Wee Will Rock You

In a few days, my church will welcome a candidate for a new associate pastor position.  There’s a buzz surrounding his arrival and the weekend’s worship and meet-and-greet events.  As you can imagine, a great many people would like to spend time chatting with he and his wife. But there are only so many minutes in a day and the itinerary allows little flexibility for unannounced audiences.

I find it interesting that, for his trial sermon, the candidate has chosen to preach from Luke’s Gospel and the story of Zacchaeus.  This is one of those Bible stories that has become forgotten for many adults.  Much of that is due to our focus on its supposedly singular relevance to young children.  Yes, there is the celebrated children’s song that many of us learned as part of a cherub choir during our pre-teen years:

“Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he.  He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.”

But I would wager that there are valuable lessons to be learned in the story of Zacchaeus for the young at heart as well as the six and seven year olds in our midst.  So what do we know about this wee little man? Well, for one thing, Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector from Jericho and, as such, was despised by his own people.  This is much the same picture that we gather from our readings of the apostle Matthew.  And as the song quotes, he was wee . . . little . . . short in stature.  We also know that Jericho was about to be paid a visit by the famous young rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, in whom there was great anticipation.  Zacchaeus was as excited as anyone and, due to his vertically challenged body, chose to shimmy up a sycamore tree to gain a clear and unobstructed view of Jesus.

The story ends as Jesus recognizes him and asks Zacchaeus to come down so that they can visit together in his house.  Zacchaeus expresses his sorrow and repentance for his sinful ways and, once again, Jesus demonstrates that he is not interested in keeping up appearances. He has come not to hobnob with celebrities and save the righteous, but instead to dine with the fallen and deliver the lost.

There are many elements to this story and the one I find especially compelling says that the act of Zacchaeus’ climb into the tree was more symbolic than I’d first guessed.  For each of us to truly see God, we must climb our own tree, just as Jesus climbed willingly upon the cross.  We must each be crucified to ourselves so that we can be born again in Christ.  Only then can our vision be perfected.  It was humiliating for Zacchaeus to climb a sycamore fig tree, particularly when the tree was considered unclean as its fruit was used to feed swine.  Sometimes in order for us to come clean with God, we must set aside our pride and allow ourselves to be fully and utterly humbled.  So often we hear of how we can be our own worst enemy as we fail to see the perils of our uncontrolled pride.  But if we use faith to push aside our fear of what the world will think of us, the rewards of a life centered on following Jesus will far outweigh the social stigmas on which we place so much emphasis.

Zacchaeus was a small, insignificant, ordinary, sinful man. Precisely the type of person Jesus loved to use in furthering his ministry on Earth.  In fact, some early church scholars identified Zacchaeus with the apostle Matthias, who was selected by the eleven to replace the betrayer, Judas, as one of the inner circle of Christ’s closest followers.  But regardless of what became of Zacchaeus, his life was changed forever by his encounter with Jesus and by his belief in the gospel.  And his story has been used to help win over countless believers in the course of 2,000 plus years and that’s just the type of far-from-ordinary miracle that Jesus uses each of us for when we climb our own tree and surrender completely to His grace and mercy.

Haughty and Naughty

One of the many blessings Jesus gave us during His time here on Earth was a multitude of parables.  These parables are tremendous story lessons that paint a perfect picture of the messages He wanted to convey to us. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector found in the Gospel of Luke is a short tale but one that impacts all of us throughout our lives.  It’s a great reminder to each of us, not only that we must accept our differences, but that, despite those differences, we are all equals in God’s eyes.  It also serves as a stark reprimand to be careful in our pride that we don’t use those differences to place ourselves on too high a pedestal. 

In this parable, Jesus relates the story of how two men, from very different stations in life, approach prayer.  One, a Pharisee, uses prayer to thank God for not making him like so many others who, for a variety of reasons in his eyes, don’t measure up to his stature.  The other man, a reviled tax collector, ignores everyone else and comes humbly before God, afraid to even look to Heaven, beating his breast in frustration, acknowledging his sinful ways and begging for mercy upon his undeserving soul.  Jesus then reminds His audience to live their lives in much the same way the tax collector prays, for “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” 

Let’s face facts.  Competition is a part of life as much as it is a part of sports.  Trying to remove it completely from either one sounds like a noble cause, but ultimately breeds a watered-down version of both.  On a daily basis competition can take many forms, and can sometimes be constructive; but in our spiritual life we are sinful and wasteful if we constantly occupy ourselves with thoughts of how much better we are than others.  Our salvation cannot be justified simply by comparing ourselves to our neighbors.  These comparisons are destructive to the life God designed for us.  Grace is freely given by God to ALL his children and none of us is more or less deserving, or more or less loved.  We are all His sons and daughters. We are all His friends. Consequently, we are all friends and brothers and sisters.  And He asks us to love one another as He has loved us regardless of our differences. Let’s not make the mistake of placing our lives into our own hands.  And lets not waste our time and God’s time praying misguided words of thanks for what we aren’t.  Be humble and not proud.  Always remember our true station in the universe, for it is by no power of our own, but only by the truth of the cross, that we are truly redeemed.

Prophets and Sculptors and Turtles (Oh My!)

