Zanny Zacchaeus

Who do you have in your life that makes others look at you weirdly? Who is YOUR outcast? Who is your person always in trouble? You were once that to someone. You need this person in your life to teach you some great things about God. Jesus once met up with someone like this, like everyday, yet I am specifically speaking of a man by the name of Zacchaeus. Here is how The Message shares that interaction:

“Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

“When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.’ Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, ‘What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?’

“Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, ‘Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.’

“Jesus said, ‘Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham!’”

Your Zacchaeus can be anyone, but they will always be someone that gets on your friends LAST nerve. They seem to have no social skills, or filters. They challenge everything that you think because they do not seem to listen, care or work toward something. They always come up short, are up a tree, or just do not fit in.

They are far from efficient and helpful. They cause us to see God in the midst of messiness. We, ourselves, are far from perfect so we have had someone bring us in when we were out in the cold. The interesting part of the relationship we have with God is that we need this personality to keep us grounded and focused in the grace that we get from God for our own lives. We need someone that stands out because they cause us to see the world from a different view. They cause us to see that love and life is not near as easy or clean as we want them to be.

The other thing that a Zacchaeus does in our life is teach us what it looks like and means to respond FULLY to God’s presence and promise. Did you notice how generous he responded? Giving HALF of everything he had and promising to restore to the maximum requirement anything he gained dishonestly? Why do you think we do not respond in such ways to those around us? Why do we hold back from the promises that such an embodiment brings?

This week remember you WERE Zacchaeus and you NEED a Zacchaeus. Go out and find one!

Blessings,
Pastor Greg

Jesus did not Speak English

You saw that title correctly. Jesus did not speak English. He spoke ARAMAIC. In fact, the title on his cross was not written in a language he used in daily life. Please be aware that the thoughts expressed herein are my PERSONAL thoughts. I have a favorite Quote that refocuses the ministry to which God has called me please read and listen with your heart to this:

“Jesus wasn’t crucified in a cathedral between 2 candles, but on a cross between 2 thieves; at a crossroad so cosmopolitan they wrote it in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek; the kind of place where cynics tell jokes, criminals curse, and soldiers gamble. And the righteous run! That's not just where he died, but why.”

George MacLeod shared that quote to say that Jesus came in to a messy world to redeem a messy people, people who are always coming from different places on their way to different places. Today I want focus your attention on the fact that Jesus’ title was in three languages, and NOT the one he spoke most his physical life. Notice that there is in that moment of deep depravity on the human spirit a sense of the binding together of the three prominent cultures present in Jerusalem. They could have written in Latin, but some would have missed the meaning, they could have done the same in Greek or Hebrew, but again the same thing. Even in that moment when God completed the work needed for redemption, there was an understanding in God’s enemies that communicating effectively was more important than communicating officially.

Nashville and Davidson County is in the middle of early voting on an English Only amendment to our charter. There are lot’s of practical reasons to defeat this – with us loosing up to $200 Million in funding for needed services just so that some people can throw their weight around, jobs lost due to corporations not appreciating this, to increased taxes because the $200 Million impacts us all. Yet, my primary goal today is to communicate to you what I feel the heart of God is in regards to this process.

God did not wake someone up one day and say I want English to be the only language used by the government of Nashville and Davidson County. No people with good intentions, but misdirected steps from outside our city came calling and funded this marvelous waste of money, and potential to cost millions more. They have not heard the voice of God or the Prophets in Scripture telling them that they are welcome the stranger, or alien, and treat them well – loving them as we love ourselves.

What I know about this amendment is that it is NOT about love. It is about fear and intolerance. Also, let’s be frank this mostly directed at the Hispanic communities and is being guided and focused by Older White Straight Men. It preys on the smallest of ideas and greatest of fears in people. I expect better of people, especially because God expects better of us.

This week I pray that you go vote in early voting. I pray that you stand on the welcome that God has given you. I pray that you look beyond fear to FAITH. But most of all I pray you remember that JESUS DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH!

Blessings,
Pastor Greg