The Glory of Jesus

“The Glory of Jesus”
Based on Colossians 1:11-20
First delivered Nov. 24, 2019
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr
             This morning marks the end of the liturgical year. Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, when we begin our annual journey along the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, followed by the pouring down of the Holy Spirit and the ongoing growth of the church as disciples of Jesus. The year is capped off with a focus squarely on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the king of kings and the lord of lords, who shall reign forever and ever.

            It makes sense that we end the liturgical year focused on giving glory to Jesus. When you boil it all down, our identity, as Christians, is rooted in the Person of Jesus Christ. He is the reason we are gathered on Sunday morning. We are called Christians because of Christ, after all. We have responded to the call of Christ to follow Him and be a disciple of His. We have been baptized in His name. When we gather for Holy Communion, it is His table we gather around, and His body and blood that we receive as spiritual food and drink, a mystery that we cannot comprehend.

            This is what today is about, to simply lift up Jesus, to acknowledge and celebrate who He is, to give him the honor due His name. I know, we say or sing something about Jesus every Sunday. We pray to Jesus and we say together the prayer Jesus taught us. But today we are focusing just on who Jesus is, to be reminded of how awesome He is.

            Part of the scripture we heard this morning is, scholars believe, a modified version of a hymn to Jesus. Colossians 1:15-20 appears to be a rewrite of a contemporary song that amplifies the majesty of Jesus to the highest degree possible. For the rest of this brief message this morning, we are going to linger on this hymn and reflect on what it says about who Jesus is. This hymn describes Jesus in a way that makes clear why we give Jesus our greatest praise and put all our trust in Him.

            This hymn has two verses. Verse one is about Jesus being the firstborn before creation and verse two is about Jesus being the firstborn from the dead. Another way to say it is that verse one is about Jesus as lord over creation and verse two is about Jesus as lord over the new creation. In other words, Jesus is lord of all that is.

            The first line of the song is that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. The word for image here is icon. What is being said here is that when people looked upon Jesus as he was walking the earth they were seeing an icon of God. Jesus is what God looks like. But is that what this means? Are we supposed to take this as saying that God’s facial features for example are the same as Jesus?

            Remember back in Genesis when we hear the story of how God made the heavens and the earth, and God decided to make human beings in God’s own image. So God made us, both males and females, in God’s image. In a sense, all of us reflect the image of God. So this is not really about physical appearance. This is more about our essence as human beings, our capacity to create and to express love. The best of what it means to be human is an image of God. But, of course, this image has been marred in all of us because of the stain of sin. This is not the case with Jesus. Jesus, who is without sin, is a perfect image of what it means to be human and, thus, is a perfect image of God.

            The next line is that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation, not was, but is. It is in the present tense. Why does that matter? Because God always exists in the present tense. Do you remember when Moses asked God for his name so that Moses could tell people who sent him to deliver the message to let the people go? God said, tell them “I am” has sent you. The point here is that before anything existed, before time existed, there is God who is Father and Son. This phrase about Jesus being the firstborn of creation is trying to capture that Jesus exists before time existed. It doesn’t mean that Jesus was created. In fact, the rest of the verse declares that by Jesus everything, both visible and invisible, were created. God, through Jesus, created everything, including time itself, angels, spirits, powers, all the invisible forces, were created by God through Jesus. The last line of this first hymn sums it up by saying “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” In other words, before anything existed, there is Jesus and whenever anything comes into existence Jesus has something to do with it. This is part of what it means to declare that Jesus is lord over all, because Jesus is involved in the ongoing creation of all that exists.

            Let’s move to the next verse. It begins by saying that Jesus is the head of the body, the church. If the church is like a person walking around, the head on that body is Jesus. Or it could mean that in an assembly of people which can be called the body, Jesus is the presider of the assembly, or the head, the chief, the leader. Or it could mean that if the body is like a body of water, say a river, that Jesus is the headwater, the source out of which the river flows. In whatever way to take the body to mean, the point is that Jesus is the head, the leader, the source of that body. The body exists because of Jesus. And this body, which is called the church, which you and I belong to, is the new creation.

            Remember how I said that this hymn has two verses? Verse one is about Jesus as lord over creation and verse two is about Jesus as lord over new creation. What does Jesus as head of the church have to do with new creation? It is in the line in this second verse that goes “[Jesus is] the firstborn from the dead.” This is pointing to the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is the first to conquer the grave. Jesus is the first to exist in which death is defeated. This is the new creation, where the cycle of life and death ceases, the new creation where there is only life and no death. Jesus is the lord of the resurrection, the lord of the new heaven and the new earth in which death and the grave is vanquished.

