Encouragement
Commentary
Object:
Alan Loy McGinnis told of a woman who was honored by her company for outstanding
performance during the just-ended fiscal year. Standing at the podium before hundreds of
fellow-workers in a large banqueting hall, she clutched her trophy and wept as she told of
the strange route that brought her to this moment of recognition.
A year earlier, this woman's marriage had unraveled, and she was down and out emotionally. She could not give her all to her job, and too often she found herself coming up short against deadlines and assignments. She wanted to quit, and several times wrote letters of resignation. But her supervisor, Susan, had always encouraged her to wait another day or another week and had pocketed her self-terminations without opening them. Between sobs, the winner breathed words of thanks to Susan and said to her, "You believed in me even when I couldn't believe in myself."
Some of the same is true in the combination of passages for today's homily. Through Habakkuk, God encourages those who give righteousness a good name during times of political and social unrest. Paul writes to encourage new believers who are weathering storms that deny them homes and families and neighbors. And Jesus nods toward Zacchaeus as a shining example of courage in a very misunderstanding world. Perhaps today we can bring some smiles of grace to the faces of discouraged and disheartened pilgrims who find the road to the kingdom by wandering through dark and lonely places.
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Habakkuk lived in a time of social instability and political crisis. The threat of Assyrian invasion and domination had passed, and in its wake came an almost giddy public release of euphoric immorality. For nearly a century, Habakkuk's predecessors had pointed north and warned God's people that Assyria was the tool of divine anger, coming soon to punish this wayward nation. There were bits of relief and breaks of release as other nations (particularly Syria) pushed back hard enough to make the menacing invaders stop and regroup before trying another onslaught. Eventually, even Judah's kinship neighbor, Israel, was felled by the Assyrian axmen, and Sennacharib swamped the south with his troops until the only island left was tiny Jerusalem.
When good king Hezekiah heard the taunts and threats of Sennacharib's boasts, he took the Assyrian general's pompous letter and laid it on the altar of burnt offering in the temple. Through Isaiah, word from heaven came that God would wage the battle and break the stranglehold of this arrogant crew. While the siege captives frittered nervously in disbelief, God miraculously sent the whole Assyrian army packing overnight in a fright that other historians would later describe as a plague. Suddenly, Judah stood free and independent again, splendidly isolated from looming conquest in its mountainous stronghold.
But when the religious cries evaporated as the political crisis passed, the new era of peace and prosperity bred social pride and ethical debauchery. Yahweh's deliverance was either forgotten or bandied about as a historical legacy that proved God would always be on the side of this nation. Greed, corruption, and sexual indiscretions rapidly filled the vacuum of external threat. It was then that Habakkuk rose one day to argue with God.
"Why do you allow them to get away with their blatant sinfulness?" Habakkuk demanded. Whether or not he expected a direct and sentient response from Yahweh, we do not know. But this was an instance in which Yahweh took pains clearly and unmistakably to enter into dialogue with a prophetic spokesperson in the community.
"I won't let them get away with it," came the reply from heaven. "See, I'm sending the Babylonians to punish all who think they can live as if I do not matter."
But the cure was worse than the disease, for Habakkuk. "How can you use the Babylonians as a disciplining scourge against us?" he prayed incredulously. "They are even worse than us!"
The conversation continued for a time, with Yahweh more fully explaining the divine plan. Although the Babylonians were indeed a fierce and pagan nation, Yahweh would channel their international aggressions into a military "board of education" to swat some punishing correction into the puffed up little self-important strutter that Judah had become. But Babylon itself would then have to face its own day of reckoning, and the full scales of international political and moral justice would be balanced.
Furthermore, according to the word of the Lord in the passage for today, "The righteous will live by his faith." As Yahweh explained to Habakkuk, this meant that those within the faith community of Judah who remembered who they were and whose they were would find their religious convictions and their moral faithfulness honored. Although the whole tiny nation would suffer greatly under Babylonian aggression, those who aligned themselves with the covenant that had given birth to the nation and still governed its expected lifestyle would find Yahweh a compassionate and forgiving God.
