble that Jesus goes to the house of sinners. (Judgy, even hypocritical, people do that.) Jesus goes to those who do good and those who seek to change. Jesus invites you to be the image of God. 

God does not want violence and bloodshed or worthless rhetorical and selfish prayers.

Regardless of what others think about you - the grumbles  and myths people have created - we can’t please them all nor can we realistically try.  

We can, however be whole and true to ourselves and to God. 

Do the good work, let your soul be filled with grace and seek out God’s favor.

Beloved, of that, God sees you and wants to visit you! 

Thanks Be to God

What Costume Would You Wear? - Luke 18 - Proper 25C

What costume do you wear?

Tony E Hansen

Sermon based upon Luke 18: 9-14, 2 Timothy 4

Opening prayer

Halloween is just around the corner so let us consider what costume you would wear.

We continue our journey through the parables of Jesus in Luke.  Last week we read about the widow and unjust judge that reminded us to be willing to offer grace, forgiveness, and justice to folks not just because they pester us but because God has already done that for you and me. 

Here, we find Jesus talking to “some” people likely wearing expensive clothing and Jesus told a parable about these curious examples of “so-called” righteousness vs someone who might humble themselves. 

They are curious because first we hear about the Pharisee who does all the right things by fasting, giving money and praying.

The Pharisee prays thankfulness to God, however it is not for all the gifts that God has given. It feels more like a half-hearted thanks (if you can call it that.) This prayer casts judgement upon wide swaths of people.

This is the kind of prayer people pray when they think they have it all figured out because they do all the right things. They go to church, and they sing great hymns. They give money (thank you for helping to keep the lights on!)

They hear the words of wisdom spoken and discussed. They pray often. They love church even and they love religion.

Somehow, they miss the point of the journey. That loving God and loving neighbor means more than doing the dutiful bits that pronounce our faith. For that is a faith that is only skin deep, if even that much.  It is prideful, boasting and lacking substance because I am not one of “those people.”

Great!

They do all these bits for church and then get up from the pew with head held high and a decent swagger as they walk out the door. It is a presentation and a show. 

The person sitting right next to them could use something besides a show. The person sitting right next to them might just be one of “those people” that they have taken pride in not being.

God calls us to love and love means to be there for people and to do something besides a presentation. We are called to do and to be the church in heart, mind, attitude and how we conduct ourselves and how we interact with our neighbors that are sitting right next to us and those we don’t even know. 

No show is needed for that and no judgment called for; just a willingness to roll up sleeves and do what God has called of us.

Then there is this tax collector who can’t even look up with some serious remorse weighing on him. 

Tax collectors were viewed as corrupt and greedy. They represented the injustice of broken political systems because they often profit from the system. 

We know plenty of people like this today. Could be a politician, but also a mechanic, plumber, computer engineer, athlete or clergy even. They manipulate, distort, evade accountability, and ultimately hurt people. Sometimes, they reward themselves and colleagues for doing it.

Yet there has to be a limit. A point of recognition that all of that has a negative price that is not valued in dollars and cents or stock portfolios. 

So on the face, two very opposite people here. A dutiful religious person that does all the right things Jesus would like and a conniving greedy person that enriches themselves, quite likely at the expense of others.

Do you recognize either or both of these people? Or are they wearing costumes?

The representative image of these people are wide apart, and what they do is equally different. 

The religious person is only thinking about themselves and their conduct as righteous. They are not “those people.” Contrarily, the tax collector is grieving, recognizing and coming to terms with a lifestyle that has not been abundantly generous or righteous. Of that recognition, he declares himself to be a sinner and humbles himself.

Do we want to be either of these people, these costumes? 

I would think not and the good thing is that we don’t have to be either of them.  In fact, I submit we might take parts from both of them.

While we don’t need to live a life that hurts people or extorts or demeans people, we should live a life that is generous and dutiful. We should goto church and hear the good news, but we should not use those words as a shield from doing the necessary good. 

The Bible should not used as a weapon against people but for people. It should not be a barrier to being what God wants us to be but instead is an invitation to do the necessary.  