            What does this have to do with the church? Recall in the first verse it is declared that God creates everything by Jesus. In verse two it is declared that Jesus brings forth the new creation by the church. The church is the means through which death is defeated and resurrection comes forth. We, the body of Christ, the church, are the community of the resurrection. We are an image of the new creation.

            This is symbolized when we are baptized. Paul speaks of how we are baptized into death and raised up into new life. Although it is our practice to place a small amount of water on the heads of those who are baptized, the most ancient practice was full immersion. Men and women would be baptized separately. Gathered together with the rest of the church, those about to be baptized would strip down naked and then enter the baptismal waters. They would then go completely under, symbolizing their death. They would then rise up out of the waters, symbolizing their resurrection. They would then come out of the water and be clothed with a white robe and be given honey and cheese curds, to symbolize they were now living in the land of promise, the new Jerusalem, the new creation. Who we, as the church, are intended to be, are signs, a demonstration, a symbol of the new creation. We are the ones who are living our lives as if death has already been defeated because it has. We know that because of Jesus the death we experience is a transition to the fullness of life that we are already living in anticipation of its future fulfillment. We are living our eternal life now. I will say it again, because of Jesus, death has already been defeated. The new creation is already emerging and we, as the church, are a manifestation of this new creation. You can say that the church is the resurrection of which Jesus is the head.

            Someone may ask, “what about those who are not in the church?” This points to the charge that Jesus has given us, to go and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them everything that Jesus has taught us. The answer points to our responsibility to be witnesses of Jesus, to point others to Jesus and invite others to join us and be a part of the church. We are all called to be engaged in evangelism, to share the good news.

            But I want to conclude with us looking at verses 19 and 20. The reality of sin causes a rupture between God and creation. God is holy and creation is corrupted and marred by sin. There is need for reconciliation between God and creation. So we read that by Jesus all of creation is being reconciled with God. How? Through the blood of the cross. All of the sin that corrupts and distorts creation, that causes alienation and separation from God, is covered by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. This is why we have crosses in our churches. It was on the cross where Jesus shed his blood for the sins of the world. Right then, in that moment, Jesus offered his life for you and for me and for all who will come after us. Our reconciliation with God was manifested in that moment. As far as God is concerned, when God looks at you and looks at me, God sees someone for whom Jesus shed his blood on the cross. As far as God is concerned you and I have been made right, redeemed, by the blood of Jesus.

            What else can we do but receive this precious gift with deep gratitude, to offer our lives as a sacrifice of praise to the one who has saved us from the power of sin and death? This is why we gather every Sunday, to give praise to God who saves us through Jesus. Truly, Jesus is worthy of all our honor. It is because of Jesus that, not only do we exist, but we have the promise of eternal life, of life beyond the grave. Jesus makes that happen. Give Jesus praise!

No Matter What

Based on Luke 21:5-19
First delivered Nov. 17, 2019
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            I remember standing at the base of the World Trade Center and looking up. It was disorienting. It actually made me a little dizzy. The building went up and up. You couldn’t actually see the top of the building. To this day, eighteen years after that tragic day in September, the image of those towers coming down triggers an emotional reaction. You saw the looks on the faces of people as they watched. Eyes wide open, hands to their mouth, the color draining from their faces. It was the look of horror mixed with incomprehension. For those who were there and for those of us watching on TV, we will never forget that sight.

            If there had been some kind of advanced warning, what a difference that would have made. If anything, to get the buildings evacuated as much as possible before the impact of those planes. Or, better yet, stopping those planes from flying into the buildings in the first place. There had been some intelligence that something was afoot. But whatever warnings our intelligence community had, it wasn’t enough to prevent such a tragedy that to this day impacts us all.

            There was a popular science fiction movie back in 1976 that got turned into a TV show called Logan’s Run. It is about a time where people were forced to live in these cities enclosed in these huge plastic bubbles. In order to control the population, once you reached the age of 30, you were randomly selected to enter this coliseum in which you would be zapped by this laser and killed while everyone is cheering. There was a man named Logan 12 who didn’t want to be that fate, so he and a female companion managed to run, to break out of the city and into the wilderness. Their fate out there in the wild was uncertain. But they found an old man who was living out there in the wild. He led them to a building where he was living. That building happened to be a partially destroyed U.S. Capitol building. What used to be the House of Representatives had desks and chairs strewn about. Everything was dusty. A feral cat was wandering around.