There are a number of themes that emerge from this brief prophecy, nestled in the times between Assyria's massive threat and Babylon's looming domination. First, there is testimony of absolute confidence in the one who observes the actions and lifestyles of people and nations and keeps sending report cards through cultural critics at every age. It is never wise to ignore those who speak with a prophetic voice of conscience, especially during times of peace and prosperity.
Second, the rise and fall of nations is part of a larger work of God in which unbridled immorality as well as unrestrained aggression will be stopped through international checks and balances. No corrupt regime ought to think it is above either United Nations assessments or divine judgment. There will be an auditing of the record in the end, and it may well come with a steep price.
Third, general godlessness or the failure of religious systems need never dissuade true believers from the rightness of their faith or its expressions. The heroes of history are those who had the fortitude to remain religiously grounded even when their cultures were doing whatever they could to erode places to stand and melt moorings into quicksand. We remember these folks in retrospect as saints, like Martin Niemoller or Mother Teresa or Groen van Prinsterer or Thomas More or Dietrich Bonhoeffer or William Stringfellow.
Fourth, the plan of God is long and comprehensive. It usually spans several generations, making our quick-fix religious solutions out-of-place and ecclesiastically irresponsible. God never promises immediate wealth and personal success if we just do three or four little exercises in holiness. The purposes of God are much broader and we are not asking the right questions if we stop at demanding what God can do for us. The real question, as John F. Kennedy put it to the American people in a slightly different form, is what can we do for the kingdom of God.
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Paul was on his second mission journey when he stumbled into Thessalonica. He had just come through an eventful time in Philippi where a new Christian congregation had begun out of the most unusual circumstances, organized by the most unlikely people (see Acts 16). Now he was on his way to Corinth (see Acts 18), stopping in a few cities along the way.
Paul's time in Thessalonica didn't last very long -- probably somewhere between three weeks and two months. After talking in the Jewish synagogue about Jesus as the promised Messiah, one segment of the congregation became highly perturbed, and Paul and Silas shifted their base of operations to the marketplace in town. Here the primary audience was Gentile, and a number of these people listened with rapt attention and responded with heartfelt conviction to the evangelists' call to repentance and belief. As these non-Jewish converts joined the synagogue believers to form a new Christian community, Paul's and Silas' opponents grew incensed. Not only had these travelers disrupted their synagogue stability by injecting a new twist on the old doctrines that divided the group into differing messianic parties, but now they had assisted in the creation of a religious organization that broke down the fundamental division between Jew and Gentile.
With what appears to be a great amount of rage, these antagonists drove Paul and Silas out of Thessalonica. The itinerant band split into several teams in order to bring the gospel message to a number of different towns, but soon they regrouped in Corinth. From there, Paul sent two letters to the Thessalonians, wondering and hoping and praying that they were doing well and addressing at least one critical theological issue from two differing points of view.
These letters are among Paul's earliest pastoral-theological epistolary exhortations, written, likely, around the year 50 AD. In our New Testament, only Paul's letter to the Galatians precedes them.
The primary theological issue about which Paul needed to give some further clarity was the return of Jesus. First Thessalonians bubbles with enthusiasm about the way in which the church survived its first few months and became a stable witnessing community in a rather challenging environment. Paul was glad for the testimony brought by Timothy that the congregation was doing well in spite of the forced, quick exodus that prevented Paul and Silas from lingering to explain many ideas about Jesus or the plans of God more fully.
One question that surfaced rather abruptly among the Thessalonian Christians was an uncertainty as to what happened to those who died. Evidently, in the few short weeks since Paul and his team had been ejected from the city, at least one and possibly several new believers had died. Since Paul's preaching had focused on the resurrection as the primary proof endorsing Jesus' claim to be the Messiah, and because the urgency of Paul's evangelistic enterprise was based upon his conviction that Jesus was returning very soon -- probably next week, but at the very outside next year -- there was some confusion as to what happened to those who believed this good news, but then died before Jesus came back.
