15th Sunday of Luke
Scripture: Luke 19:1-10
Nutshell
(1) Challenge
There’s a story about a Protestant Church that welcomed a new pastor. Since this pastor was unfamiliar to his new congregation, he decided to dress up as a homeless person to observe how he would be received. Unfortunately, he was poorly welcomed.
(2) Sin
The church’s attitude was that only respectable people belonged in the church with them. They had a tendency to judge those who were different from them, believing that someone had to be a repentant Christian before they were worthy of Christian love.
(3) What happens?
When this attitude prevails, we fail to recognize others with the humanity they deserve, risking God’s judgment of our actions. Most importantly, we fail to welcome Christ himself.
(4) Christ forges a new path
However, Christ doesn’t welcome us because we’ve repented. It’s because he has already welcomed us that we are prompted to repent.
(5) Longing satisfied
Today, we see this at work. When Christ asked to come to the home of Zacchaeus, showing him love, Zacchaeus was prompted to repent and began living in a new way.
(6) Visible evidence
With this new perspective, we know that we are loved and that Christ is inviting us to welcome him into our homes. This gives us the encouragement to turn our lives around and live up to our baptismal calling to be a new creation.
(7) What shall I do?
We can pay Christ’s welcome forward by recognizing God’s image in everyone we encounter. By showing them human dignity, we can invite Christ into their homes and change their lives forever.
Full Text
(1) Challenge
There’s a story about a church that once hired a new pastor. However, due to the way this church went through its hiring process, the new pastor was unknown to the congregation.
On his first day, the new pastor decided to try an experiment to get a sense of his new parishioners. He dressed up as a homeless man and sat in front of the church as parishioners showed up for the morning service.
One by one, he watched as they simply ignored him. Some even gave him dirty looks, disapproving of an unkempt, dirty, homeless man on their church property.
As the time for the service to begin drew near, the pastor got up and went inside the church. There, he wasn’t welcomed any better. The ushers quickly tried to usher him back outside, but he insisted that he was there to worship. So, they quietly seated him in a back, corner seat where he’d go unnoticed.
Finally, it was time for the service to begin. The president of the Parish Council stood up to welcome the congregation and make an introduction of the new pastor. After he finished, everyone started looking around, wondering where this new pastor was.
Slowly, the pastor, still dressed as a homeless man, stood up and started walking towards the pulpit. You could hear the whispers as he walked. As he ascended the steps, people’s faces turned to shock.
When he approached the microphone, he quoted Matthew 25, which we’ll hear in a few weeks.
“Then the king said to them, ‘For I was hungry and you did not give me food, I was thirsty and you did not give me a drink, I was homeless and you didn’t take me in, I was naked and you didn’t clothe me… Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me…'”
After this, he dismissed the church until next week.
(2) Sin
My understanding is that this story is fictional, though I do know that several mega-church pastors have tried this with some better results.
In the story, the people’s attitude was that only respectable folks belonged in the church with them. They had a tendency to judge those who were different from them.
It’s probably a part of our basic human nature to be more comfortable with people who look, think, and dress just like ourselves. In fact, Sunday morning is often called the most segregated time in America. And, statistically, the hardest groups to cohabit in the same church are not people of different races, but people of different economic classes.
So, it’s no surprise that the folks in our story didn’t want to help a homeless man sitting in front of their church.
Sometimes, it’s commonly believed that someone has to be a repentant Christian before they are worthy of Christian love. It’s the idea that God helps those who help themselves, and we try to justify this attitude by saying that no one wants to make a bad investment.
(3) What happens?
But, when this attitude prevails, we fail to recognize others with the humanity they deserve.
It isn’t just a core belief of our American belief system “… that all men are created equal,” it’s a part of our core beliefs as Christians.
Christ tells us that God cares for the bird and he will all the more care for us. He tells us that every hair on our heads is numbered.
When we forget this core value, we risk God’s judgment of our actions. But, most importantly, we fail to welcome Christ himself.
By failing to see the humanity in others, even our enemies, we leave Christ alone in the cold, hungry, and naked.
(4) Christ forges a new path
Despite common opinion, Christ doesn’t welcome us because we’ve repented, changed our ways, or asked for forgiveness.
Rather, it’s because Christ has already welcomed us that we are prompted to repent and walk in a new direction.
(5) Longing satisfied
Today, we see this at work.
Jesus entered Jericho, and as he passed a Sycamore tree, he noticed that there was a dishonest tax-collector named Zacchaeus sitting in the branches staring down at him.
What did Jesus do? Did he point out Zacchaeus’s dishonesty and chastise him for being an awful person? Did he explain how Zacchaeus was supporting the Romans who were brutally oppressing the Israelites?
In fact, we didn’t see him do any of this. Instead, we watched as Jesus stopped, looked up, and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
Of course, the crowds weren’t happy. This act of welcoming Zacchaeus and asking to be his guest made them uncomfortable. Perhaps, deep down, it makes you uncomfortable. How can Jesus welcome someone who is actively defrauding God’s people? “T’int right, t’int fair, t’int fit, t’int proper.”
Yet, this is how our Lord acts. And, by acting in this way, Zacchaeus was turned into a true believer, making amends to everyone he had cheated—four times over, in fact!
Jesus was able to see Zacchaeus as a person, which formed a relationship that changed Zacchaeus for the rest of his life. It saved him.
(6) Visible evidence
With this new perspective, we know that we are loved and that Christ is inviting us to welcome him into our homes… into our hearts.
And, this makes all the difference. This gives us the encouragement to turn our lives around and live up to our baptismal calling to be a new creation.
This is an important part of Orthodox theology. No one who is an individual can be saved. An individual, you see, is someone who stands by themselves.
However, a “person” can be saved. A person, unlike an individual, is someone who is face to face with someone else. A person is someone who is entered into a relationship with “the other.” In our case, we are persons because Christ meets us where we are. He’s willing to look into our eyes and see us as persons of dignity, persons worthy of love.
For me, knowing that Christ sees me prompts me to become my best. It prompts me to become more like Christ. To repent and, like Zacchaeus, start walking the path of light.
(7) What shall I do?
But what more can we do?
Well, we can pay Christ’s welcome forward by recognizing God’s image in everyone we encounter.
Maybe this is helping the homeless person in the street, but maybe it’s also giving your spouse more understanding when they’ve had a bad day. Maybe it’s taking time out of your schedule to spend time with your child. Maybe it’s doing something nice for that co-worker that’s always getting under your skin.
Recognizing other people’s humanity isn’t always easy, but it can be very rewarding. By showing others human dignity, we can also invite Christ into their homes and change their lives forever.
Amen.