| No Matter What God Loves Me |
"No Matter What"
No Matter What: God Loves Me
Luke 19:1-10
September 23, 2007
Moving to a different town and a different church has been good for my
spiritual journey. It has caused me to reflect in some new ways. Caused
me to reflect in some new ways regarding what this faith thing is about...
what God is about. Life patterns change. Habits are upset. I am moved
out of my comfort zone and all of a sudden I no longer have that intimate
edge with God that I thought I had.
The move to DeWitt has caused me to reflect in a new way on the
basics of my faith. While I have been trying to understand what God
might me saying to all of you I’ve also been listening more intently... and
intentionally... on God’s interaction with me.
If, to overuse a phrase, “the applecart was upset” by a move to a new
place what then is the learning for me and what are the basics I carry
with me wherever I might go? So I’ve been exploring the question: “What
do I understand about God no matter what?”
What is my understanding of God... my experience of God that will shine
through no matter what? Frankly, if I can hone in on the basics... If I can
articulate the essentials... If I can share with you my perception of whom
God is “no matter what”... Then, it won’t matter if life patterns change or
habits are upset. It won’t matter where I live or who I encounter along the
way because no matter what this is the essential God for me.
So... for the next four Sundays I am going to explore with you the “No
Matter What’s” that exist for me. No matter what occurs in my life, if I can
remember these basics, I believe my life will be full and I will be
victorious over any obstacle I encounter. So… here they are:
No Matter What: God Loves Me
No Matter What: God Seeks Me
No Matter What: God Gives Me Another Chance
No Matter What: God Works Through Me
No matter what: God loves me. How do I know? A very short person
reminded me. His name was Zaccheaus.
Zaccheaus was not loved by anyone: he had been convinced of that. It
was a conviction strengthened by those around him. It had been drilled
into him through the years by the negative, even vicious attitudes and
perceptions of others.
He was a tax collector, and in his world, in his time, that meant he was
corrupt. According to the religious folks, he was a person to be avoided
if you wanted to be closer to God. He was considered to be in that
crowd of people known as the unclean because he handled money…
And, he was small.
So small he couldn't get through the crowd to see Jesus when Jesus
came through town with his revival roadshow. Every time he tried to
move toward the front to see the parade others put their elbows in his
eye or on his shoulders - without even noticing what they did. And when
they noticed it, because he yelled in pain, they just looked down at him
and said, "What are you doing here anyway? This is no place for you."
And they would push him again - to the outside of the circle people were
forming around Jesus. Nothing new for Zaccheus, he was used to being
the outsider, part of the unwanted.
Zaccheus finally gave up trying to see Jesus through the crowd, and then
like a young boy he shinnied up a tree - an extraordinary activity for a
rich man like him - and he sat down, next to some birds, on a branch, in
between heaven and earth.
Jesus and the crowd milling around him arrived under the tree. Jesus
stopped and looked up at that ridiculous sight. The others looked up
too. They were embarrassed. Embarrassed that such a celebrity
should have to witness such a no good as this tax collector. And while
the crowd was blushing Jesus said, "Zaccheus, come down quickly. I
need to be your guest."
Hear that? Jesus said, "I need to be your guest!" And Zaccheus was
knocked out of his tree.
The embarrassed, pink-tinged blushing faces of the good folk turned to
red, as angry voices began to murmur: "How can he do a thing like
that? Doesn't he know that the man is no good? Doesn't he know that
the food on his table is stolen from our tables? Doesn't Jesus know the
drinks in that man's cellar are, so to speak, our sweat and our blood?"
They all said that Zaccheus was a sinner, and Jesus agreed. There was
no doubt about it, Zaccheus was a sinner… but then, aren’t we all?
They also all said that Zaccheus was no good, but that’s where Jesus
disagreed.
Zaccheus was a sinner; his ethical life might be no good, his morals
might be lousy, his decisions in life could very well be wrong, his
relationships possibly defective, but to say that he was no good at all
was impossible for Jesus to accept. You see...Jesus, knew that
Zaccheus had been created by God.
There was goodness in Zaccheus that nobody would be able to take
away; there was goodness in Zaccheus that was placed there by God,
our Creator. Doesn't it say in Genesis that God created humankind and
saw that it was very good? In the Apocrypha... in the book of Wisdom…
speaking about God… it says, "You love all that exists; you hate nothing
of what you have created, because if you had hated it you would not
have created it. You, lover of life."
It is this love that will never be undone; it is this love that Jesus came to
reveal in Zaccheus... and through this love I am reminded by a very short
person’s experience of Jesus that, no matter what, God loves me.
It sometimes takes being knocked out of our trees, surprised by
someone else's acceptance, before we can begin to accept ourselves.
There have been times in my life when I have felt a little short. Times
when I have felt elbowed by the crowd; shoved out of the inner circle by
some who have made me feel as if I were not good enough. Too much
of our world is based on jostling for position. Too much of our world is
based on a need to be in the front row as the procession goes by...
often without regard for the Zaccheuses or the Chucks of the world.
Yet, Jesus came to help me understand that the world’s message is
wrong. What really counts is that no matter what, God loves me! God
knows the pain and the frustration of feeling unacceptable in an un-
accepting world. In fact, God has had first hand experience through the
persecution and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. God wants me to hear loud
and clear that there is an unquenchable goodness that was created in
me. God wants me to understand that I was created in the very image of
God.
Now, lest you think that I am a very selfish person or lest you think
Zaccheus and I are anomalies.... God loves you too... No matter what.
God loves you... no matter what. Accepts you... no matter what. Needs to
be your guest… no matter what. How is that for good news that can
knock you out of your tree? Faith basic number one - No Matter What:
God Loves Us. AMEN.