            It was a shock to see on film Washington D.C. in ruins, overgrown with trees and underbrush, the buildings dilapidated and abandoned. We just don’t think about our nation’s capital being laid waste. Can you imagine it? What would it be like if our capital was destroyed? I know some people would think, good riddance. But I think for most of us the idea of the capitol building, the White House, the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, the Pentagon, all those buildings being wiped out and the impact that would have on our nation…it’s hard to wrap our minds around. And we would certainly hope that before such destruction befell Washington, D.C. that there was some kind of advance warning, so at least the city could be evacuated, our elected leaders and the career federal employees protected in some way so that our government would continue to function.

            People joke that you know if someone is from Oklahoma when the tornado siren goes off and they run outside to look for the tornado. Guilty as charged. Those tornado sirens truly are life savers. They give us time to seek shelter so that even if we lose our house we won’t lose our lives. It is good to have those early warning signs for tornados, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. But the truth is that those warning signs won’t prevent those natural disasters from happening. They only help us get prepared, to seek some kind of shelter. But we don’t have the power to stop tornados and hurricanes and we can only do so much against flooding and wildfires. Early warnings at least give us a chance to survive.

            The people traveling with Jesus were admiring the beauty of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem. It was impressive. It was a huge building with thick walls. You could see the Temple from miles away. It was full of precious stones. It was a building worthy for the dwelling place of God. For many, the Temple was considered to be the very center of the universe. And as they were marveling at its beauty, Jesus says that one day this strong, magnificent Temple, the house of God, will be torn down. Not one stone will be on top of the other. It will be razed to the ground. For Jesus’ companions such words must have been unfathomable. How can this be that God’s Temple could be destroyed? How would God allow that to happen? Naturally, they wanted to know what were the signs that such a catastrophe was about to happen. They wanted Jesus to tell them what they should look for, what would be the advance warning before such unspeakable destruction. Hopefully lives would be saved. The priests would be protected. Disaster plans could be enacted.

            What is interesting about this is that they don’t doubt the Temple will be destroyed. They don’t say to Jesus, “How can you say such a thing? How is that even possible?” Nor do they ask Jesus to tell them what they can do to prevent the destruction of the Temple. They don’t ask Jesus, “Is there anything we can do to keep that from happening?” No, they accept what Jesus says, as shocking as it sounds, to be the case. One day the Temple, the very dwelling place of God, the center of the universe, will be destroyed. The only question is, how will they know it is about to happen so they can be ready to respond when the disaster comes. They want to know what are the advance warnings.

            The signs Jesus describes though are not warning signs so much as descriptions of history. Jesus talks about how before the Temple is destroyed there will be wars, insurrections and natural disasters. Jesus might as well have said there will be seasons, cloudy days and hot weather. What are wars, insurrections and natural disasters signs of but signs of the fallen world we inhabit? The truth is that destruction, upheaval and tragedy are part of life. They are signs of the reality that there is evil in this world, there are forces that we can’t resist, that tragedy and catastrophic loss is woven into the very fabric of our existence and knowing these signs of destruction and tragedy won’t prevent them from happening. The Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed because that’s what happens. Things humans build eventually crumble, even if they were built for the glory of God.

            We can hear this and affirm that destruction, tragedy, deep loss happens. We look at history and see evidence of this truth all across its pages. In our sober moments we would have acknowledged that the World Trade Center wouldn’t exist forever. And we can acknowledge the same thing about the Capital building and the White House. We can acknowledge the same about the building we are worshipping in and the city we live in. Scripture tells us that nations rise and fall. The United States is no exception.

            But living through such catastrophic destruction is surely something altogether different from acknowledging the possibility. New Yorkers had to live through the experience of losing the World Trade Center and all the loss this destruction inflicted on so many people, even, to a small extent, on the entire human family. To actually experience tragic loss of any kind is to experience grief but also fear, fear of what the future holds after the immediate experience of loss. How many were afraid of flying in the months after 9/11? How many survivors of mass shootings jump when they hear a bang that sounds like a gun shot? How many people, after the stock market crash of 1929, decided that their money was safer under the bed mattress than it was in banks? Hearing about or watching on TV various destructive events can cause people to become fearful.

            Fear of the future, of what might happen, is alive and well in our times. Since 9/11 we have been engaged in a global war on terror. It is fear of what might happen that motivates the quest for security. Yes, there is good reason to be prudent, to try to do what can reasonably be done to keep people safe. So, we have metal detectors at airports. You have to take off your shoes and belts. Only ticketed passengers are allowed through the security checks. There are strict guidelines on what you are allowed to carry on the plane. Once the cockpit door is shut it cannot be opened until the flight is over. All these safety measures are driven, partly, by fear that another 9/11 could happen again. Fear is what partly drives us to lock our doors, install alarm systems, erect fences, carry guns. Fear makes us turn inward and become closed off from those who we don’t know. We become hyper vigilant. We want to protect what we have and avoid risk as much as possible. Fear prevents us from taking risks. Fear builds walls, emotionally and physically.