For otherwise, that is just as hurtful as someone who is actively extorting and manipulating.  For “show" is manipulation in a different way.

It is a disguise and costume we put on because we leave the good meaning of the words and the commands in the pews. 

We should be willing to recognize where we fall short, and that we don’t live the life we should. We should recognize that we are sinners, but also have the courage to repent, make amends when we can, and to live the way God wants for us. 

Thus, when we pray, we do with humble heart and then get up and face God and our neighbors not with judgment, but embrace how we live together in community, whether we agree, have same hair styles, skin color, belief system, nationality, orientation or ancestry. 

Beloved, God wants us to live in that community, to build that church together, and to be there for each other. Further God wants us to leave the judgment to God, instead of ourselves. 

Then you too can say you “have fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith.”

That is Thanks Be to God

Cost of Discipleship - Luke 17 - Proper 22 C

Cost of Discipleship

Tony E Hansen

Sermon based Luke 17: 5-10, Psalm 37, Habakkuk 

Opening prayer

Increase my faith? Why do the apostles ask Jesus this question?

If we look at the opening verses of Luke 17, Jesus tells them to be on your guard and to rebuke offenders, but “if there is repentance, you must forgive.”

The apostles asks to increase their faith for doing this. Why? Because forgiveness is not an easy thing to do especially when we have been personally been hurt and harmed by someone .  Our faith in people , in a person, can be literally shattered to a point that it impacts more than just that person or that situation.

Even more so, we do things in our lives that we feel proper and respectful because we believe we are to get rewarded. 

Jesus here challenges us and these proper notions. Jesus challenges our priorities.  What would expect things be done for us before we are willing to do the right things? What is the cost of discipleship?

That is transactional thinking.

We do that with people and we do that with God. Unfortunately we do even less. 

When we pray, we arrive with a wish list but rarely do we come with what we do for the wish list to be granted.  Even if we did, is that really what God is to us?  A vending machine where one can order what they see and think they want, pop in a coin, and presto I have what I want.

That isn’t how faith works. It is something more than seeing before believing.  It is something more than a selection from the market counter and haggling over price. 

Faith is things unseen, unknown, and untouchable and faith is something that can grow from the size of transactional idea into a way of life. 

What we do with faith is like mustard seed but we plant it, tend it and nurture it to grow. We have faith that it will, in fact, grow - even during hard times. That is when need faith the most. 

We forget that when times are good, and we forget to thank God for the good times. 

When we practice faith in the good times, when times are bad, we have muscle memory and a path through what ails us.

Yes faith takes practice because when we need it is when we need it the most.

That won’t say it is easy, but the point of faith is not ease and knowing. Precisely opposite!

It is what we don’t know. It is unequivocal trust in the divine and that trust is not in vain. Incidentally, where is your trust? In the machines and algorithmic designs?? 

We are commanded to do God’s work and to be God’s face on Earth without question and without guarantee of reward. We are to forgive even when we don’t think it is deserved. We are to extend grace even when it feels futile or exhausted.

Faith is not transactional, for faith by itself is beyond any transaction. Faith doesn’t need a market, a buyer and seller. Faith is letting be that which we don’t know all the answers and assuredly, we do not. 

In that way, we grow beyond what we think we know and want or think we need, but allow God to be what we need - not just a convenience store checkout with our expectations. We realize our limitations as people and we realize capabilities by not forcing. 

To think otherwise, is to think small, “less than” and in terms of coins in a purse. To have transactional faith is to put God in a box for one to open on occasion like some memorabilia or keepsake. There is more to God than that. There is more to faith than nostalgia or memories.

A bill is coming due and what are you going to do to pay?

We do the work , we live the life and we forgive. The bill is coming due for your soul that is not in money or broken ideas. It is a way of living and being with our neighbors. It is living with he love of God - not just because we say cute words or raise our hands at the good moment. 

That is the cost of following Jesus. That is the cost of discipleship.

What is good about that is that grace is freely given and the love of God and forgiveness is always available to us.

Faith in God is understanding that and understanding that the cost of discipleship is a blessing rather than a burden because we get some much more than we ever could put in.

That Beloved is…

Thanks be to God