Luke 18:31–19:10
Well, friends, we are deep into the 40 days of Lent! In fact, next Sunday is Palm Sunday. For those that have given something up for the season of Lent, I hope that you are enjoying the freedom of knowing that whatever you gave up is something that you probably don’t need after all! If you did not give anything up, don’t feel bad about it, any day is a good day to let go of things that get in the way of your relationship with God, and the invitation is always there.There are, of course, those that have taken on a new discipline, such as a devotional practice or acts of kindness. I can tell you that Jessica Trahan, our campus minister over at the Wesley Campus Ministries, was overjoyed by the boxes of food that some of you have given as a part of your Lenten journey in support of the Campus Cupboard! We made a nice little video of it on Facebook for those that are interested.
For those who are new to the idea of “Lent” as a church thing, it is part of our preparation for the celebration of Easter. By preparation, I don’t just mean dying easter eggs, I mean preparing our souls to really receive what is being offered to us through faith in Christ. In case you are wondering why it takes 40 days to do that, it’s because we are following the example of Jesus, who wrestled with the forces of darkness in the wilderness for 40 days before he began his public ministry.
In our time of soul searching, we’ve been sharing some of the stories of the journey of Jesus as he went from Galilee through Samaria and on to Jerusalem. Today we have three stories that work together to prepare us not only for Easter, but also for the reality of our own experiences of transformation, restoration, and the expectation of God’s active presence in our lives today.
We start out with another prophecy of Jesus’ death and resurrection that Jesus shares with the 12 disciples, but of course, none of them get it. In fact, the texts say in verse 34 that they understood nothing because the meaning was hidden from them. Maybe it was hidden from them because it wasn’t the right time. Maybe it was because they were too wrapped up in their own expectations for the return of God’s Kingdom and their place in it. We don’t know. The text doesn’t say.
What we do know is that it happened on their way into Jerricho. You may recall that Jerricho is a famous place of conquest. We teach it to our children in song. “Joshua fought the battle of Jerricho, Jerricho. Joshua fought the battle of Jerricho, and the walls came tumblin’ down!”
Interestingly “Joshua” and “Jesus” have the same root form in Hebrew, and there are those even now who follow the way of Jesus who prefer to call him Yeshua to remind themselves and others of this connection. However you pronounce it, his name means “Justice.” Joshua brought justice for the people of Israel who wandered in the wilderness, in order to establish them as a nation and proclaim the God of Israel as the most high God.
No wonder so many were gathering with the expectation that Jesus might do the same! Each town that he entered began to share the stories of his teaching and healing and authority, and as he entered Jerricho there was a blind man crying out for mercy. Notice how, in verse 37 they call him “Jesus of Nazareth,” and yet the man calls him, “Jesus, Son of David.”
Nazareth was a bit of a backwater town. The idea that a messiah would come from Nazareth affirmed prophecies like Isaiah 53 that said that the Messiah would be someone “dispised...and of low esteem.” Pick a town that’s falling apart or has little to no industry. It would be like saying the next President of the United States came from that town – which might not be so bad, but it’s not what we would expect.
The Blind Man only confirmed what the crowd was shouting, yet they tried to silence him all the more. They didn’t want him to get in the way of their view of this strange oddity of a man that some were saying was the messiah of God. The Blind Man was no fool. Calling him “Son of David” was a call back to his birth in Bethlehem, and it was the language of empire, even though crushing the grip of the Roman Empire is what Mary sang out about at his birth. Throughout his life, he resisted the call to replace one empire with another.
Just previously in Luke 17:20,21, he told the Pharisees that, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” Of course, some in the crowd might also have seen Jesus tell the rich young ruler in 18:22 “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Call him what you will, this man spoke with authority, and people were listening. So the Blind Man called out all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy!” Then Jesus responded. “What do you want me to do?” The man said, “Let me see.” Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” and all praised God for the blind man’s sight.