            But Jesus tells us not to be afraid. In verse 9 we read, “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified.” An interesting choice of words. Jesus directs us to not be terrified, to reject the force of terrorism on our own psyches. How are we supposed to manage that? How are we to resist the force of fear that presses all around us? Jesus tells us that we are not to be afraid because “not a hair of your head will perish.” What does that mean? I’m sure Jesus was aware that many men, as they age, do find their hair perishing. Receding hairlines are not a new thing. So what is Jesus talking about?

            The reason we are not to be afraid in times of terror is because no matter what happens, we are still God’s children. Disasters can rock our worlds. Catastrophe can overwhelm us. Great loss can leave us feeling at a loss and not knowing where to turn or what to do. But we are still God’s children. We are still held by God. No matter what life throws at us, no matter what tragedy we endure or loss we experience, we will always belong to God. God is for us and not against us. Of what should we fear? God is with us.

            Jesus also tells us that in times of catastrophe and upheaval, when our worlds are turned upside down and we are cast about in the storms of life, that this is an opportunity for us to bear witness to the gospel. When everything is bad news, it is then that we can declare good news. This is not an invitation to be pollyannish, to see the world through rose colored glasses, to be in denial about the pain and loss and grief and disruption that catastrophe brings. The good news does not deny the reality of bad news, that things are not right in the world, that things are breaking apart, that death and decay is part of our reality. The good news we proclaim is that death does not have the last word, that what is broken, by God’s grace, can be mended, that what is wrong in the world can be made right because that’s what God does. God is in the business of bringing order out of chaos. Our good news we proclaim in times of tragedy is that this is not the end of the story. God isn’t done working to make things right again.

            So, in these times of terror, of loss, of brokenness and decay, where things are not as they should be, we can give witness to hope. We can point to signs where God is still active in the world. Not everything is gloom and doom! Just as an example, new Christian communities are exploding all over Africa and throughout Asia. Last night, Kim and I attended a worship service at Nationwide Arena led by Elevation Worship, Hillsong Worship and Casting Crowns. There were no empty seats and the Spirit moved in a powerful way. In our city, although many churches like ours are struggling, there are other churches that are experiencing dramatic growth. Every day in Columbus people are being blessed by Jesus followers. Lives are being transformed all around us. God’s love is an active love that is relentless. Not only is God’s love reaching into the hearts of people who are lost, drawing them into a relationship with Jesus Christ, but God’s love will not let us go. No matter what, we are loved by God. That is good news.

            So, when you go through times when you are afraid of the future, or times of loss, or even tragedy, when it seems like everything in your life is falling apart, know this: the Lord is still on the throne. God is still sovereign over the heavens and the earth. Nothing escapes God’s notice and nothing is beyond God’s redemption. Know that God still loves you and that there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God. Sometimes, when times are hard, we try with all our might just to hold on. I give you permission to let go and allow yourself to be held by God. When life becomes too much, and anxiety and trouble are pouring down, take shelter under God’s wings. When life becomes wearisome and you don’t think you can keep going, then stop. Rest for awhile in the presence of God. Allow God to bless you, energize you, refresh your soul, feed your spirit. Rest and let God renew your strength. Then, get up and keep going, keep living your life, keep being the hands and feet of Christ, no matter what else is going on around you. Keep loving God and loving others. Keep offering up your life as a living sacrifice to the eternal God, the God of life, of love, of hope, of inexpressible joy.

Glimpses of Heaven

Based on Luke 20:27-38
First delivered Nov. 10, 2019
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            Things were starting to get pretty intense for Jesus. As he draws nearer to Jerusalem and all the events that lead up to the cross, Jesus has to deal with a number of confrontations with people who want to argue with him and publicly humiliate him.

            First up were the Pharisees, who had been dogging him his entire public ministry with their accusations and complaints. They demand that Jesus tell them where his authority comes from for what he teaches and the ministry that he does. They basically want him to tell them where he gets off saying what he says and doing what he does. But Jesus throws it right back at them, demanding they tell the crowd where they think John the Baptist got his authority, from heaven or from men. Now the Pharisees are put on the spot. They don’t want to look foolish before Jesus by saying they believe it is from heaven but they also don’t want to look foolish before the crowd if they say it was from men because the crowd believed John was a prophet. So, they bailed and say, “We don’t know.” That’s not a very flattering look either. Basically, Jesus turned the tables on them and they fell in the trap they were setting up for Jesus. So, Jesus says he won’t tell them where his authority comes from either.