“I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” - Habakkuk 3

Last week we examined what the prophet Jeremiah was all about.  Today, we take a closer look at one of my favorite names from the Old Testament: Habakkuk.  While he’s traditionally considered a minor prophet, he nonetheless managed to create a poetic book of three short but prosaic chapters that found their way into the Bible.  A statue of the prophet by the Renaissance sculptor, Donatello (ironically also the name of my favorite ninja turtle), still stands in Florence.  The Jews consider him a member of the Levite tribe, which served as musicians in the Temple.  He was an artist and a composer.  Perhaps this is why the final chapter of his book is a song of prayer.  And hear this . . . Habakkuk is thought to be unique from the other prophets because he acted very much like many of us routinely do: after regularly witnessing injustice and inaction, he openly questioned the wisdom of God.

One of the things I feel most guilty about in my faith on a regular basis is a common element of the human condition.  I question why God allows such terrible and tragic things to happen and why He doesn’t act quickly and decisively to correct these evils and bring the world back out of chaos and into the balance we so desperately crave.  Life can be difficult and perplexing.  We lose friends and family.  We’re cheated and mistreated.  We’re horrified at acts of terror and aggression.  And we see bad things happen repeatedly, time and again, over and over, to people we consider the salt of the earth.  Who hasn’t?  As a result, who hasn’t knee-jerked by blurting out words and prayers of harsh and accusing words at the Creator of all we hold dear?

Habakkuk felt the same way thousands of years ago - angry, confused and full of doubt and fear as his people were overrun by the enemy.  Yet when we examine the third and final chapter, we find a prophet who, no matter how bleak the future may appear, has heard and seen enough from God to know unquestionably that He is a God deserving of our full and unstained trust.  Habakkuk turns 180 degrees from a posture of questions and blame to a spirit of praise and thanksgiving.  While we are free to question the events that surround us, we must remember that we’re not always meant to know His ways as intimately as we may selfishly and arrogantly presume.  It’s an unfortunate part of life when the bad times impact us harder than the good times.  Yet how remarkable is His love for us!  We’ve been given a life filled with the Holy Spirit and grounded in the love of Jesus Christ so much so that we can’t help but praise God even during life’s tragedies.  No matter how little we understand at the time, we thank God for the bountiful blessings that we tend to so quickly forget.  Things as simple as waking up to life every day and every breath that fills our lungs.  And things as complicated and miraculous as a Messiah who would come to suffer and die for all our sins so that we might have eternal life in the kingdom of God, which has no end. 

May we all sing a joyful song like Habakkuk whether the storms of life are near or far.  And may we always turn to God as our shelter and our strength even “though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.”  It’s at times like these when we need to pour all our trust into God and sing his praises loudly for all to hear.  Our examples of unwavering faith and service can be the subtle triggers that lead the lost sheep of Jesus back into His loving embrace and ever closer to His amazing promise.

Taunt Songs

Jeremiah is considered one of our faith’s major prophets, as well as the author of the Old Testament book of the same name. In addition to the Book of Jeremiah, the Book of Lamentations is a series of poems attributed to him following the destruction of Jerusalem.  He is held in such high esteem by the church that he’s been honored with his painted likeness by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Yet if there was one thing you should remember above all others about him, it is this - that Jeremiah extolled continuously cultivating an individual relationship with God.  Jeremiah lived during an extremely tumultuous time for the people of Israel.  Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and plundered and destroyed the Temple.  The people were sent into exile.  The city was overrun and lay in ruin, and the enemy was in total control.  It was a time without hope and a time without joy.  When you read some of the words that Jeremiah uses to lament His people’s despair, it’s hard to believe that even a trace of hope could survive.

“He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding; he led me off my way and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate; he bent his bow and set me as a mark for his arrow. He shot into my vitals the arrows of his quiver; I have become the laughing-stock of all my people, the object of their taunt-songs all day long.”

Wow!  What an amazing example of the written word capturing our deepest emotions and fears and recording it in a way that we can all relate to.  But Jeremiah was not a great prophet and strong man of God simply because he could bring to life the darkness his people faced.  Instead, we celebrate him because he was equally capable of trusting in a God who would not forget or disavow, reject or cast aside the children He created and loves with such enormity.  The same poem later includes this steadfast reminder of God’s long-term plan and trustworthiness.

“For the Lord will not reject forever. Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.”

A person’s true health (and, for that matter, the health of a community) can be measured physically, mentally and emotionally – but all of these measures rely exclusively on a positive spiritual human condition.  Jeremiah knew this.  He knew the darkness would fade to light and he knew that God’s love is the great antidote to all of life’s tragedy and misfortune.  And he wants us to know it also.  So take time today to count your blessings even when you find it difficult not to dwell on your troubles. Tear down any walls and barriers that prevent your relationship with God from expanding.  Thank Him for being a God who doesn’t turn away from the faithful even when our lives verge on crumbling.  Take time to pray for our broken bodies, our failing relationships, the unknown future of the church, our suffering communities, our weary souls, and for those who haven’t yet come to know the Lord.  Continue unceasingly with these healing prayers.  The combined power of prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit offers unfailing proof that it is indeed a new day now that Christ has come.  Christ is the gift that erases all injustice and gives hope for tomorrow and for all people.  Hallelujah!  God’s love for us is beyond amazing.