Each
of the readings this week proclaim that Salvation/Redemption has already
happened. It is accomplished…well, mostly. We have been redeemed but
that in and of itself isn’t a reason to universally celebrate. We still have to
be the people we are called to be.
Today, as in every moment in the history of
Creation, we live in an uneasy world, filled with turmoil, fear, displacement ~
war in many different destructive and trauma producing guises. Some of us are living
in better conditions than others of us living in the same city or town or state
or country. Yet, for those of us not willingly oblivious, merely paying attention
to the news can be nearly hazardous to one’s health.
Isaiah
is filled with hope and promise for the salvation given by God for the remnant
of Israel and then extended to the entire world. The Psalmist tells us that God’s
saving care is for humans and animals alike and we woman-born take
shelter in the shadow of God’s wings. And Titus says the grace of
God, Jesus, brings salvation to everyone. By instructing us all in the ways
to live the life we have been given, we can then wait for the blessed hope
of Jesus’s return.
But it is in this passage that Luke’s Gospel
also provides hope. Good old Zaccheus, a short tax collector made wealthy perhaps
by fraud or abuse of some kind, likely one who made threats, pulled in the
Roman bullies to carry out threats with their brutal weapons of empire. And
yet, Jesus calls to him and Zaccheus is thrilled to be singled out and immediately
tells Jesus what he will do to make things right. And those righteous
upstanding holy scribes and pharisees, all too happy to gossip, not
about the evil doings of Zaccheus, but the nerve of Jesus who invites himself to
be a guest of Zaccheus. Oh, we humans! It seems to be more satisfying to point fingers
with others at others in order to be assured of our own hypocrisy and pretense
of personal piety.
But then, as now, tragically, grief is all
too common in this human living. Whether personally experienced or by
observation there seems to be an exponentially growing tolerance of violence, the
evils and proliferation of the multiplicity of -isms that transfix and divide
us, and the haves exponentially increasing their having, while the least among
us sink deeper into having ever less than before. Yet Jesus has been clear in
the Sermon on the Mount* and elsewhere, that the
least among us will come before us.
We are each guilty of sin by commission and
by omission. We each have our faults and our virtues. Then comes a moment of delight. Those pillars
of their community, having a gossip-fest over Jesus inviting himself to the
house of that sinner, Zaccheus! (ok, is my delight about that a sin or
just a fault?) Meanwhile, the truly Good News is that as Jesus knows our
hearts even THAT guy is redeemed. No one is beyond the Grace of God when all we
need to do is to willingly turn toward the blessings that await us. Many of us
will turn toward that hope and blessing many times as we trip, fall, and get up
again.
LET US, GOD’S
PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Holy and Faithful
God, create in us upright hearts that drink from your fountain of life. As we find
your light within us, embolden us to radiate that light to the world around us
in our thoughts, words, and actions.
O Incomparable
One
RESPONSE: Shelter us in the
shadow of your wings
~ Holy
and Faithful God, renew a
right spirit within us all, especially those who govern on this Earth, in this
Nation, and in this Community. Turn us to ways to care for all who are lost in
poverty, the fear and deprivations of war, racism, homelessness, hunger, contagious
disease, and more. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Incomparable One
Shelter us in the shadow of your wings
~ Holy
and Faithful God, embrace those anguished by illness,
uncertainty of treatment, or anxiety for loved ones, and give ease and healing
to all. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own
petitions
O Incomparable One
Shelter us in the shadow of your wings
~ Holy
and Faithful God, as we send our own ahead to You, comfort
our hearts to feel and hear the joyful noise of all who abide in Your eternal
bliss, until we join your eternal feast. We pray especially for: add
your own petitions
O Incomparable One
Shelter us in the shadow of your wings
~ Holy and Faithful
God, we pause in
this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions
O Incomparable One
Shelter us in the shadow of your wings
~ Holy
and Faithful God, amplify the faith of those chosen and anointed
to shoulder the responsibilities of leading, instructing, and bringing Christ into
our everyday lives, within and beyond our Sunday worship. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
O Incomparable One
Shelter us in the shadow of your wings
The Celebrant adds: Maker of All, seen and unseen, guide us on our
path so that you may judge us faithful in all that we do to bring honor and
glory to Your Name. Restore our willingness to hear and accept your call to
seek our soul’s fortune only in You, through seeking and serving Christ’s
Presence in ourselves and in every human face we meet. We ask through Jesus, God’s
own Saving Grace; and the Holy Spirit, our Sustainer; who together with you
reign as our One True God, forever and ever. Amen.
*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The
Rev. Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar, and the Right Rev.
Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth,
Texas. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr
C, and others in her series, and translator of its biblical selections. I
definitely commend her book for the complete readings, to Clergy and Laity, for
her Text Notes, and “Preaching Prompts” whether or not you will use them in
your Liturgies/Services/Preaching. There is much to learn from her work to
inform every facet of our lives in Christ. To learn more about her and
her work, see her website: https://www.wilgafney.com/
*The NAZI Party rewrote The Sermon on the Mount. Click link for a
research article and the text of the Sermon: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356119414_The_Sermon_on_the_Mount_and_Christian_Ethics_in_the_Nazi_Bible
