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Weekly Bible Notes and Worship Resources   Ordinary 31

Year C, Colour = Green


Church of the Good Shepherd, Jericho, Palestine. "Zacchaeus receives Jesus".

Introduction

Zacchaeus might have thought he was going looking for Jesus, but the end of the story makes it quite clear that Jesus was seeking Zacchaeus, the one who was lost. For his part, Zacchaeus wasn't just part of a large crowd, one of the idle curious. Crowds gather around superstars, both then and now. Paparazzi hound the rich and famous. But Luke says Zacchaeus had a different reason for being there that day he, "was seeking to see who Jesus was...." He is a model for seekers who don't get immediate satisfaction on their search, but who persist nevertheless. He is looking to see Jesus, and it turns out that Jesus was out looking for "what was lost" also.


Opening Verse of Scripture Psalm 119:1

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.

Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray

Merciful Lord, you have taught us through your Son that love is the fulfilling of the law. Grant that we may love you with our whole heart and our neighbours as ourselves; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

First Bible Reading Isaiah 1:10-18

Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation – I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. NRSV

Second Reading 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.This is evidence of the righteous judgement of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marvelled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfil by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. NRSV

Gospel Reading Luke 19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome Jesus. All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’ NRSV

Post Communion Prayer

Lord of heaven, in this eucharist you have brought us near to an innumerable company of angels and to the spirits of the saints made perfect: as in this food of our earthly pilgrimage we have shared their fellowship,
so may we come to share their joy in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. NRSV

Commentary

We all know the story, the man Zacchaeus who wanted to see Jesus and the crowd was large and not in the mood to let him through. It is worth thinking about it a bit more deeply than we did at Sunday School because there are some interesting things we can learn. The disciples in Chapter 18:26 asked Jesus ‘Who can be saved’?  They asked that question because the rich young ruler had come to Jesus and couldn’t bear to give up his possessions and left uncommitted. This story about Zacchaeus shows somebody who can be saved but there is a real contrast. The rich young ruler kept all of the commandments and everybody would have considered him a model of piety.  Zacchaeus was a tax collector and not just an ordinary one he was a ‘chief tax collector.’ He was a collaborator with the occupying forces of Rome who gathered taxes from his fellow Jews and paid them over to the Romans to fund their army which oppressed the people.  It isn’t difficult to see why he was an outsider and in contrast to the rich young ruler he would not have been considered to have a lot going for himself with God.

We are told that not only was Zacchaeus somebody who was disliked, he was also short. It was for this reason that he climbed the tree when he wanted to see Jesus. It is whilst he is in the tree that Jesus actually seeks him out and invites himself to the home of this sinner to stay. This was a big deal, going to the home of a person gave approval, it was an act of great significance. To be in a house as a guest and to share food and hospitality was an act of welcome and friendship. The response from everybody, which would have included of course the other disciples, was one of revulsion. Jesus sends away the self righteous rich ruler who obeyed all the commandments and instead he makes friends with the sinner who everybody hates. There is an interesting thought if we study the text as it was written in Greek before it was translated into English. In our translation Zacchaeus challenges the crowd and tells them

'Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’

However what Zacchaeus says is in the present tense not the future. Those of you who like grammar and languages will know the tense as present, the voice as active and the mood as indicative. That means Zacchaeus is talking about the current situation, not one in the future. It is better translated therefore as 

'I am giving half of my possessions to the poor’ 

In other words Zacchaeus says that whilst everybody thinks he is a horrible collaborator it is usual customary practice to give his money away to the poor. Correspondingly it is his custom to always give fourfold restitution, not just something he is going to do because he has Jesus coming to his house.

All of this might seem a bit radical because it changes the usual interpretation that a bad guy met Jesus and changed. However it does show how Jesus, unlike everybody else, might have seen in Zacchaeus somebody who was trying his best to share what he had generously, as opposed to the outwardly pious rich ruler who wanted to keep what he had to himself. The Gospel writer Luke is frequently through the Gospel shows that giving to the poor is a true sign of real righteousness, think as examples of these verses

'Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.'  Luke 6:30   

'Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.   Luke 12:33

Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;  18:22

We are all too frequently reminded by Jesus of the importance of looking at people with kind eyes. Too frequently we judge others, too quickly we jump to point at the sins of others and fail to see our own shortcomings. Jesus has time for the outcast, he is the friend of sinners and will share himself with them. Charles Royden

Meditation

Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, the film projector, and a storage battery. He improved the telephone, the telegraph and the gramophone (record player). Edison had only 3 months of formal schooling. Later in life he said: “I never used to be able to get along. I used to feel that the teachers did not sympathise with me, and that my father thought I was stupid.” He learned from his mother, and had an inquisitive mind which led him to explore and invent. When someone remarked how easy it must be for him to invent, he said: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration!”.

