Luke 18:31-19:10

(sermon note:

Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.’ But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ 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.’

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a man who went to church one day to confess his sins. He stepped into the confessional and began, “Bless me, father, for I have sinned. I stole wood from the local lumber yard.” The priest responded, “Well, son, how much did you steal? It may not be so bad.” “Well, father, with the wood I was able to build a house for my new dog in the backyard.” “My son, that is not so bad. Ten ‘Hail Mary’s’ and five ‘Our Father’s’ and you shall be cleansed.” The man interrupted, “Um, father, there was some wood left over, so I used it to build a fence around my yard.” The priest was surprised. “My child, that’s a bit worse. You’ll have to do two full rosaries.” The man spoke up again. “Father, you see, there was still some wood left, and I used it to build an extension on my house.” The priest sighed with discomfort. “Oh, dear my child. You’ll need to do some real penance for that! Our church courtyard could use an update. Do you know how to build a gazebo?” The man replied, “No, father, but if you have the plans, I have the wood.”

We’re continuing on through this season of Lent with further reflection on one of the core disciplines of the season: penance. Just like that man in the confessional, we are to use this time of Easter preparation to reflect on our lives and seek forgiveness for the sins we’ve committed either knowingly or unknowingly. This is what penance is all about, seeking forgiveness. And for a few weeks I’ve been mistakenly professing that penance is one of the three traditional disciplines of Lent. Church tradition says the three practices or disciplines are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. That said, we engage in these practices as a means of seeking forgiveness or penance. Penance encompasses these three practices so really it is the core Lenten discipline. And why would we seek forgiveness for anything in this time or preparation? Because Jesus goes to the cross for our sins. Jesus dies for our sins! We can’t fully appreciate the sacrifice he made for us without first acknowledging our sinfulness. No, Jesus didn’t die for other people and their sins. Jesus died for you and me and our sins! And I said a couple weeks ago that sin is what breaks down our relationships with God and each other. Broken relationships are not good, friends. We need healthy, life-giving relationships to experience full joy in this world. Love is a product of life-giving relationships, and we know God is all about love and the sharing of love. Our God is first and foremost a loving God. If we don’t believe this or trust this, then we need to take a long, hard look at our relationship with God. Our God IS a loving God whether we believe it or not! WE need to get ourselves right before God if we can’t sense his love for us. WE aren’t doing something right in that relationship! But getting back to our reading for the day…

I imagine Zacchaeus hadn’t sensed the love of God in his own life. He was in a broken relationship with God, and it compelled him to seek out Jesus when he came to town that day. Because he was a man short in stature, Zacchaeus climbed a tree to better see and hear Jesus. Of course, Jesus noticed him, called him down, and invited himself to Zacchaeus’ home as a way of healing that broken relationship. And boy does Jesus heal his broken relationship! Zacchaeus was completely transformed by his encounter with Jesus, eager to rebuild the broken relationships with not only God but the people around him. So it is with true penance. When we humble ourselves before God and each other and genuinely seek forgiveness for the things we said and did to contribute to the broken relationship, there is an outpouring of love and grace from God and most likely other people. Remember we ALL long to be in healthy, life-giving relationships, even those on the other side of broken relationships. Even God wants to be in such relationships with you and me!

In true penance, there is a transformation. We are forever changed when we acknowledge God’s gifts of grace and mercy. We are like the blind beggar who rejoices over his regained sight and immediately follows Jesus the rest of his days. We are like Zacchaeus who immediately wanted to give half his possessions to the poor and four times what he owed to anyone he cheated money out of. These are outward signs of a deep inward transformation. Penance leads to complete inner transformation. Scripture helps us better understand what that inner transformation entails. In his letter to the Romans, Paul advises, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (12:2) The transformation involves continuously seeking out the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect. We are transformed…reformed…made anew through repentance. As Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, “so if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (5:17) By repenting, our very beings are changed and more pleasing to God and other people. Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians, “And have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” (3:10)

Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus illustrated the full transformation that can occur through genuine repentance. Let us commit to seeking forgiveness from God and each other so that we, too, might be transformed and renewed. Let us seek to rebuild broken relationships and give thanks for healthy, life-giving relationships. Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.