10-28-22 - Loose Change

You can listen to this reflection here.

We have been exploring an extraordinary story of transformation this week in the tale of Jesus’ encounter with a notorious sinner. Zacchaeus made his living off the misery of others. As the chief tax collector in a major town, he sat atop a pyramid of greed, extortion and violence. Yet Jesus offered him forgiveness, and Zacchaeus responded in astonishing ways.

He revealed a spiritual openness when he clambered up a tree to get a better view of Jesus. He wasn’t willing to come close, but he wanted to see. And Jesus met that opening with an invitation to fellowship, and an acceptance which prompted a further opening in Zacchaeus. He didn’t just repent by halves – he went the whole distance:

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.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”’

Zacchaeus certainly was lost, spiritually speaking. He was tightly bound by his self-saving strategies, his allegiance to money and power. Yet he was not beyond the reach of God’s grace. As one thing loosened when he climbed that tree, more space was made, and that unlocked his repentance, which made more space for forgiveness. Soon the whole tightly bound system unraveled and even his change was loosed, as he offered half his wealth and more to transform the lives of the poor.

Jesus said to his followers, “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.” As redeemed saints of God, we are in the business of loosening. We don’t always see transformation as radical as Zacchaeus’, but repentance is usually incremental. Just as when we work to undo a tight knot, each loosening helps to loosen another bond, until the knot falls away.

There is no work more holy than helping to bring about repentance and freedom in one another – which means we need also stay aware of our own stuff, our own sin. And as forgiveness flows to us, so does generosity. Put more succinctly, loose the chains and loose some change!

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10-27-22 - Opening Clams

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here. 

I know little about clams, but I’m told the only way to get them to open their shells - other than violently, with a knife - is to place them in warm water. After a while they’ll open of their own accord. That is a good way to describe how God loves us into opening our spirits, and how we can love really shut-down people into transformation. Just as the softest heart can be hardened by rejection and judgment, the hardest heart can be softened by acceptance and mercy.

That’s what Jesus did for Zacchaeus. His acceptance in coming to his house; his willingness to stand with him when no one else would, elicit not only repentance but an astonishing generosity: 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.”

It’s easy to say “I’m sorry.” It’s a lot harder to make amends, to go back to people you’ve hurt and offer them restitution for what you’ve taken from them. Restitution is the visible fruit of true repentance. In this, Zacchaeus is a champion.

Those who disapproved of Jesus going to Zacchaeus’ house may have said, “By going to a ‘sinner’s’ house, Jesus is dignifying all tax collectors. His presence gives approval to wickedness. Better to isolate sinners than to tolerate them.” People say that in all sorts of issues. But if we isolate those who are destructive, where is the hope for transformation?

I'm reminded of the heat Jodie Foster took for hiring Mel Gibson after the many revelations about his anti-Semitic remarks and actions. She did not condone his views, but made a choice to stand with a friend – and so helped foster (sorry…) the possibility of transformation in him. The hardest heart can be melted by acceptance and mercy, as the softest heart can be hardened by rejection and judgment.

Jesus went to Zacchaeus’ house, not knowing that he would repent, yet perhaps inferring some openness from his tree-climbing. And his risk was rewarded, his grace met with not only sorrow but amendment of life and reversal of justice. Where Zacchaeus’ had taken money from the poor to appease the Romans, he was now giving half his fortune to the poor. And if there was fraud, he offered to make a four-fold restitution. That is an “I’m sorry” with teeth.

Do you know anyone isolated because of their destructive words or actions? Without affirming the behavior, we can provide an environment where hearts can open, and see what happens. Is God is inviting you to give that gift to anyone? If you’ve ever been a clam shut tight and found yourself in a bath of warm, accepting love, you know what it means.

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