No Matter What: God Loves Me
Luke 19:1-10
September 23, 2007
Moving to a different town and a different church has been good for my
spiritual journey. It has caused me to reflect in some new ways. Caused
me to reflect in some new ways regarding what this faith thing is about...
what God is about. Life patterns change. Habits are upset. I am moved
out of my comfort zone and all of a sudden I no longer have that intimate
edge with God that I thought I had.
The move to DeWitt has caused me to reflect in a new way on the
basics of my faith. While I have been trying to understand what God
might me saying to all of you I’ve also been listening more intently... and
intentionally... on God’s interaction with me.
If, to overuse a phrase, “the applecart was upset” by a move to a new
place what then is the learning for me and what are the basics I carry
with me wherever I might go? So I’ve been exploring the question: “What
do I understand about God no matter what?”
What is my understanding of God... my experience of God that will shine
through no matter what? Frankly, if I can hone in on the basics... If I can
articulate the essentials... If I can share with you my perception of whom
God is “no matter what”... Then, it won’t matter if life patterns change or
habits are upset. It won’t matter where I live or who I encounter along the
way because no matter what this is the essential God for me.
So... for the next four Sundays I am going to explore with you the “No
Matter What’s” that exist for me. No matter what occurs in my life, if I can
remember these basics, I believe my life will be full and I will be
victorious over any obstacle I encounter. So… here they are:
No Matter What: God Loves Me
No Matter What: God Seeks Me
No Matter What: God Gives Me Another Chance
No Matter What: God Works Through Me
No matter what: God loves me. How do I know? A very short person
reminded me. His name was Zaccheaus.
Zaccheaus was not loved by anyone: he had been convinced of that. It
was a conviction strengthened by those around him. It had been drilled
into him through the years by the negative, even vicious attitudes and
perceptions of others.
He was a tax collector, and in his world, in his time, that meant he was
corrupt. According to the religious folks, he was a person to be avoided
if you wanted to be closer to God. He was considered to be in that
crowd of people known as the unclean because he handled money…
And, he was small.
So small he couldn't get through the crowd to see Jesus when Jesus
came through town with his revival roadshow. Every time he tried to
move toward the front to see the parade others put their elbows in his
eye or on his shoulders - without even noticing what they did. And when
they noticed it, because he yelled in pain, they just looked down at him
and said, "What are you doing here anyway? This is no place for you."
And they would push him again - to the outside of the circle people were
forming around Jesus. Nothing new for Zaccheus, he was used to being
the outsider, part of the unwanted.
Zaccheus finally gave up trying to see Jesus through the crowd, and then
like a young boy he shinnied up a tree - an extraordinary activity for a
rich man like him - and he sat down, next to some birds, on a branch, in
between heaven and earth.
Jesus and the crowd milling around him arrived under the tree. Jesus
stopped and looked up at that ridiculous sight. The others looked up
too. They were embarrassed. Embarrassed that such a celebrity
should have to witness such a no good as this tax collector. And while
the crowd was blushing Jesus said, "Zaccheus, come down quickly. I
need to be your guest."
Hear that? Jesus said, "I need to be your guest!" And Zaccheus was
knocked out of his tree.
The embarrassed, pink-tinged blushing faces of the good folk turned to
red, as angry voices began to murmur: "How can he do a thing like
that? Doesn't he know that the man is no good? Doesn't he know that
the food on his table is stolen from our tables? Doesn't Jesus know the
drinks in that man's cellar are, so to speak, our sweat and our blood?"
They all said that Zaccheus was a sinner, and Jesus agreed. There was
no doubt about it, Zaccheus was a sinner… but then, aren’t we all?
They also all said that Zaccheus was no good, but that’s where Jesus
disagreed.
Zaccheus was a sinner; his ethical life might be no good, his morals
might be lousy, his decisions in life could very well be wrong, his
relationships possibly defective, but to say that he was no good at all
was impossible for Jesus to accept. You see...Jesus, knew that
Zaccheus had been created by God.
There was goodness in Zaccheus that nobody would be able to take
away; there was goodness in Zaccheus that was placed there by God,
our Creator. Doesn't it say in Genesis that God created humankind and
saw that it was very good? In the Apocrypha... in the book of Wisdom…
speaking about God… it says, "You love all that exists; you hate nothing
of what you have created, because if you had hated it you would not
have created it. You, lover of life."
It is this love that will never be undone; it is this love that Jesus came to
reveal in Zaccheus... and through this love I am reminded by a very short
person’s experience of Jesus that, no matter what, God loves me.
It sometimes takes being knocked out of our trees, surprised by
someone else's acceptance, before we can begin to accept ourselves.
There have been times in my life when I have felt a little short. Times
when I have felt elbowed by the crowd; shoved out of the inner circle by
some who have made me feel as if I were not good enough. Too much
of our world is based on jostling for position. Too much of our world is
based on a need to be in the front row as the procession goes by...
often without regard for the Zaccheuses or the Chucks of the world.
Yet, Jesus came to help me understand that the world’s message is
wrong. What really counts is that no matter what, God loves me! God
knows the pain and the frustration of feeling unacceptable in an un-
accepting world. In fact, God has had first hand experience through the
persecution and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. God wants me to hear loud
and clear that there is an unquenchable goodness that was created in
me. God wants me to understand that I was created in the very image of
God.
Now, lest you think that I am a very selfish person or lest you think
Zaccheus and I are anomalies.... God loves you too... No matter what.
God loves you... no matter what. Accepts you... no matter what. Needs to
be your guest… no matter what. How is that for good news that can
knock you out of your tree? Faith basic number one - No Matter What:
God Loves Us. AMEN.
DeWitt United Methodist Church
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