God our Father, may your Spirit be at work in my life so that I may transform into something positive whatever negative experiences I will face in life. If I have been done down or treated unfairly, lead me to be concerned about fairness and justice to others. If I have felt misunderstood, inspire me to listen to others and show genuine interest. If I have been left out of things, remind me to welcome and include others. If I have felt that I have experienced little support, show me how best to encourage others. If I have not felt really appreciated, lead me to be generous in valuing and thanking others. What I pray for today, Father, I also commit myself to work at.  Amen.

Hymns

  1. Be still
  2. Lord the light of your love
  3. Make me a channel
  4. The church of Christ in every age
  5. The kingdom of God
  6. Lord thy church on earth is seeking
  7. Stand up, stand up for Jesus
  8. How lovely on the mountains
  9. God is our strength and refuge
  10. Fight the good fight
  11. Christ is surely coming

 

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

representation of prayer as seed growing

Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian.
If it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die."

 

Glory to you, O Champion of all Loves, who for our sake endured the cross, encountered the enemy and tasted death. Glory be to you, O King of all Kings, who for our salvation wrestled with principalities and powers, subdued the forces of hell and won the greatest of all victories. To you be all praise, all glory and all love; now and for ever. Amen. Thomas Ken, 1637-1711

Lord, I bring the poverty of my soul to be transformed by your beauty; the wildness of my passions to be tamed by your love; the stubbornness of my will to be conformed by your commandments and the yearnings of my heart to be renewed by your grace; both now and for ever. Amen. Catherine of Genoa, 1447-1510

Eternal God, you have been our resting-place through the ages. Generations come and pass away, but you abide forever. We praise you for your presence among us. You bring us comfort amid our trials - clarity where confusion persists - peace in the midst of conflict - and hope of eternal life. Hear us now as we pray for your Church and the needs of the world, for you are the God of our lives. We pray for the Church of Jesus Christ; that, begun, maintained and promoted by the Holy Spirit, it may be true, engaging, glad, and active, doing your will. Let your church be always faithful, O God, and ready to promote the cause of compassionate love and peace

We pray that as Christian disciples we may be a faithful witness in word and deed to the Good News of Christ's Love. We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the word. We pray that everywhere upon this earth there may be justice and peace. We continue to pray for peace in the world, especially those involved in the fight against terrorism and those struggling to provide humanitarian aid. Lord, we pray for all people in their daily life and work - for our families, friends, and neighbours, and for those who are alone. We name before you individuals and families experiencing personal hardship or facing and uncertain future, those who are separated from loved ones, those who grieve this today, and those who are sick in hospital or ill at home. Hear us Lord as we now lift up those people and those situations you have placed upon our hearts.

May it please you, O Lord, to enlighten my heart with the fire of your love. I offer my hands to do your work, my lips to sing your praise and my life to proclaim your glory. Look upon my neighbours in their needs and guide me and bless me as I serve you in them; for Jesus' sake. Amen. Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179

May Jesus Christ, the King of glory, help us to make use of all the myrrh that God sends, and to offer him the true incense of our hearts; for his name's sake. Amen. Johannes Tauler, Germany, 1300-1361

 

Additional Resources

Meditation

Jesus using the phrase, this man, too, is a son of Abraham,’ could seem rather odd to the Jewish listeners, and even stranger to the Gentiles in the audience. But in using this phrase Jesus is pointing out that Zacchaeus is not a nobody, he’s a human being.  He’s also saying to the Jews that no Jew is more valuable to God than another, the Pharisee is no more valuable than the (chief) tax collector – all are equal in the sight of God.  Among his people Jesus would write no one off.  It was this basic tenet, permeating all of the Gospel of Luke, which underlies not just Jesus’ mission to the Jewish nation but extends it to His acceptance and invitation to the Gentiles to be part of God’s Kingdom. They, too, had to be included.  As Zacchaeus would find, God keeps an open table. Do we?
Sam Cappleman

Let us pray:
Lord, we give thanks for all that the earth has given in recent months, and we give thanks, too, for all the work of human hands. As the land lies fallow, at rest, remind us of our need to keep a healthy balance in our lives each day. Amen.

