Sermon at Humboldt Christian Church

A lovely country church.  I do not know where this particular church is located,
but what a beautiful setting it is.

Today we drove down to Humboldt, NE to worship again with the congregation at the Humboldt Christian Church.  My friend Howard Blecha is the Pastor for the church and he was away at camp with the youth group so I provided pulpit supply for him.  I really enjoy visiting the church in Humboldt, they are just good people and a joy to celebrate the Lord with.  You know you are in God's Country when folks ask where is so and so and the answer is that they are out deer hunting.  Of course as a minister I think they should be in church, but as an old country boy at heart I can fully understand the allure of being out in God's creation waiting to harvest some of it's bounty.  God Bless them all.

The sermon was over Luke 19:1-10 and I throughly enjoyed preparing and delivering this sermon.  I did have a couple of senior moments when I couldn't think of a word that I had just said a moment before but that is just part of getting a bit longer in the tooth I suppose.  I chose to read this scripture from the 'Revised Standard Version' (RSV) translation, though almost all scholars prefer the 'New Revised Standard Version' (NRSV) I must confess that of all the translations I like the older RSV the best.  It seems to me to be the best blend of accuracy in the translation and eloquent language.  But than again when I am doing serious study I will compare multiple translations and when in doubt always default to the NRSV.

There are multiple messages in this bit of Lukan scripture (and the passage is entirely unique to Luke with no mention in any other Canonical writings) but the message I strove the hardest to convey was based on the meaning of Zacchaeus's name.  Zacchaeus in both Aramaic and Hebrew means 'clean' or 'pure'.  What a name for a Chief Tax Collector who collaborates with the Romans in domination of his people and considered a great sinner by his fellow Jews.  But the point is that 'Pure' is truly how God sees not only Zacchaeus the Chief Tax Collector and sinner, but how he sees all of us sinners.  God see's past the sin and to the heart of the sinner.  Where there resides in all of us a pure child of God, one who is lost (in the wrong place) not because we are damned but rather because we are not in the proper relationship with God.  I quoted C.S. Lewis in his famous quote that "The gates of Hell are locked from the inside."  Truly if we are lost (out of relationship with God) it is our own doing, as God looks past the sin, and seeks all of us, just as he was seeking Zacchaeus in this bit of scripture.

May you all be richly Blessed this week and may you all grow in your relationship with our Almighty God.

In His constant Care and Grace,

Roy

Jesus and Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10 (Revised Standard Version)

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchae′us; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchae′us, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchae′us stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”