A Fresh Start

Today's scripture is from Luke 19:1-10. As Jesus continues on the road to Jerusalem, teaching and healing as he goes, he comes to Jericho. There a crowd gathers to see him. In that crowd is a man named Zacchaeus. The scripture says that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, and very wealthy. Zacchaeus was also short so, in order to see Jesus, he had to climb a tree. Jesus sees Zacchaeus sitting in the midst of the foliage and calls him out. Jesus tells him that he's coming over to Zacchaeus' house to spend the night. The crowd gets very upset because Zacchaeus made his living by cheating them, by collecting more taxes than the people really owed. They are angry that Jesus is spending his time with the likes of him. But Zacchaeus has a conversion experience due to his encounter with Jesus. He publicly promises to give half of what he owns to the poor, and to pay back 4 times as much to the people he's cheated.
So...who is Zacchaeus today? The bailed-out bankers? The Wall Street weasels? The ponzi-scheme practitioners? Do we think they deserve a fresh start? The crowds around Jesus didn't think Zacchaeus merited Jesus' attention, yet it was Jesus' attention that turned Zacchaeus' life around...and had great positive impact on the lives of those in his community.
The last verse of this scripture says, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Are there ways in which you are lost in your life? You may not be unscrupulously wealthy like Zacchaeus, but there are many other ways of being lost. The story of Zacchaeus tells us that, no matter how lost you are, or how you are lost, Jesus is looking for you. Jesus can find you even if you're hiding up in a tree, or down in your basement, or deep in a bottle. And Jesus offers what we all need most: a fresh start. A chance to wipe the slate clean, to make amends and to have all be forgiven, to go forward into a new life with Jesus as our guide. Will you take Jesus up on his offer? Will you welcome him into your home? Will you stop lying and cheating your way through life and get honest with yourself, with others, and with Jesus about what your true priorities are? Will you, like Zacchaeus, be willing to change your priorities? If the answer is "yes", then you have already received your fresh start. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Jesus Christ.

God's Pledge

This Sunday's scripture lesson will be from the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 31, verses 27-34. Jeremiah criticizes the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem for being unfaithful to God. He predicts that God will judge the people with a painful future. But once the people are suffering, Jeremiah speaks words of comfort, healing and restoration from God to the people of Judah. These verses from chapter 31, especially verses 31-34, are God's pledge to God's people. God pledges to make a new covenant with the people, a covenant in which God's law will be written in their hearts.
Questions for reflection: Have you ever experienced a time of "exile", a time in which you felt, and lived your life, far away from God, a time when you were unfaithful to God? What was that time like? What does it mean to have God's law written on your heart? How is this different from learning God's law by reading the Bible, going to church, discussing your faith with your Christian friends? Why does God pledge to write the law on our hearts? Is it possible to be unfaithful to what is in the very core of our hearts? What does it mean to you to return from exile, to "come home to the Lord"?

Through the Eyes of A Child

This Sunday will be our annual Children's Sunday. Karen Golden, our Director of Educational Ministries for Children and Youth, will be preaching. Her scripture text is: Mark 10:13-16: The Little Children and Jesus. Our children and youth will help to lead worship.
Questions for reflection: Do you remember what it was like to see life through the eyes of a child? How was it different from the way in which you see life now? What does it mean to have the faith of a child? What is the difference between a "childish" faith and a "childlike" faith? To which does Jesus call us in this scripture? Reflect and pray on this statement from Karen's message: "Whether we are children or were once children, we are all children of God."