In his first letter, Paul gave warm and pastoral encouragement, assuring the grieving families that their loved ones who had died would also share with them the future new and glorious times with Jesus. This would happen because God would instigate a mass resurrection in which the dead would have a similar experience to Jesus' Easter morning reawakening.
Paul's message brought a great deal of comfort, but it also triggered an unforeseen side effect. In light of the dramatic expectation of Jesus' imminent return, many in the Thessalonian congregation set aside their normal social routines and began to meet together in extended worship settings, waiting for Jesus to burst through the door at any moment.
When Paul heard about this, he became more than a little distraught. The good news of salvation through Jesus was meant to energize life, not to make it irrelevant. Those who began to opt out of daily activities and responsibilities in some kind of eschatological frenzy were actually subverting the gospel testimony.
In haste, Paul penned this second letter, praising the group for their earnest and powerful witness, but cautioning them quickly to re-engage their routines and obligations. Jesus was coming soon, Paul assured them, but there was likely to be a bit of a wait before that happened. In the intervening month, or perhaps even years, they should remain faithful to their families, friends, and fellows in the social arena who were counting on them for the normal care and support of life.
The verses for today's lectionary reading are marvelously beautiful in their positive affirmation of faithful trust, vibrant witness, and consistent godliness as displayed by this fledgling Christian community situated squarely on the crossroads of society. They were not unusually numerous, terrifically endowed, or powerfully positioned, but they understood the lifestyle implications of the gospel and lived them out in beauty and grace.
These verses cannot be preached so much as used to encourage and inspire. It is a bit like the fellow who met friends at the county fair midway, among the rides and the booths. The couple's young daughter was almost hiding behind a tower of cotton candy on a paper cone. "How can you eat all of that?" the man asked her with an impish twinkle. "You are much too small to get it all inside!"
After a brief hesitation to figure it out, the girl replied, "I guess I'm a lot bigger on the inside than I am on the outside!" That seems to have been Paul's understanding of the Thessalonian Christian, as well. In an alien environment, born out of persecution and conflict, this band of believers gave quick and sure evidence that the power and possibilities of God living within them was much bigger and stronger than anything projected upon them by the limiting perspectives of the world.
Luke 19:1-10
It is easy to jump quickly to conclusions in preaching on the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. After all, this tale is as commonly known as any of the gospel stories, and carries in our minds a great number of preconceptions. Zacchaeus must have been a bad person, most think, because he seems to have been sidelined by the crowds rushing to see Jesus. Moreover, Jesus singles him out for a special visit, likely indicating that he was in greater need of divine transformation than anyone else in town. Furthermore, when the two of them emerge from Zacchaeus' home later in the day, the short one makes promises of financial restoration (seemingly implying that he took fraudulent funds), and the tall one declares the arrival of salvation. All in all, our presumptions seem to add up to a quick perception that Zacchaeus was a bad man, and Jesus rescued him that day.
There are clear hints in the story, as Luke tells it, that point in other directions. First of all, the main character's name means "clean" or "innocent." This might be a foreshadowing of the outcomes of the narrative, but it could also simply be a hint that Zacchaeus was a good man, not a bad man.
Second, the historical developments of occupied Palestine give us every reason to believe that the designation "tax collector" was not a term of derision in the city or region. The Roman government had taken over direct taxation collection responsibilities by this time, and the task that produced Zacchaeus' occupation was more likely the oversight of customs booths for the trade caravans that entered the land at the Jericho portal. Since most occupations were inherited from parents, Zacchaeus probably grew up in a home where his father or grandfather had already developed the business.
Third, Zacchaeus' wealth was probably as much inherited as it was the result of good business activities. For that reason, it is not entirely certain that the man is making a confession of great wickedness when he talks about restoring any funds ill-gotten. He may be making a simple declaration of desire to be fully reliable in business and not blabbing about secret sins of the past.