            Jesus hadn’t gone very far when some other seekers slipped up beside him. Well, they appeared to be seekers but in fact they were spies sent to try to catch Jesus in a trap. They first butter him up by saying they know that Jesus is right about everything he says and teaches the truth of God, no matter how uncomfortable it may be to some. He tells it like it is. So, they ask Jesus his position on a controversial topic that they think is going to force Jesus to say something that either way is going to get someone mad. They ask, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not. We talked about taxes last week, how those tax revenues propped up the Roman empire that was oppressing the people. If Jesus says it is lawful then that will cause the people to be upset at him. If he says it is unlawful then these spies will be able to report back that Jesus is encouraging a rebellion against Rome. But, of course, Jesus sees past the trap, asking to see a coin. He probably didn’t have one himself. He asks whose image is on the coin. Why, it is the image of Caesar. After all, the money belongs to Rome. So, Jesus tells them to give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s. But everything belongs to God. What kind of answer is that? It was an answer that got Jesus out of their trap. The spies were left speechless and there were probably a few in the crowd who looked at each other and whispered, “Nice.”

            After these two confrontations. Jesus had not walked very far when the next one comes at him. This time the provocateurs are Sadducees. These are the royal priests, full of education, well cared for, elitist by nature. They only considered the books written by Moses, the first five books of the Bible, to be authoritative. They had no use for the prophets, probably because if they were self-critical they would have seen the prophetic writings targeting their character. They did not believe in angels or spirits, nor did they believe that there would be a resurrection. And they want to get Jesus on record whether he believes in the resurrection as well. They probably think he already does since Jesus isn’t as sophisticated as they are. So, they lay before Jesus a plausible but ridiculous example. A woman marries but her husband dies childless. According to the tradition she is to next be married to one of her brothers-in-law so that hopefully she will bear a son through him. The point of this practice is to assure that her original husband’s name continues through a son. Having a girl doesn’t count. And to die childless is even worse. In this scenario, the purpose of the woman and of marriage was to perpetuate a paternal line. This woman may have had love for her original husband, but her brother-in-law? As Tina Turner famously sang, “What’s love got to do with it?” This widow has now become the means to an end. And as the Sadducees spin out this example, they say the first brother-in-law dies without her birthing a son. So, another brother-in-law gets to try to make her pregnant. Same result. Then comes another. Her original husband had six brothers. They all get their chance and, amazingly, they all die. She is widowed seven times. You have to wonder by brother-in-law number four they would be preparing their last will and testament before bedding with her. At any rate, the whole example is absurd. Having set up this silly hypothetical they ask Jesus whose wife she will be since she was married to all seven of them.

            The Sadducees may not have realized this but when they brought up the question of resurrection it must have struck a chord with Jesus. I bet resurrection had been on Jesus’ mind a lot in those days. He was drawing closer to Jerusalem. He knew what he would face; the betrayal of his disciples, the beatings, the show trial, the crucifixion, the worst, most painful form of dying in those days. Anticipating all that suffering and pain must have weighed heavily on Jesus. I can imagine that when he mulled over what he would have to endure that what helped him take that next step toward Jerusalem was to shift his wanderings toward what happens after; his glorious resurrection. It must have been anticipation of his resurrection that gave Jesus the courage to keep moving toward the pain, suffering and cruel, humiliating death that was waiting for him.

            Do you ever wonder what it will be like in heaven? Most of us have heard stories of people who have died and come back to life who talk about the tunnel of light, who have gotten a glimpse of heaven, and then have come back to life. I have even met a couple people over the years who have had an after-death experience. These experiences bolster our anticipation that one day we will be in heaven. That can be a comforting thought when we are going through difficult trials or when we are confronted with mortality, the death of someone close to us or even our own mortality. We look around at all that is going on in the world, or our own situations, and we find ourselves wondering wistfully what heaven will be like. I wonder if many of us here are looking toward heaven with anticipation.

            We learn from Jesus a little about what heaven will be like when he responds to these educated fools who try to trap Jesus in their absurd example. First, Jesus tells them that there will be no weddings in heaven. Why? Because there will be no need. Look at how marriage is being understood here. At its foundation, marriage is understood to be the legitimate, legal way for a man to continue his paternity through his sons for the purpose of keeping his name going and to pass along his inheritance. The wife in this scenario is but a means to an end. And this needs to happen because the man will die someday and needs at least one son to pass his property to when he dies. But in heaven no one dies. So, there is no need to arrange inheritance transfers. The way Jesus lays it out, immortality undermines a core reason for marriage. Why get married when no one is going to die? This understanding of the purpose of marriage is a little different from our own. People don’t get married these days primarily so that a man will have a son to pass his inheritance. Men don’t get married by thinking to themselves, “Hey, I’m going to die someday. I better go get married.” Most couples get married mainly because they love each other and want to do life together as partners. If they don’t have children that’s fine. Some couples never intend to have kids. For most, marriage is primarily about their love for each other. Our understanding of marriage is not the same as how marriage was understood back then. But the main point Jesus is making here is that since there is no death in heaven there is also no reason for people to get married or even be married in heaven. Jesus doesn’t say it, but I wonder if there were women in the crowd who were relieved to know that in heaven they would not find themselves being objectified as baby producers. Maybe in heaven they will have their own dignity as full human beings and not means to an end.

