"Riches From Rags"
Sermon Transcript for September 8, 2002
Scripture Reading: Luke 19: 1-10
By Rev. Mike Beck
In the 1991 World Series, the two teams that faced each other, the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins, had an unusual thing in common. Remember what it was? They had both finished last the previous year. On a world scene, an even more remarkable turn-around occurred that same year. The Soviet Union, the cradle of world communism, had disintegrated in to a loose coalition of independent republics. In fact, Rev. Dan worshiped twelve hours ago in a Christian church in one of those republics, Kazakhstan. The Berlin Wall came down; and a free market economy was initiated. It was a dramatic change on the world scene. We notice change. We are fascinated by it. Especially dramatic change gets talked about.
Well, it was a dramatic change that the people of Jericho witnessed in our Scripture lesson today, Luke 19. And if you want a summary of the story, it’s up there on the screen. Jesus looked up, Zacchaeus came down, and a life was changed. Jesus and His disciples were near the end of their final trip to Jerusalem. His betrayal and crucifixion were only a few days away. And as they came to the town of Jericho, if you’ve been there it’s down at the bottom of the mountain about 20 miles east of Jerusalem, a large crowd gathered to see Jesus. And in the crowd was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a Jew; but to his fellow countrymen, Zacchaeus had committed one of the worst sins anyone could commit. He had collaborated with the hated Romans to collect taxes from his fellow citizens and through his conniving had become quite wealthy.
But on that afternoon, Zacchaeus ran out like everyone else wanting to catch a glimpse of this miracle-working preacher from Nazareth. It was really rather unusual to see him milling with the common folk. It was even more dramatic when, because of his small stature, this wealthy man climbed up and sat down on a tree limb so he could see over the crowd. Jesus’ procession came closer and closer. No doubt if Zacchaeus was looking down the road he saw the dust being stirred up as the procession drew closer. And then Jesus reached the sycamore tree; and he stopped. Can you sense the quiet that came over the crowd? Jesus looked up in to the tree and did the most remarkable thing. He called Zacchaeus by name. Now, no doubt Zacchaeus was thinking, "How did He know my name?" And He says, "I want to eat dinner with you Zacchaeus. I want to come to your house." And in the last verse, memorized by our Confirmation Class, we find that Zacchaeus came down "at once and welcomed Jesus gladly!"
We don’t know for sure what happened at Zacchaeus’ house. We presume they had a meal; but what did they talk about? And if you notice, the crowd is quite disgusted that Jesus would go eat with a sinner because in mid-east culture at that time if you have a meal with another person, it applies your acceptance of that person. We don’t know the nature of the conversation; but we do know the outcome. At the end of the evening, Zacchaeus stood up and to those who were gathered he said, and I want you to notice the first word, "Lord, I will give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay them back four times the amount." The dinner crowd must have been stunned! Half of this man’s possessions he’s going to give to the poor of the community! And the number four is also significant in the story. For in the Old Testament law, a thief was to repay double the amount they had stolen. Zacchaeus not only repaid the amount required by law; but he doubled the double!!
What a change! The selfish, conniving Zacchaeus becomes the generous and sharing Zacchaeus. And in response, Jesus says, "Today, salvation…" which if you remember in recent weeks we’ve said means completeness, wholeness. Jesus says, "Today, salvation has come to this house." The same should be true for us as we begin to know Christ; His desire is to change us. You’ve heard me talk about David Seamonds, my pastor at seminary. One of his favorite passages was, "God accepts us just as we are and He has no intention of us remaining there." In Christ we are changing. Our focus, our values in life change. Because when we get to know Christ, we have a new roadmap. God begins to make us more and more like Him. We become, like Zacchaeus, more "self-less" and less "selfish".
I want to suggest three ways that the change that God brings in our lives should be manifest.
Greater Love and Acceptance of Others: First of all, when God comes in to our life, there ought to be a greater love and acceptance of others. One of the reasons I believe that Zacchaeus’ life turned around so dramatically was that he had found in Christ a love and acceptance that he didn’t find from his neighbors. They were constantly putting him down. Jesus says to him, "Hey, how about dinner at your house?" That’s one of the neat dynamics of the ALPHA course. You see sometimes we have people say, "Why do we need this ALPHA course? We’ve got plenty of Bible studies." But friends, our Bible studies, good as they are, are primarily made of persons who have been Christians for many years. And do you know what we often do to somebody who is a seeker who asks an ignorant question to our mind? We pounce on them. That’s the last time they’ll speak up. One of the unique dynamics of ALPHA is it creates a safe environment for people to be just who they are and find acceptance and love. One of the gospel songs in our hymnal puts it this way: "What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought, since Jesus came into my heart!" I wish you could have all been here on Wednesday evening to have heard Jackie Shatto, Stephanie Bradburn, and Loren Jackson share the change in their life as a result of this last summer’s mission trip. Friends, we needed a lot of Kleenex. What they were sharing was at the very heart of what we are about as a church. It was glorious to listen to them share the change that experience made for them.
How We Spend Our Time: The second way in which that change is flushed out is how we spend our time. I want to just use one illustration. It was Wednesday evening about 9:45 p.m. I turned out the lights on that end of the building and locked the doors. And I looked in the sanctuary, and keep in mind handbells begin at 6:00 p.m., choir begins at 7:30 p.m., and there’s five or six ladies gathered around the piano still singing. And I went up just to say goodnight to them. They had been here a long time. But do you know what I saw in their lives? I saw joy; I saw spiritual growth; I saw that these ladies, yeah it was 9:45 p.m., but they had realized the truth of what Jesus said, "You find your true meaning in life in giving to others." It makes a difference in our time.
How We Spend Our Money: And then, thirdly, the change Christ brings makes a difference in how we spend our money. I’ll never forget the time in which we had left our giving statement at the end of the year on the kitchen table and the boys happened to look at it. And they said, "Dad and Mom, we could have taken quite a trip on that money!" Friends, I cannot be faithful to God and faithful to His Word and not talk with you often about your money. Jesus spent more time talking about that subject than any other. Why? Because of the profound truth of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount when He said, "Where your treasure is, that’s where I’ll find your heart." I believe when Jesus had dinner with Zacchaeus, He started by talking to him about God’s unconditional love, about forgiveness. And when Zacchaeus was confronted and understood that, then Jesus talked with him about the self-centeredness that was in his heart. Then Jesus, I think, challenged Zacchaeus to respond to God’s love, to just follow His example by giving generously to others.
And here’s where I want to leave you today. The key to the story, the key to what God wants to do in Grace Church, the key to what God wants to do in my life and in your life—obedience. Zacchaeus that day, when Jesus looked up in the tree and said, "Come down, I want to have dinner with you." Zacchaeus could have said "no". He could have said, "Come back when the house is clean." But Zacchaeus was obedient. And that obedience led to salvation and a wonderful change in his life.
What about you? Has the great change that Christ wants to bring come to your life? It’s a change greater than that of the Atlanta Braves and the Soviet Union. It’s the change of heart and life that came to Zacchaeus. Christ began changing him from selfishness to selflessness. After Zacchaeus met Jesus, he wanted to give, to repay, to help the needy. His view of money changed. He became a giver. He found the joy that came from being obedient to the Master’s design for life. I invite you in these important weeks ahead to trust God, to be obedient to His teaching in the area of stewardship, and to let God bring in you the change that brings "riches from rags" as you discover the joy of giving. Let us pray, "Change my heart, O God. Make it ever new. Change my heart, O God. May I be like You. You are the potter; I am the clay. Mold me and make me; this is what I pray." Amen.
E-mail Comments to: Reverend Dan Sinkhorn