Fourth, the word usually translated "short" in our Bibles, when referring to Zacchaeus, actually is better interpreted as "young." It is only because the story tells us that Zacchaeus went up a tree to see Jesus that we assume he was short. But it may well be that because of his younger age, he deferred to the older men who crowded around Jesus. In an inventive move, he was agile enough to quickly climb up a tree and get a position that no older men would dared to have taken.
Fifth, although Jesus says, at the conclusion of his visit to Zacchaeus' home, that salvation came today to this dwelling, it need not mean a radical transformation. After all, Jesus is himself the means of salvation. It is likely that Jesus only wanted the people to take note of this outsider among them, and treat him with respect. After all, he says that "this man, too, is a son of Abraham," not implying that Zacchaeus had a sudden transformation, but that his neighbors need to respect him for what he truly is, and not shove him to the side with their petty prejudices against rich folks.
Finally, Zacchaeus never admits having lived a life of theft and robbery. The present tense of his declaration that he gives half his income to the poor means that this was his already-taking-place-and-continuing practice of life. In other words, instead of ripping off those who came under his business interests, he was more likely to benefit them. He was a very, very generous man, even before Jesus came to town.
All of this seems to imply that the story is told by Luke as an illustration for what Jesus wants to say about himself and what kind of authority he wields on behalf of his Father (see vv. 12-25). In effect, the tale of Zacchaeus, even standing by itself, is as much a call for people to be seen with grace and mercy rather than suspicion and judgment. Not a bad theme on which to preach.
Application
Although they contain rich images, if one wants to be faithful to the intent of the whole message, the passages from Habakkuk are hardest to preach. Both the epistle and gospel passages carry well the theme of encouragement. Dozens of illustrations would bring the message to a great conclusion, but the more personal they can be made, the more lasting impact they will have.
Alternative Application
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4. If you are up for a challenge, get into Habakkuk's times and dialogue and help your congregation wrestle with the problem of evil in a whole new way. Although the prophecy is short, it deals with the complexity of sin and divine punishment and the struggle to maintain godly behavior and perspectives in a twisted and compromised world.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 119:137-144
Protestant Christians love to talk about grace. Spouting the words of Paul, many a preacher goes on and on about how "the Law" has fallen before the mighty wonder of God's grace in Christ Jesus. It's true. God's grace is sufficient for all. Yet still, God's "decrees," and "precepts," do matter. Even Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law, but to see it fulfilled (Matthew 5:17). Even though contemporary folk get a little itchy with rules and regulations, the truth is that even in the shadow of grace, rules are a pretty good idea.
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), of course, come readily to mind. These are not precepts that arise out of a puffed-up religiosity, but rather from the rock-bottom practicality of human existence. Stealing is prohibited because it's difficult to have any kind of human intercourse if we're constantly taking things from each other. It would behoove certain individuals and corporations to attend to this detail. Similarly, fidelity in marital relations is not simply a hollow moralism. It is a trust-building, relationship- deepening commitment that has many rewards and benefits -- both personal and social. Those entering into such covenant relationships should consider this. Killing is prohibited because, once again, human enterprise -- even its existence is threatened by it. And yes, it would be a good idea for governments to consider this. And in our workaholic-frenzied culture, the idea of one day a week for rest isn't such a bad idea is it? Perhaps our employers might think about this.
Indeed, God's "law is truth." God's decrees are "righteous forever."
The problem isn't with the decrees; it's with those for whom the rules are made. God's decrees require God's grace, and too often this is forgotten. As Jesus wryly noted, "The sabbath is made for people, not people for the sabbath" (Matthew 2:27). While we esteem and lift up God's righteous law, it's important, even critical that we take Jesus' words to heart. The perfect law of God was made for us, to assist and guide. We were not made to be bent and formed around the law.
