salvation

Unexpected.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“You are above me O God; You are beneath; You are in air; You are in earth; You are beside me; You are within.  O God of heaven, you have made your home on earth in the broken body of Creation.  Kindle within me a love for you in all things.”

―JP Newell

Colossians 1:11-20

11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from God’s glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father,[a] who has enabled[b] you[c] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption,[d] the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, 16 for in[e] him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in[f] him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God[g] was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Footnotes

  • 1.12 Other ancient authorities read God the Father or the God and Father
  • 1.12 Other ancient authorities read called
  • 1.12 Other ancient authorities read us
  • 1.14 Other ancient authorities add through his blood
  • 1.16 Or by
  • 1.17 Or by
  • 1.19 Gk lacks of God

Gospel Lesson

Luke 23:33-43 

33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus[a] there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.[[34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”]][b] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah[c] of God, the chosen one!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,[d] “This is the King of the Jews.” 

39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding[e] him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?[f] Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into[g] your kingdom.” 43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

What does it mean to be saved? Has there ever been a time in your life where you’ve wanted to be saved? Maybe a social situation that you wanted to get out of? 

You’ve heard me say before, in my tradition growing up, I think I was saved at least 42 times!  Every time there was what we called an “altar call”, I would get caught up in the emotion of the moment and go forward.  I was so afraid of not being saved!  From what, at 58, I’m not exactly sure anymore.  Probably some sense of guilt, of loneliness, of whatever.  And, always looking for something to save that was distant, an external savior to take my problems away.  

Yet, over time, through so much of life, living into even the shadow sides of life…times of despair and even humiliation, something unexpected happened.  I began to see, and still seeing…although sometimes dimly, that God is bigger than some euphoric moment…a bigger God that doesn’t lay a guilt trip on you…a God so intimate that this God is already in and and around you in all things and all people….and a God who does not need to be appeased by a blood sacrifice.  

We’ve talked a lot about the Greek word “metanoia” which literally means having your mind enlarged. I’ve experienced “metanoia”, the Greek word in the Bible that is often mistranslated as “repentance”, my mind and heart, my life, has experienced unexpected growth…a deeper awareness.  

I have come to realize that the concept of “personal salvation” is not really mentioned in Scripture.  It simply isn’t a concept that God intended.  That’s a concept that early Christians would certainly not have understood, especially as folks in some “Christian” circles use it today, but it devolved over the centuries from folks wanting to find some sort of control over folks.  We have salvation, that is explicit throughout Scripture…the question is do we live in awareness of the good news of not only what God does in and through all of creation, but that God is IN all of creation, including us!  

This was unexpected in the way that I grew up.  

Our passage this morning from the gospel of Luke depicts humiliation as well as something unexpected. Only on a scale that I could never imagine. Crucifixion by the Romans was meant to be more about humiliation than pain even. The place of the Skulls in Jerusalem was picked by the Romans for crucifixion because it was visible for all to see. It is also referred to as Gahenna, a garbage dump that is outside of the city…Gahenna is often used as a reference to what we call “hell”.  To be nailed to a tree, lifted up, often for days, while folks walked by either throwing scorn and insults, or shielding their eyes away from the cruelty. 

Luke reminds us that the Romans and the Jewish authorities formed an alliance of convenience in order to maintain the system status quo. They viewed Jesus as a threat to their hold on power and to the way things have been that kept them on the top. They wanted to send a message. Even giving Jesus cheap wine with vinegar in it…not good wine fit for a king, but sour wine. It says that the Romans mocked Jesus. The term for mock in this passage denotes that the Romans thought of Jesus as less than human. 

We see that in the gospel lesson. Jesus is humiliated with the scandal of the cross. Yet, Jesus asks for God to forgive them, which is unexpected.  Usually, you’d think that a response would be one of anger or a desire for revenge, but Jesus greats violence with non-violence. They are telling Jesus, jeering at Jesus, to save him-self. Yet, Jesus has incredible agency and resolve to absorb and to suffer…to take on death in a scandalous way in order to show us a better and deeper way of living. The people that killed Jesus were telling him to look for salvation like any other king would, by force or violence. Jesus is responding to violence with an inner strength of love and non-violence. Which, ultimately brings salvation to them, and to all of us, as we live into becoming people of love, resolve, and our truest selves. 

Jesus responds to persons as they begin to move towards humility in unexpected ways. It seems like we often look for a savior to simply come in and swoop us out of a situation, but, more often than not, we experience growth, humility, and even salvation in the midst of a tragedy by simply recognizing God’s Presence and embracing the moments we are in…and seeking a deeper understanding… 

Jesus is crucified in between two thieves. One, wanting to be saved, but cannot recognize himself or his humiliation, nor his humanity as made in the image of God,….the other, recognizes where he is, knows his humiliation, names it, and sees in Jesus a Presence, the presence of God. And, Jesus follows up on God’s promise of being with us by reassuring him that they would be together in paradise that day. 