It was the same in Luke 17 when ten Lepers came to Jesus and only one, a Samaritan, stopped to give thanks. The difference here is that the Lepers were sent to the Priests to demonstrate the fact that the power of God was not theirs to control. The Samaritan’s faith was a reminder to all of the breadth of God’s love, but in this case, the Blind Man’s faith was more about the fact that God listens to our cries.
We may not always get the answer that we want, but God listens, and God answers. It’s not that God is so narcissistic or sadistic that God needs to hear us beg. It’s more that we need to know that God is listening. We need to be able to name our needs or else we’ll just be stuck with it, no matter what. The other thing that matters is that people heard it, and people saw it. Sometimes the most important thing we can do as followers of Jesus is to be as public about our need as we are when we act compassionately in Jesus’ name.
When we deliver meals to the elderly; when we establish space for our community to grieve; when we act in partnership with the Wesley or Family Promise or Catholic Charities or PDA or any of the other community partners that we support and interact with; those actions are a public witness to what we believe God is doing in our midst. I’m not saying that we glorify ourselves. I’m saying that we glorify God in the interactions that we share and the relationships that we maintain. Our public witness matters, particularly for those who cry out for mercy.
Speaking of which, it doesn’t get much more public than old Zacchaeus, who happens to be climbing a tree while all this is going on. He took a big risk climbing that tree. He may not have been a crowd favorite, but he was a man of wealth and power. The text says that he was a “Chief Tax Collector.” He wasn’t just part of the system of oppression. He was in charge of it. Rome didn’t care if the people were overcharged as long as they got the tax they expected. Tax collectors were notorious for weighted scales and added fees, and the one person who got a cut from everyone was Zacchaeus.
I kind of wonder if he was the only one in a tree. I can’t help but think of it being a little comical. I like to think that people were yelling at him to come down. Maybe they were offended by his expectation that he should be able to see better than others.
However it worked out, he caught Jesus’ eye, and he called him by name and invited himself to dinner at Zacchaeus’ house. I like to think that the crowd all gasped at once as they begrudgingly made way for Zacchaeus. Maybe he even fell out of the tree and dusted himself off. Then he does the most amazing thing! In verses 9-10 He says, “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.”
I can’t tell you why Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler to sell everything and then was ok with Zacchaeus only giving away half. My guess is that the Ruler thought he could love his neighbor as himself without sacrificing anything. What I know is that Zacchaeus was not only making a personal sacrifice, he was reforming a broken system in a way that could restore those who had been harmed by it.
Jesus saw that, because of his faith, Zacchaeus had become vulnerable, which created space for him to be transformed, which led to only to his restoration but also the restoration of others. His actions led to a change in the way he functioned in society, which led to a change in the lives of others as well, and it happened in a way that glorified God.
Here’s what this all comes down to. Vulnerability before God brings transformation, leads to restoration, and creates an expectation that God is active and present and in our midst.
The question for you and me is, do we want that? Do you feel that you need any of that? I believe that we do, maybe now more than ever as we transition into a life lived with the reality of COVID 19 as an endemic disease. There are, of course, more social ills than we can shake a stick at. There may be some political solutions that can help, but what we don’t need is the language of the empire. Instead, we need the expectation of God’s active presence.
I think that sense of expectation is why I like having butterflies to release at Easter. It also reminds me of a book my mom shared with me years ago called “Hope for the Flowers”. It’s the story of two caterpillars trying to climb to the top of their pile of caterpillars until one of them decides to try something new. She spins her cocoon and emerges as a butterfly, then she goes to find her friend to tell him all the wonderful things she has seen. It ends with the other caterpillar trying to decide what to do.
So it is with me and you, as we prepare our hearts and minds and very selves for the confrontation that comes from seeing Jesus face to face. Maybe he will come to you in the face of a person whose home is outside, or someone who is homebound, or someone who invites you to express faith in some new way that you have never even considered.
Or, maybe you yourself are crying out in need. Please know that God is near. Please know that God is calling each of us in our own way toward transformation, restoration, and the expectation that God is active and present and as close as your next breath. At least I pray it may be so with me, and with you, and to God be the glory. Now and always. Amen!
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