Lectionary Thoughts – 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
The next preaching opportunity for me is on October 31st, and due to my schedule, I will need to get my sermon done by Wednesday next week, so I am starting to think about the texts early this time.
The texts for this week can be found here.
The church I am preaching at is celebrating Reformation Sunday that day, but the story of Zacchaeus is so rich with material that I am sticking with the lectionary readings for Ordinary 31.
Zacchaeus (I’ll be learning how to spell that really quick) is the short, rich, chief tax collector. And he had a need to see Jesus. He really wanted to see who this Jesus guy was. He wanted to see Jesus so badly that when he realized that his height disadvantage in the crowd was going to prevent it, he ran ahead of the crowd to climb that sycomore tree. Jesus sees him and calls him down and announces that he just HAS to stay with him that night. Zacchaeus climbs down and welcomes Jesus into his house – much to the grumbling of those who saw this, “there goes Jesus again, hanging out with those sinners and outcasts.”
As I sit with the story of Zacchaeus, I wonder if Zacchaeus’ yearning to see who Jesus was is similar to our yearning for something to believe in
-our search for meaning in our lives
-our need to try church out
-our hope to make sense of the world
Do those of us in the church make room for this kind of searching, yearning, seeking? Will we welcome the outcasts and provide a safe space to do this searching?
Or will we just grumble because those sinners are trying to come to church again?