Friends, Jesus remembers us, all of us. Jesus is with us in all of life’s ups and downs. May we own where we are, we may be looking around for someone or something else to save us…but, may we follow the example of this gospel lesson and look deep inside, as well as deep inside of others as we build genuine friendships, and recognize that God is with us and God knows what we are going through…God does not give up on us, God brings us forgiveness, has given us salvation, God brings us God’s self. 

Today is the Reign of Christ Sunday.  This is not simply a king, the Christ encompasses all people, things, creation…it is the universal presence filled with promise and relationship.  This Christ, in all things, shows up in the most unexpected ways.  May we live in these times looking for the unexpected.  

Zach.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

A Celtic Blessing

Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.
May the road rise to meet you;
May the wind be always at your back;
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
May the rains fall softly upon your fields.
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of God’s hand.

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

“Zaachaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he…”

I grew up listening to that song in Sunday school.  It’s ingrained in my brainwaves.  Our Gospel reading this morning, Luke 19:1-10, is about the story of Zaacheaus.  And, I think we can find ourselves in this story.  I know I can…there are times in my life when I’ve been curious, when I’ve wanted to see what’s going on…and have found myself being discovered, or discovering something about myself.  

The writer of Luke wants its readers to see someone who is on the journey towards seeing themselves in a different way through the generosity of God.  By showing God’s love for those on the margins of society, the writer shows Jesus as being very generous and that invokes a response of gratitude.

Throughout Luke, there is a central theme on “seeking and saving the lost” in preceding stories before today’s passage.  Jesus’ perspective on what it means to be “in” or “out” is fundamentally different from what society at that time believed which is evident in the crowd’s “grumbling” about Jesus’ desire to stay with Zach who was considered a “sinner” and thus one who was ostracized to a certain degree in that society. Oftentimes in the church today, we can relate as we are called to love those on the margins and to call out, in love, those in power and on the “inside”.  

Luke’s gospel has been referred to as the “Gospel of the Outcast”.  Each time Jesus encounters someone marginalized, he sees something more in them than the culture of that time…he sees someone made in the image of God and created for relationship.  

Zacchaeus ran to the front of the crowd in Luke 19:4 and climbed a tree in order to see Jesus.  Was this because he was short or because he wanted others to notice him?  What was his stature in the community?  There is a “larger” narrative here than Zacchaeus’ physical size. In this passage, the Greek word for “stature” comes from “mikro” which means “small”.  In the NSRV this is translated as Zacchaeus being a small man or short.  It could it also mean that he was simply not well regarded in the community and was not looked upon with respect.  He was a chief tax collector, his job was to collect money owed to the government and he was “wealthy” as he collected more money that was required…and those around him resented him for that.  Yet, Jesus saw something deeper in Zach, his humanity and called it out.  

In verse 9, Jesus identifies Zacchaeus as a “son of Abraham” and that “salvation has come to this house”.  The Greek word for salvation in Luke 19:9 is defined in this verse as meaning salvation in the NSRV, it could also mean “preservation”.  It could also be referring to Jesus as being salvation.  The point is that he saw Jesus as Lord in 19:8 and Jesus saw him as a “son of Abraham” and he is somehow “saved” now.  This passage reverses the societal order and gives Zacchaeus validation as a “clean” member of the community. 

Zacchaeus, “with joy” welcomes him into his house as he asked to do.  Not only does he recognize that Jesus is Lord with words, he responds to Jesus’ request to come to his house with action. This joy and desire to act faithfully leads him to give away half of his possessions to the poor and to repay any he may have wronged in Luke 19:8, well beyond what was required by Jewish law. God sees faithfulness in an entirely different way than simply following all of the laws.  Faith has to be genuine and based on God’s generosity to us and his coming to us, not us to him.  Jesus sees a deeper faith in Zaachaeus on that day…a curiosity that led Zach to a deeper trust.

Recognizing God’s generosity as Jesus sees Zacchaeus brings a fundamental change, transformation, in the way Zacchaeus sees himself and how others may see him.   

Friends, on that day in Zacchaeus’ life, he died to his old self and was raised up into the beginnings of his new “self”.  It’s fitting to know that this transformation happens throughout life.  We all have the invitation to die to our selves at some point in order for new life to begin.  As we remember those that have died in the flesh, may we remember that their Essence, their souls, are in the Resurrection, the new birth of Christ within and all around us.  It is fitting that we remember these folks and then baptize dear Blakelee, remembering that that the cycle of life, death, and rebirth are a part of all of us…and that just as Blakelee’s baptism symbolizes humanity’s dying, being put under the water, that all of us also rise up with Christ out of the water into new life.  It’s an unending cycle…may we live in awareness of it, be awakened to it, just as Zacchaeus was.