Sermon Transcript: April 6, 2025
Our scripture reading today comes from Luke 18: 31-19: 10:
Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the gentiles, and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him, and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God, and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.
He 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 him, 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 him. 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.”
For the Word of God in scripture,
For the Word of God among us,
For the Word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.
***
They all want to see Jesus—the disciples, the blind man, Zacchaeus. They all want to see Jesus, but for each of them, something stands in the way.
The disciples do not understand his mission and why he must go to Jerusalem. Shouldn’t he just steer clear of the danger? Keep out of harm’s way? Live a long and prosperous life?
“Look,” Jesus says to them. But they do not understand. They cannot see the vision.
The blind man wants to see Jesus too. The crowd is in his way. He calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” But those around him tell him to pipe down. Jesus is too important for the likes of him. They try to push him further out.
But Jesus hears the commotion and finds the man.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asks the man.
“Lord, I want to see,” the man responds.
“Receive your sight,” Jesus says to him. “Your faith has saved you.”
And immediately, the man regains his sight and follows Jesus, glorifying God.
And last but not least, we have Zacchaeus. How many of you know the song? “Zacchaeus was a wee little man.” Tradition tells us that the tax collector was short. So, to see above the crowds, he had to climb a sycamore tree.
And that may well be true, but the word that Luke chooses has a double meaning. Yes, it means short, but it also means diminished. It is quite possible that Zacchaeus is tired and weary of being public enemy number one in town.
They all want to see Jesus, but something or someone stands in their way—blocks their vision.
And I wonder about us. What blocks our vision of Jesus? Of the love of God incarnate? What stands in our way of seeing God’s love in real, tangible ways?
Is it something in us—like the disciples? Or do others block our sight? Is it the state of the world? Injustice? Disaster? Disease?
All of these things—and so much more—can make it hard to see the love of God.
What is it for you? What blocks your sight?
And what are those things that help us to see Jesus? What renews our faith in God’s goodness and care for us? Are there trees that we can climb to get a better look?
You all are one of my trees. Getting to work and worship together, having fun and fellowship, celebrating baptisms, making music together, gathering around this table.
Because the truth is, life is hard. And the world is strange. And there is so much that blocks our sight.
I am so thankful to have a place like RPPC to help me see God and God’s love more clearly.
“It’s a world of magic and mystery,” writes Frederick Buechner, “of deep darkness and flickering starlight. It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too. It’s a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it’s hard to be sure who belongs to which side, because appearances are endlessly deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle ultimately goes to the good, and where in the long run, everybody—good and evil alike—becomes known by their true name.”
I’d like to say that I believe this every day, but the truth is, I don’t always see it.
Yet even on those days when I don’t see it, I trust that Jesus sees me—sees us—as we are, and loves us.
And that grace is enough. Because it’s God’s grace.
Amen.