With this psalm, let the people celebrate God's wonderful precepts and decrees. Search throughout creation and cannon, claiming the power of God's law. And then, with humility and prayer, let these same people remember for whom the law was created.
A year earlier, this woman's marriage had unraveled, and she was down and out emotionally. She could not give her all to her job, and too often she found herself coming up short against deadlines and assignments. She wanted to quit, and several times wrote letters of resignation. But her supervisor, Susan, had always encouraged her to wait another day or another week and had pocketed her self-terminations without opening them. Between sobs, the winner breathed words of thanks to Susan and said to her, "You believed in me even when I couldn't believe in myself."
Some of the same is true in the combination of passages for today's homily. Through Habakkuk, God encourages those who give righteousness a good name during times of political and social unrest. Paul writes to encourage new believers who are weathering storms that deny them homes and families and neighbors. And Jesus nods toward Zacchaeus as a shining example of courage in a very misunderstanding world. Perhaps today we can bring some smiles of grace to the faces of discouraged and disheartened pilgrims who find the road to the kingdom by wandering through dark and lonely places.
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Habakkuk lived in a time of social instability and political crisis. The threat of Assyrian invasion and domination had passed, and in its wake came an almost giddy public release of euphoric immorality. For nearly a century, Habakkuk's predecessors had pointed north and warned God's people that Assyria was the tool of divine anger, coming soon to punish this wayward nation. There were bits of relief and breaks of release as other nations (particularly Syria) pushed back hard enough to make the menacing invaders stop and regroup before trying another onslaught. Eventually, even Judah's kinship neighbor, Israel, was felled by the Assyrian axmen, and Sennacharib swamped the south with his troops until the only island left was tiny Jerusalem.
When good king Hezekiah heard the taunts and threats of Sennacharib's boasts, he took the Assyrian general's pompous letter and laid it on the altar of burnt offering in the temple. Through Isaiah, word from heaven came that God would wage the battle and break the stranglehold of this arrogant crew. While the siege captives frittered nervously in disbelief, God miraculously sent the whole Assyrian army packing overnight in a fright that other historians would later describe as a plague. Suddenly, Judah stood free and independent again, splendidly isolated from looming conquest in its mountainous stronghold.
But when the religious cries evaporated as the political crisis passed, the new era of peace and prosperity bred social pride and ethical debauchery. Yahweh's deliverance was either forgotten or bandied about as a historical legacy that proved God would always be on the side of this nation. Greed, corruption, and sexual indiscretions rapidly filled the vacuum of external threat. It was then that Habakkuk rose one day to argue with God.
"Why do you allow them to get away with their blatant sinfulness?" Habakkuk demanded. Whether or not he expected a direct and sentient response from Yahweh, we do not know. But this was an instance in which Yahweh took pains clearly and unmistakably to enter into dialogue with a prophetic spokesperson in the community.
"I won't let them get away with it," came the reply from heaven. "See, I'm sending the Babylonians to punish all who think they can live as if I do not matter."
But the cure was worse than the disease, for Habakkuk. "How can you use the Babylonians as a disciplining scourge against us?" he prayed incredulously. "They are even worse than us!"
The conversation continued for a time, with Yahweh more fully explaining the divine plan. Although the Babylonians were indeed a fierce and pagan nation, Yahweh would channel their international aggressions into a military "board of education" to swat some punishing correction into the puffed up little self-important strutter that Judah had become. But Babylon itself would then have to face its own day of reckoning, and the full scales of international political and moral justice would be balanced.
Furthermore, according to the word of the Lord in the passage for today, "The righteous will live by his faith." As Yahweh explained to Habakkuk, this meant that those within the faith community of Judah who remembered who they were and whose they were would find their religious convictions and their moral faithfulness honored. Although the whole tiny nation would suffer greatly under Babylonian aggression, those who aligned themselves with the covenant that had given birth to the nation and still governed its expected lifestyle would find Yahweh a compassionate and forgiving God.
