Sermon: I Am Coming to Your House

The Power of Love: A Call to the Elders
Cynthia O’Brien

Luke 19
January 22, 2006

Kids’ song:

Zaccheus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.

He climbed up in the sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.

And as the Savior passed that way, He looked up in the tree

And He said, “Zaccheus, you come down!

For I’m going to your house today.”

The song makes you think that Zaccheus was a wee little man. But remember that’s only talking about his height. This was a tax collector. Not a cubicle dweller deep in the Internal Revenue service. This was a powerful man. This was a person people hated and were afraid of. Think organized crime in your neighborhood. Think about someone who coerced you into paying more than your share of taxes, so the collector could line his own pockets.

The way that tax collectors made their living was to collect their percentage over and above what Rome required. But many collectors went far beyond that. It was such a huge problem that in Luke Chapter 3, Luke records John the Baptist telling tax collectors not to collect more than they are supposed to.

If you were to ask any Jew of the day, “Who is a person who cannot be saved,” tax collectors would be high on the list. And if the tax collector is a sinner, then Zaccheus, as a Chief tax collector, would be the chief of sinners.

Just because of his job, Zaccheus is in a very serious spiritual condition. Worse than being paralyzed or blind.

Remember when the young man wouldn’t follow Jesus because Jesus told him to leave his wealth behind? In Luke 18:24,

²⁴ Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

If this is it, then the story of Zaccheus will go nowhere. But remember, Jesus says, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." I think the angel Gabriel said something like that, too.

This is going to be a story of spiritual healing. It will be a miracle.

Jesus is passing by, and Zaccheus has climbed up in a tree, an absurd position for someone of his status. And perhaps it’s because of this one act of interest – we won’t call it faith, maybe not more than curiosity – that Jesus steps toward him and says “Today I must go to your house.”

I’m going to put myself in Jesus’ shoes for a moment. If I am in a public place where people know me to be a minister, maybe I’m the speaker for an event or something, and someone seems interested in meeting me, I might shake his hand, but I am certainly not going to say, “I’m going to your house today.” But this was Jesus’ mission. “I MUST go. It was his divine mission to do it. It was urgent and it was exactly what Jesus planned to do.

Before long, Zaccheus has changed his life and joyfully planned to show the inward change by an outward action. In compliance with Jewish law, he planned to give back what he had wrongly taken, plus more. The law required restitution plus 20 percent for extortion (Leviticus 5:16 and Numbers 5:7) or a fourfold return for stealing sheep (Exodus 22:1)

The story ends happily, all on the same day, when Jesus says, “Today, salvation has come to this house.” It all happened in one day. Zaccheus showed some interest, Jesus invited himself over, Zaccheus changed his life and Jesus pronounced him saved. It’s a miracle.

There is a message in here for the elders, which we’ve talked about some already at Session, but it’s good for all of us to hear, because all of us in some way can apply these principles to our own lives.

How many of you are or have ever been elders?

Let me speak to the elders, as I spoke to the deacons last week. I want to elaborate some on your ordination vows.

As an elder, you are a Christian first, so many of the ordination vows were not hard for you to accept. You already try to do these things: trust in Jesus Christ, believe in God, accept the Scriptures, abide by the church’s rules, be a friend to those you are working with, to further the peace, unity and purity of the church..

When you became an elder, you reaffirmed all those things, in addition to accepting a job description that boils down to this: to watch over the people, provide for the people to worship, to see that they are nurtured in their faith, and to give them opportunities for service. You do this well.

I hope everyone is aware that we have a very fine Session, and the reason this church is so well run is not only because of our great staff but because of our thoughtful and hardworking Session. They understand their job in the church very well. They work with the staff to provide for your worship, nurture and service, and we are all continually working to improve on our service to you in those areas.

There is more to the call, though, if we examine several others of the ordination vows. Elders, think back to those vows you took, some of you just two weeks ago. You promised to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors and work for the reconciliation of the world. You promised to try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ. Your service as an elder goes beyond these walls.

The Jesus that you promised to follow is a very bold person. He spotted an interested person, Zaccheus, and he said, “Today I am coming to your house.”

Last week a friend invited me to attend the Gresham Chamber of Commerce after hours event. She knew I like to swing dance and they were having it over at Dy’s Diner where there’s live music. We went and had a really great time – this is much better than Rotary. The Chamber director invited me to come to the business meeting the next morning, Friday being my alleged day off, but I went at 7:30 to Old Chicago Pizza where there were 101 business leaders and a table full of breakfast pizzas and coffee.

More than one person said to me, “Today I am coming to your house.” Not exactly in those words. The man from the air and water purifying company gave me his card and told me that he wanted to come to the church and tell me about how he can purify the air in our nursery so no child will ever get sick. Then a chiropractor, after finding out I go to a different chiropractor, gave me her card and told me what a gentle technique she uses.

I’m not used to being around so many forceful salespeople, but I must have caught the spirit of the meeting, because I met a young man who has started a child care business in his home. When he mentioned his fiance, I asked him, “Do you know where you are going to get married?” He didn’t. I pulled out my business card and said, “Our church is right up the street, maybe we can do something for you.” He was concerned about the cost. I looked him right in the eye, and I said “You’d be surprised what we could do for you, very affordably. We help a lot of young couples.”

Jesus said, Today I must come to your house.

Two thousand years later, Christians are doing the same thing. I’ve had this book, “Presbyterians: A Spiritual Journey” for a couple of years, but I just read it this week, and I was inspired by the stories of people around our country who are stepping out in faith.

Story of Lori, a homemaker, and Louie, a heroin addict. (from the book Presbyterians: A Spiritual Journey)

Elders, you have a calling. To love your neighbors and work for the reconciliation of the world. God will give you opportunities. Watch for the man in the tree, because today might be the day of his salvation.