            Speaking of equality, Jesus also tells us that in heaven we will be equal to the angels. Matthew Henry, a commentator of the Scriptures from the 19^th century, reflects on this by saying when we enter the heavenly country we will become “naturalized citizens” of equal standing with the native-born angels that walk that land. In heaven, we will live as equals with the angels. They will receive us as citizens and help us assimilate to life in heaven. The angels will assist us in our heavenly citizenship, teaching us what we will do and how we will live in this new world.

            And that leads to the last thing that Jesus tells us about heaven in this passage. Jesus says that God will still be our God. As I said a moment ago, the Sadducees believed that Moses was the only authority of God’s will. Jesus uses Moses to make his argument for the resurrection. When Moses was at the burning bush and God is speaking to him, God says, “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Jesus then tells them that to God these ancestors are still alive. Jesus says that God is not the god of the dead but of the living. God is still God for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are still in relationship. Thus, they must still be alive. In the same way, we will always be in relationship with God. As Paul says later in his letter to the Romans, not even death can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. God will always love us. God will be our God for eternity. Our relationship with God endures forever. So, in heaven, as we live out our heavenly citizenship with the angels, we will continue to nurture our relationship with God, loving and serving God, forever. This is our destiny.

            Until that time comes, we still have our mortal lives here on earth: our lives filled with a lot of joyful moments, but also with times of challenge, struggle, suffering and loss. Our lives will never be as challenging as was Jesus’ final week before his crucifixion, but still there are times when life is hard, the losses mount, and we can be overcome with grief. We get through one challenge and another one is just a few more steps along the road toward the eventual end of that road when we breathe our last breath. I don’t have to convince you that life is hard. And sometimes we are discouraged and grow weary.

            It is one of the gifts that Jesus has given us, to give us a few glimpses of what heaven will be like. These glimpses remind us that this world is not all there is, that the life we live here is just the beginning, the launching point for eternity. Some have said that the life we live now is a school that trains us for the resurrection life we will live in heaven. These glimpses of heaven give us the strength to keep pushing forward, to face our challenges and endure our struggles, knowing that we will get through this and one day there will be a new day, the eternal day, when the sun will always shine and there will be no night, an eternal Spring, when everything is becoming new, where life is bursting forth everywhere. And we will tend that good land, working alongside the angels, serving God as the Spirit directs, and joining with those on the earth below in worship of our God and King. The day will come when we will see the one who has journeyed with us every step of the way, from life, to death, to resurrection…Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Rich People Might Surprise You

Based on Luke 19:1-10
First delivered Nov. 3, 2019
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            Tax collectors get a bad rap in the gospel of Luke. Then again, who likes tax collectors? No one enjoys paying taxes. Sometimes people are annoyed with the IRS. Have you ever received a letter from the IRS? If you are like me, when you flip through the mail and see a letter from the IRS your heart starts to race and you get a knot in your stomach. A letter from the IRS is usually bad news. I guess someone has to do that work. And I am sure most employees of the IRS are fine people. But tax collectors are not the most popular people in the world.

            In the days of Jesus, tax collectors weren’t just unpopular. They were often deeply disliked. And it wasn’t just because they were the ones collecting the taxes. In those days, Israel was under Roman occupation. The tax money being collected was going into the coffers of foreign oppressors. And tax collectors made their living by levying more taxes than what was due. And they had liberty to set their own rates. Everyone knew that when they paid their taxes they were being overcharged and the tax collector was taking that money, not just for their own living, but so that they could have a comfortable life. Who were these tax collectors? Not Romans. They were local people. Do you see why they were despised so much? These were fellow Israelites who were not only serving the oppressor but exploiting their own people to have comfortable lives for themselves. It was sickening.

            So, you may notice that there are a few places in the gospels where people grouse about Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. You catch that? You have your garden variety sinners. But tax collectors get their own category of scorn. As someone might say, there was a special place in hell for tax collectors. And it wasn’t just because people don’t like to pay taxes. It is who they represent and how they made their living that caused tax collectors to be especially loathed. And, of course, that’s who Jesus would hang out with.