There are a number of themes that emerge from this brief prophecy, nestled in the times between Assyria's massive threat and Babylon's looming domination. First, there is testimony of absolute confidence in the one who observes the actions and lifestyles of people and nations and keeps sending report cards through cultural critics at every age. It is never wise to ignore those who speak with a prophetic voice of conscience, especially during times of peace and prosperity.
Second, the rise and fall of nations is part of a larger work of God in which unbridled immorality as well as unrestrained aggression will be stopped through international checks and balances. No corrupt regime ought to think it is above either United Nations assessments or divine judgment. There will be an auditing of the record in the end, and it may well come with a steep price.
Third, general godlessness or the failure of religious systems need never dissuade true believers from the rightness of their faith or its expressions. The heroes of history are those who had the fortitude to remain religiously grounded even when their cultures were doing whatever they could to erode places to stand and melt moorings into quicksand. We remember these folks in retrospect as saints, like Martin Niemoller or Mother Teresa or Groen van Prinsterer or Thomas More or Dietrich Bonhoeffer or William Stringfellow.
Fourth, the plan of God is long and comprehensive. It usually spans several generations, making our quick-fix religious solutions out-of-place and ecclesiastically irresponsible. God never promises immediate wealth and personal success if we just do three or four little exercises in holiness. The purposes of God are much broader and we are not asking the right questions if we stop at demanding what God can do for us. The real question, as John F. Kennedy put it to the American people in a slightly different form, is what can we do for the kingdom of God.
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Paul was on his second mission journey when he stumbled into Thessalonica. He had just come through an eventful time in Philippi where a new Christian congregation had begun out of the most unusual circumstances, organized by the most unlikely people (see Acts 16). Now he was on his way to Corinth (see Acts 18), stopping in a few cities along the way.
Paul's time in Thessalonica didn't last very long -- probably somewhere between three weeks and two months. After talking in the Jewish synagogue about Jesus as the promised Messiah, one segment of the congregation became highly perturbed, and Paul and Silas shifted their base of operations to the marketplace in town. Here the primary audience was Gentile, and a number of these people listened with rapt attention and responded with heartfelt conviction to the evangelists' call to repentance and belief. As these non-Jewish converts joined the synagogue believers to form a new Christian community, Paul's and Silas' opponents grew incensed. Not only had these travelers disrupted their synagogue stability by injecting a new twist on the old doctrines that divided the group into differing messianic parties, but now they had assisted in the creation of a religious organization that broke down the fundamental division between Jew and Gentile.
With what appears to be a great amount of rage, these antagonists drove Paul and Silas out of Thessalonica. The itinerant band split into several teams in order to bring the gospel message to a number of different towns, but soon they regrouped in Corinth. From there, Paul sent two letters to the Thessalonians, wondering and hoping and praying that they were doing well and addressing at least one critical theological issue from two differing points of view.
These letters are among Paul's earliest pastoral-theological epistolary exhortations, written, likely, around the year 50 AD. In our New Testament, only Paul's letter to the Galatians precedes them.
The primary theological issue about which Paul needed to give some further clarity was the return of Jesus. First Thessalonians bubbles with enthusiasm about the way in which the church survived its first few months and became a stable witnessing community in a rather challenging environment. Paul was glad for the testimony brought by Timothy that the congregation was doing well in spite of the forced, quick exodus that prevented Paul and Silas from lingering to explain many ideas about Jesus or the plans of God more fully.
One question that surfaced rather abruptly among the Thessalonian Christians was an uncertainty as to what happened to those who died. Evidently, in the few short weeks since Paul and his team had been ejected from the city, at least one and possibly several new believers had died. Since Paul's preaching had focused on the resurrection as the primary proof endorsing Jesus' claim to be the Messiah, and because the urgency of Paul's evangelistic enterprise was based upon his conviction that Jesus was returning very soon -- probably next week, but at the very outside next year -- there was some confusion as to what happened to those who believed this good news, but then died before Jesus came back.
