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Rev. Ernest Gardner

Luke 19:1-10

Gracious God, give us humble, teachable, and obedient hearts that we may receive what you have revealed and do what you have commanded. Amen.

Well, as I'm driving here from Mount Washington, I cannot help but to notice all the beautiful color and we may not be right at peak but we're pretty close and you know this it connotes the season that we're in right now. This season is also known for being a season of generosity.  There are opportunities for us to engage in generosity with Thanksgiving coming up and then into the Christmas season.

We're in very much of a season of giving right now but I want to think about have you ever thought about how are there individuals that you've noticed who've shown the ability to combine generosity and power? Generosity and power. Have you ever thought about people who've shown that in tangible ways that meant a lot to you? It can be really difficult I think in our culture to match those two things because typically generosity with those who have power all too often is a means of creating a lure or a false motivation for you to follow them. They show a certain level of generosity hoping that there's kind of a quid pro quo you know you scratch my back I scratch yours and some may even wonder why you are going to relinquish some of your power as if there was some sort of devious reason behind it.

Well in the Scripture we're going to see how generosity and power are melded together in a transforming way.

The other thing I wanted to ask you this morning is have you thought about the power of your name? Have you ever thought about the power that people perceive when they see your name or that they know about you? You know last time I asked the question what's the word on the street when people think of you? What's the first thing that comes to their mind? Is it being it delight? Is it a memory of something? Is it something else? Each one of us has that capacity. I have a professor a friend of mine who's a professor who has two earned doctorates, a  Doctor of Ministry and a PhD in New Testament and so he formally is  known as the Reverend Doctor James Goodlow, the 4th. Sounds really forma! You know the name has power so if he goes to a rotary meeting or a convention that he's asked to speak he's introduced as Reverend Doctor James Goodlow, the 4th. However, he's from Tennessee and when he goes to central Tennessee you know it's great that he has those two doctorates and that he's the fourth person to have that name but when he is in Tennessee you know what people call him, they call him Cousin Jimmy. So, the same person but in a different context there's a whole different response a whole different way of connecting so think about that what's the word on the street about you whether you're a family member or you work at the grocery store.

 Let us now friends turn to God's infallible Word that we may not only hear the name Jesus but that we may indeed proclaim the name that is above all names. Please join follow along in your Bible (or bulletin) with the Scripture of Luke chapter 19 verses 1 through 10.  

 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.  When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.   So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”  Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

 Friends this is the Word of God for the people of God, thanks be to God.  Let's pray, open our eyes that we shall see you gracious God and may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts and minds be acceptable in your sight for you alone are our rock and our redeemer.

Thank you for the opportunity to be with you all this morning and thank you for those of you who are watching online. We want to know more about who are with us whether you are here in the pews this morning or whether you're watching online. Please do come forward to introduce yourself and for those on-line please send us your prayer requests via Facebook or through the on-line contact page.  

So chapter 19 obviously follows chapter 18 and at the end of chapter 18 Jesus performs a miracle. He gives sight to a blind man. Now you have to understand in ancient culture being blind was not just a handicap it was in some ways almost a death sentence because you were so completely dependent upon either someone in your family to care for you or you were out on your own sitting at the edge of the city gates calling out for alms.  Jesus comes to this man, and he heals him of his blindness and his life is completely turned God's side right.  I don't want to say upside down because God’s side is “right”. So in Luke’s gospel we move we from one miracle to another. We just don't realize that it's going to be a miracle until later on in the passage. 

 This morning's passage from Luke provides us a great opportunity to affirm that every good and perfect gift comes from God alone. We need to pay attention though in this. 

 In chapter 19 Jesus is journeying on the king's highway. This highway enters into Jerusalem. He's making his way, and Jericho is the next most logical stop where you can get water and provision. Jericho is a very popular city, it's one of the oldest cities and in civilization that we know of.  I’ve been to the site and have seen the ruins. and just it shows you just how ancient and  how great that city's history is.  Jesus makes his way, and crowds are following so obviously word has already gone out that Jesus is going to not only stop along in Jericho, but he may actually meet people in Jericho.  

 Luke described Zacchaeus as a wealthy tax collector. He's not just a tax collector, he's a wealthy tax collector.  So, if you think of it this way, he is not just a tax collector that he just finished his undergraduate and this is the only thing he could find. No he is like the supervisor of supervisors of tax collectors.  Essentially, he has lieutenants who are accountable to him. These lieutenants are taking taxes and it's not only a lucrative business, but you also have to cheat your own people. The Romans would take indigenous people from that community to collect taxes. The entire community resented Zacchaeus not just being a tax collector, but he was the one that was taking taxes from those who took taxes from the people. The theological dictionary of the New Testament shows that tax collectors were the ones the only ones that had any knowledge of the tax codes at that time, so they had power. But how did they wield that power? Was it through generosity? No, it was for their own. In fact, in Jewish law it states that if you were to lie to a tax collector it was okay. No one would be surprised because tax collecting was such a corrupt engagement and such a corrupt institution. So, in ancient time not telling the truth to a tax collector was allowed.

 But here's the interesting thing. As I mentioned each one of us has a name on the street how people know us and think of us looking back. The name Zacchaeus means, get ready and innocent, pure. How wrong could you get the name? Someone involved in one of the most corrupt practices of that time. His name and his activity were completely in contrast at odds with each other. People would say Zacchaeus and would smirk.  

 A transitional coach I work with has shared with me a really interesting idea when we think about what power and authority are. Power and authority are when you draw people in and create a relationship. You draw the best of what those people are even when they don't feel that themselves and you help  them to see how they were created in the image of God and given a name with a purpose, and you are affirming that God-given quality within them.