            Zacchaeus, though, was not just any tax collector. We are told that he was a chief tax collector in the city of Jericho. These are important details. First, Jericho was not an ordinary town. It was the winter capitol of Herod. To escape the cold and wet winters of Jerusalem, Herod would spend his winters in Jericho where the weather was a bit drier and more pleasant. That meant Jericho was a major city with a lot of wealth. A lot of well to do people would live in Jericho to be close to King Herod. There would be lots of commerce, lots of activity, and lots of opportunities to tax people. Tax collectors would do well in a busy city like Jericho. As the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus likely had a team of collectors he was in charge of. He didn’t have to be out in the tax booths dealing with people as they grudgingly paid their taxes and argued over how much they were being taxed. Instead, he would oversee the work of the team and in turn receive a percentage of what they collected. I imagine there was some stress related with that job, having to manage those tax collectors. Still, it was a good life. Zacchaeus probably had one of the finest homes in Jericho. He was well known to Herod and his court. He was somebody. And he likely had a reputation greater than his height.

            This leads me to a few questions. First, how did Jesus know Zacchaeus and why did he want to go to his house? Now we get the impression that Zacchaeus knew something about Jesus. When he heard that Jesus and his disciples were travelling through Jericho on their way to Jerusalem he had to catch a glimpse. Jesus had quite a reputation that was spreading all through the land. You could say Jesus was becoming a bit famous.

            Zacchaeus wasn’t tall in stature but perhaps his reputation made up for that. I would not be surprised if Jesus had heard about Zacchaeus. Did Jesus know what Zacchaeus looked like? Or did he only know he was a wealthy tax collector who also was really short? At any rate, when Jesus was walking through town and looked up at the sycamore tree and saw Zacchaeus, he recognized him and told him he needed to stay at his house today.

            Why his house? Well, Jesus probably had a good idea that Zacchaeus’ house would be big enough to accommodate him and his twelve disciples and whoever else was in his traveling party. Not only that, Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was a wealthy man. He had the capacity to feed and care for the needs of Jesus and his crew. So Jesus wasn’t shy about laying the demand of hospitality on Zacchaeus. But, I wonder if there was something else Jesus already knew about Zacchaeus, something about him that prompted in Jesus the desire to go to his house that day.

            There is something curious about how verse 8 is often translated from Greek into English in our Bibles. Usually we see something like Zacchaeus saying, “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.” Then Jesus says that salvation has come to this house. The verbs being in future tense, like this is something Zacchaeus has decided to do because Jesus has chosen to come to his house is supposed to make the point that his generosity is a sign that he has been transformed by the presence of Jesus. He is saved and demonstrates his repentance by announcing his intention to be very generous to the poor and to make things right with people he has defrauded with the most stringent restitution possible, four times what is owed.

            But, here’s the problem. Those verbs that are translated into the future tense are actually in the present tense. A literal translation would go like this: “Look, Lord, I am giving half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated someone of something, I make a fourfold restitution.” What Zacchaeus is actually telling Jesus is what he is currently doing. And it isn’t a one time act of generosity. It is his ongoing practice. Giving away half of his income to the poor and making restitution four times the amount which, perhaps, one of the tax collectors working for him defrauded someone out of, is what he does. Zacchaeus is a rich chief collector who is incredibly generous and goes above and beyond to make things right when people are cheated over the taxes they owe. And this might be the real reason Jesus wanted to spend time at Zacchaeus’ house. It could be that Zacchaeus had a reputation that got Jesus’ attention. Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus but I think Jesus was also looking for Zacchaeus. He had to spend time with a rich chief tax collector who had a heart of gold.

            If this is the case, that Zacchaeus was already doing all these things that got Jesus’ attention and prompted Jesus to spend the day with Zacchaeus, when did salvation come to his house? In verse 9 we read: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today, salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.’” I think what Jesus means by that is to say that because Zacchaeus was so generous, in spite of his wealth and the way he made his money, that he was living a righteous life. He had mastery over his wealth. His wealth did not have mastery over him. If the choice was between serving God and serving mammon, this rich man was serving God. So, in the presence of everyone Jesus announced that salvation has come to this house. Jesus, who is the savior, declared this house to be saved. The way Zacchaeus lived his life was evidence of his right relationship with God. It was his generosity that demonstrated that he was also a child of Abraham.