In his first letter, Paul gave warm and pastoral encouragement, assuring the grieving families that their loved ones who had died would also share with them the future new and glorious times with Jesus. This would happen because God would instigate a mass resurrection in which the dead would have a similar experience to Jesus' Easter morning reawakening.
Paul's message brought a great deal of comfort, but it also triggered an unforeseen side effect. In light of the dramatic expectation of Jesus' imminent return, many in the Thessalonian congregation set aside their normal social routines and began to meet together in extended worship settings, waiting for Jesus to burst through the door at any moment.
When Paul heard about this, he became more than a little distraught. The good news of salvation through Jesus was meant to energize life, not to make it irrelevant. Those who began to opt out of daily activities and responsibilities in some kind of eschatological frenzy were actually subverting the gospel testimony.
In haste, Paul penned this second letter, praising the group for their earnest and powerful witness, but cautioning them quickly to re-engage their routines and obligations. Jesus was coming soon, Paul assured them, but there was likely to be a bit of a wait before that happened. In the intervening month, or perhaps even years, they should remain faithful to their families, friends, and fellows in the social arena who were counting on them for the normal care and support of life.
The verses for today's lectionary reading are marvelously beautiful in their positive affirmation of faithful trust, vibrant witness, and consistent godliness as displayed by this fledgling Christian community situated squarely on the crossroads of society. They were not unusually numerous, terrifically endowed, or powerfully positioned, but they understood the lifestyle implications of the gospel and lived them out in beauty and grace.
These verses cannot be preached so much as used to encourage and inspire. It is a bit like the fellow who met friends at the county fair midway, among the rides and the booths. The couple's young daughter was almost hiding behind a tower of cotton candy on a paper cone. "How can you eat all of that?" the man asked her with an impish twinkle. "You are much too small to get it all inside!"
After a brief hesitation to figure it out, the girl replied, "I guess I'm a lot bigger on the inside than I am on the outside!" That seems to have been Paul's understanding of the Thessalonian Christian, as well. In an alien environment, born out of persecution and conflict, this band of believers gave quick and sure evidence that the power and possibilities of God living within them was much bigger and stronger than anything projected upon them by the limiting perspectives of the world.
Luke 19:1-10
It is easy to jump quickly to conclusions in preaching on the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. After all, this tale is as commonly known as any of the gospel stories, and carries in our minds a great number of preconceptions. Zacchaeus must have been a bad person, most think, because he seems to have been sidelined by the crowds rushing to see Jesus. Moreover, Jesus singles him out for a special visit, likely indicating that he was in greater need of divine transformation than anyone else in town. Furthermore, when the two of them emerge from Zacchaeus' home later in the day, the short one makes promises of financial restoration (seemingly implying that he took fraudulent funds), and the tall one declares the arrival of salvation. All in all, our presumptions seem to add up to a quick perception that Zacchaeus was a bad man, and Jesus rescued him that day.
There are clear hints in the story, as Luke tells it, that point in other directions. First of all, the main character's name means "clean" or "innocent." This might be a foreshadowing of the outcomes of the narrative, but it could also simply be a hint that Zacchaeus was a good man, not a bad man.
Second, the historical developments of occupied Palestine give us every reason to believe that the designation "tax collector" was not a term of derision in the city or region. The Roman government had taken over direct taxation collection responsibilities by this time, and the task that produced Zacchaeus' occupation was more likely the oversight of customs booths for the trade caravans that entered the land at the Jericho portal. Since most occupations were inherited from parents, Zacchaeus probably grew up in a home where his father or grandfather had already developed the business.
Third, Zacchaeus' wealth was probably as much inherited as it was the result of good business activities. For that reason, it is not entirely certain that the man is making a confession of great wickedness when he talks about restoring any funds ill-gotten. He may be making a simple declaration of desire to be fully reliable in business and not blabbing about secret sins of the past.