Commentary - Hope for Seekers

Things are not always what they seem! Commentary on Zacchaeus!
As the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus bid to Rome for the right to collect taxes. When Rome accepted his bid, Zacchaeus would then pay the taxes and tolls for his region in full. It was then up to him to recoup his money by collecting the taxes by the appropriate means and trying to make a profit if possible. This was often done through over-charging, cheating, charging interest, or other means. The tax collectors who collected these taxes, who would also take a cut for themselves, understandably therefore, gained a reputation for dishonesty and intimidation, especially as they had the might of the Roman Army behind them to help if necessary! However, whilst tax collecting might sound like a good number (nice work if you can get it), it appears that few tax collectors actually managed to recoup their bid and fewer still managed to make a profit. From what we can tell it would appear that Zacchaeus may be one of the few who did make a profit from this venture, although the phrase ‘and was wealthy’ might just mean that he had others (tax collectors) working for him as this was often a sign of wealth in the prevailing culture. But there’s no doubt that Jericho was a good place to be a tax collector. It was a prospering city with many rich people who were more than content to maintain the status quo with the Romans. It was an oasis of date palms and balsam groves and exported its products all over the known world. Mark Anthony presented Jericho as a gift to Cleopatra, with Arabia thrown in. It lay along the great caravan routes, and was a centre of commercial and human activity. It was, in short, a good place to collect taxes. The stakes would be high, but the rewards could be immense. Zacchaeus was therefore probably a rich, powerful and influential individual because of his position as the Chief Tax Collector and because of his position with the Roman forces, but because of his collusion with those forces, he was be despised by many people. By his very occupation many people would say that Zacchaeus had excluded himself from his people. He was a quisling who had thrown in his lot with the hated occupying power for the sake of pecuniary gain.

But the name Zacchaeus is an interesting name for Luke to use for a tax collector. The Hebrew word from which this name is formed means clean, pure, or innocent. So it would appear that Luke is writing a story about Mr Pure, Mr Innocent the Chief Tax Collector – how strange does that sound. But is it so strange? For example, one way of interpreting ‘here and now I give half my possessions to the poor’ is that this is something which Zacchaeus is already doing. If it was something that was precipitated by his encounter with Jesus then the language in the original text would probably have used a different (aorist) tense whereas the tense that is used (present) often describes something which is repeated customary practise. So perhaps giving to the poor was something Zacchaeus already did on a regular basis. And interestingly enough, Luke often uses the notion of giving alms to signify righteousness, a theme which he picks up in the closing verses of this passage. And we could say that Zacchaeus goes even further. Jewish law demanded that if someone cheated another they had to restore the original sum with 20% interest, Roman law that demanded fourfold restitution, and even then only from a convicted criminal. Zacchaeus therefore surpasses the Torah's requirements and meets the most stringent of terms in Roman law when he declares that if it’s found that he has cheated anyone, then he will compensate them.

So perhaps Luke is using this parable to emphasis Jesus’ teaching that we should treat people as individuals and not judge them on some preconceived notion of what we expect them to be. Even a Chief Tax collector, like a Pharisee, can be a ‘son of Abraham’. As Jesus and His disciples were moving towards Jericho Jesus has told the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector who went up to the temple to pray and comments that it was the tax collector who went home justified because of his actions and attitude. He’s also told the story of the rich young ruler who finds it so hard to enter the Kingdom of God because of his actions and attitude – the ruler is very wealthy and Jesus asks him to sell everything he has and to give to the poor. In Zacchaeus we see a tax collector who went home justified and a rich man who was able to give generously to the poor and who has entered the Kingdom of God as Abraham’s son. The passage is a reminder that Jesus looks for those who hear His word and put it into action, whatever their background; however they are perceived by society. It’s not just about listening to Jesus, as many of those who followed him around the country did on a regular basis; it’s about letting his teaching have an impact to change lives. Just as Isaiah condemns ritualistic piety without genuine actions so does Luke. The colours of scarlet and crimson were permanent colours, only God could change them back into pure white, as if they had never occurred. But in order for that to happen, Judah had to ensure their actions were commensurate with their words. Perhaps in the unlikely person of Zacchaeus we see an example of someone who does just that. Sam Cappleman

Meditation

On the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the throne passed to the son of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England. Uniting the two thrones would eventually lead to the joining of Scotland, England and Wales to form “Great Britain”. King James enforced some harsh anti-Catholic laws. A small group of Catholics conspired together in what is now known as the “Gunpowder Plot”. They placed 36 barrels of gunpowder in cellars underneath the House of Lords in the British Parliament. Guy Fawkes was to be the one who would light the fuse. It was intended that the explosion would kill the king and members of the Lords and Commons as they gathered for the State Opening of Parliament. One of the conspirators leaked details of the Plot, and Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellars. He was arrested, tortured and executed, along with the other conspirators. Parliament decreed that, from then on, bonfires should be lit each year on the 5th of November to celebrate the deliverance from the “Gunpowder Plot”. Nowadays a “guy” is often still burnt as a reminder of Guy Fawkes. In our own times, on the night before the State Opening of Parliament, there is a symbolic searching of the cellars of Parliament by the ceremonial ‘Yeomen of the Guard’, bearing lanterns.

Let us pray: God our Father, open our eyes to whatever may not be just and right in our own surroundings and in our society. Enable us to be of good influence and work in a non-violent way to promote understanding and better relationships that will lead to justice and peace. Amen.

Post Communion Prayer

God of all grace, your Son Jesus Christ fed the hungry with the bread of life and the word of his kingdom: renew your people with your heavenly grace and in all our weakness sustain us by your true and living bread; who is alive and reigns, now and for ever. Amen.