            There is another group of people that get a bad rap in the gospel of Luke: rich people. You may recall the story of the rich ruler who asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. He had already inherited a lot of wealth. But what about eternal life? Jesus tells him to obey the ten commandments, which he says he already does. So Jesus tells him to sell all he owns and give it all away to the poor and then follow him. And he goes away sad because he was very rich and he doesn’t want to part with his wealth. Then Jesus says it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to be saved. Then everyone asks, “who then can be saved?” That is, can any rich person be saved then? Looks like all the rich are doomed for hell. But Jesus says that with God all things are possible. And, sure enough, here comes Zacchaeus as an example. God was able to work through Zacchaeus. With Zacchaeus, God has done the impossible. God has saved a rich chief tax collector… who everyone had to literally look down on because he was short.

            Notice that Zacchaeus was saved by God even though he didn’t give away all of his possessions. He did not live in voluntary poverty. He still had a big house, big enough to entertain Jesus and his disciples. He still was making lots of money, a daily stream of tax revenue was pouring in. Even though he was generously taking half of his income and giving it to poor people he was still living in a big house and was still a big shot. And he had enough money coming in so that he could pay back people four times the amount they were cheated out of. In spite of his great generosity, Zacchaeus was by no means a poor man. And that was fine with Jesus. He still saw salvation in Zacchaeus’ house even though he was very rich.

            So, it makes me wonder if the rich ruler would have been saved if he had said to Jesus, “I can’t give it all away. I will give what I can. Will you help me get to a place where I can divest myself of everything I own?” I bet Jesus would have accepted that. Jesus would have looked on him and said, “do this, and you will live. Go in peace. Your faith has saved you.” The rich ruler didn’t have to go from zero to one hundred. And, look, Zacchaeus didn’t have to give all his money to the poor and he was saved. Maybe all the rich ruler had to do was give what he could and trust that it would be enough. It is the intention and the effort that Jesus is looking for. Not perfection. If you are on your way in the journey to righteousness, Jesus will meet you where you are and help move you along. For Zacchaeus, Jesus didn’t have to ask him to do anything. He was already doing it. He was already living a life of generosity, providing for the poor and making things right for those who have been cheated. He was already living a right life. The rich ruler didn’t have to walk away sad. All he needed to do was step toward that needle eye and Jesus would have helped him through.

            Sometimes I think rich people get a bad rap these days. People point to statistics that show that wealthy people give less to charity based on percentage of income than middle class or working class people. Although, honestly, no one gives much as a percentage of income. I think the national average of charitable contributions per household is like 3%. In our political discourse, particularly among Democrats, we often hear about how the wealthy don’t pay their fair share of taxes. Maybe true, maybe not, but the impression is that rich people are greedy and out of touch and need to do more so that there is a more shared prosperity. Bernie Sanders in particular is always talking about the 1%. It feeds this class struggle between the wealthy class and the working class. I admit, there are times I get sucked into that. I drive through parts of our city where people are living in these huge houses on large lots and I think about the abandoned and broken down houses not far from where we are and think to myself, “There is just something wrong here. It doesn’t seem fair.” I’ll admit it, I sometimes find myself feeling a little righteous indignation toward rich people who live in their big mansions in their gated communities who go to their private country clubs and cocktail parties, sit on their boards, and host private fundraisers for whichever political candidate they want to influence. I know I’m not the only one who, honestly, are prejudiced against rich people.

            But you know what? Zacchaeus gives us an example that not all rich people are greedy and selfish. Not all rich people are like the rich man who refused to give comfort to Lazarus who died of hunger at the front gate of his mansion. Not all rich people are like the rich ruler who wasn’t even willing to meet Jesus part way with his demands to divest of all his wealth. Not all rich people are like the rich man who decided to build bigger barns and live off the surplus instead of share his bumper crop with others. Zacchaeus is an example of a rich person who maintains a very comfortable lifestyle based on earnings that are ethically questionable who is incredibly generous and more than fair in making things right when people are cheated. Not only did Jesus not have a problem with Zacchaeus, he wanted to hang out at his big house for awhile. Jesus was willing to include rich people in his community.

            Maybe all Jesus was looking for as he journeyed on this earth was to find a community where everyone could belong, a community where everyone is recognized as sons and daughters of Abraham, whether you were a leper, a child, a fisherman, or even a rich chief tax collector. I think that’s part of what Jesus was about: trying to create a space where everyone can eat together at the same table, Pharisees and prostitutes, tax collectors and scribes, disciples and Roman centurions. Maybe that’s part of what salvation is about: it is about the experience of hospitality, where all are welcome at the table, where there is enough for everyone, where all can find their place, where no one is lost or left out. Zacchaeus modeled that level of generosity. God forgive us when we allow our own prejudices to blind us to examples of generosity and hospitality all around us. For surely there are Zacchaeus’ in our midst.