Fourth, the word usually translated "short" in our Bibles, when referring to Zacchaeus, actually is better interpreted as "young." It is only because the story tells us that Zacchaeus went up a tree to see Jesus that we assume he was short. But it may well be that because of his younger age, he deferred to the older men who crowded around Jesus. In an inventive move, he was agile enough to quickly climb up a tree and get a position that no older men would dared to have taken.
Fifth, although Jesus says, at the conclusion of his visit to Zacchaeus' home, that salvation came today to this dwelling, it need not mean a radical transformation. After all, Jesus is himself the means of salvation. It is likely that Jesus only wanted the people to take note of this outsider among them, and treat him with respect. After all, he says that "this man, too, is a son of Abraham," not implying that Zacchaeus had a sudden transformation, but that his neighbors need to respect him for what he truly is, and not shove him to the side with their petty prejudices against rich folks.
Finally, Zacchaeus never admits having lived a life of theft and robbery. The present tense of his declaration that he gives half his income to the poor means that this was his already-taking-place-and-continuing practice of life. In other words, instead of ripping off those who came under his business interests, he was more likely to benefit them. He was a very, very generous man, even before Jesus came to town.
All of this seems to imply that the story is told by Luke as an illustration for what Jesus wants to say about himself and what kind of authority he wields on behalf of his Father (see vv. 12-25). In effect, the tale of Zacchaeus, even standing by itself, is as much a call for people to be seen with grace and mercy rather than suspicion and judgment. Not a bad theme on which to preach.
Application
Although they contain rich images, if one wants to be faithful to the intent of the whole message, the passages from Habakkuk are hardest to preach. Both the epistle and gospel passages carry well the theme of encouragement. Dozens of illustrations would bring the message to a great conclusion, but the more personal they can be made, the more lasting impact they will have.
Alternative Application
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4. If you are up for a challenge, get into Habakkuk's times and dialogue and help your congregation wrestle with the problem of evil in a whole new way. Although the prophecy is short, it deals with the complexity of sin and divine punishment and the struggle to maintain godly behavior and perspectives in a twisted and compromised world.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 119:137-144
Protestant Christians love to talk about grace. Spouting the words of Paul, many a preacher goes on and on about how "the Law" has fallen before the mighty wonder of God's grace in Christ Jesus. It's true. God's grace is sufficient for all. Yet still, God's "decrees," and "precepts," do matter. Even Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law, but to see it fulfilled (Matthew 5:17). Even though contemporary folk get a little itchy with rules and regulations, the truth is that even in the shadow of grace, rules are a pretty good idea.
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), of course, come readily to mind. These are not precepts that arise out of a puffed-up religiosity, but rather from the rock-bottom practicality of human existence. Stealing is prohibited because it's difficult to have any kind of human intercourse if we're constantly taking things from each other. It would behoove certain individuals and corporations to attend to this detail. Similarly, fidelity in marital relations is not simply a hollow moralism. It is a trust-building, relationship- deepening commitment that has many rewards and benefits -- both personal and social. Those entering into such covenant relationships should consider this. Killing is prohibited because, once again, human enterprise -- even its existence is threatened by it. And yes, it would be a good idea for governments to consider this. And in our workaholic-frenzied culture, the idea of one day a week for rest isn't such a bad idea is it? Perhaps our employers might think about this.
Indeed, God's "law is truth." God's decrees are "righteous forever."
The problem isn't with the decrees; it's with those for whom the rules are made. God's decrees require God's grace, and too often this is forgotten. As Jesus wryly noted, "The sabbath is made for people, not people for the sabbath" (Matthew 2:27). While we esteem and lift up God's righteous law, it's important, even critical that we take Jesus' words to heart. The perfect law of God was made for us, to assist and guide. We were not made to be bent and formed around the law.
With this psalm, let the people celebrate God's wonderful precepts and decrees. Search throughout creation and cannon, claiming the power of God's law. And then, with humility and prayer, let these same people remember for whom the law was created.
