What if, say, Judy Shoulak was traveling to acquire to play “ The Price is Right ” , what would the announcer state? ( Judy Shoulak, COME ON DOWN, you ‘re the following contestantaˆ¦ . ” )
I ca n’t state that I watched excessively much telecasting in the last twosome of months, but I was shocked to larn that Bob Barker is no longer the host of the Price is Right. Apparently he decided in 2007 that he had done it for long enough-35 years- and that at 83 he could retire. I turned the Television on one forenoon hoping to happen some distraction or another, and was surprised to detect that Drew Carey is now the host of The Price is Right.
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Those words, “ Come on downaˆ¦ ” have been associated with that show for every bit long as I can retrieve. But they could besides be words that Jesus spoke: “ Judy Shoulak, come on down-you ‘re the following host on the ‘showing cordial reception to strangers show ‘ . ”
How can you non love Zaccheus? He climbs a tree so that he can see Jesus when he comes to town.Did you learn that vocal in Sunday School?
Actually, a batch of people in Zaccheus ‘ twenty-four hours did n’t love Zaccheus. He was the main revenue enhancement aggregator. He made money off of others. If you think the US Treasury is bad for sucking revenue enhancement dollars out of you, be glad you did n’t hold to cover with the Roman residents of Jesus ‘ twenty-four hours! No 1 loved Zaccheus, even if there is a cunning Sunday School vocal about him.
Zacchaeus did non alteration because he was afraid ;
he changed because he was loved.
Jesus Christ loves us no less than he did Zacchaeus ;
are we smart plenty to come down and allow that love alteration us? ( Jeffrey M. Kemper )
And Zacchaeus came down from that tree, and he said,
“ What a better adult male I ‘ll be. I ‘ll give my money to the hapless.
What a better adult male I ‘ll be. What a better adult male I ‘ll be. ”
If I were projecting for a film about the narrative of Zacchaeus,
I would seek to acquire the histrion Danny DeVito to play Zacchaeus.
Short, plump, balding, slightly objectionable DeVito
would look the portion equilibrating himself in the lacewood tree,
as I ( playing the Lord, of class ) would come along,
topographic point him in his subdivision office,
and watch him wobble down the tree
in response to the call to remain at his house.
In his annoyance voice he would support
why Christ ( that ‘s me ) should eat at his house.
A
The strong imagination of the narrative
is non meant merely to titillate imaginativeness,
and offer a minute of colourful amusement,
but instead to name us to reflect on
A A A the nature of iniquitous humanity,
A A A the nature of transition,
A A A the nature of ever-embracing love of God.
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Let ‘s expression at the nature of iniquitous humanity.
While humanity is iniquitous –
each of us affected by original wickedness
and by the wickednesss we ourselves commit –
there is a flicker of self-respect that we have
merely because we have been created by God.
The handprint of God is still on us,
on every individual,
irrespective of the goodness or immorality we have committed.
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Zacchaeus did non mount that sycamore merely out of wonder,
but because that flicker of self-respect
was fanned by the Holy Spirit.
Unbeknownst to Zacchaeus,
he was non merely funny ;
he hungered to see Goodness base on balls by,
to hold a glance of God.
And that flicker took fire
and brought about transition.
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This brings us to the 2nd point for contemplation:
the nature of transition.
True transition is non rooted in fright ;
it is rooted in the realisation that we are loved
and that love is worth more than wickedness.
Zacchaeus was willing to lose everything of his past life
merely to hold the Lord stay with him,
non merely in his house,
but in his bosom, in his life,
when he promised
to refund quadruple anything he had extorted.
Our ain transition may non be as immediate Zacchaeus ‘ ,
but if we look at the Lord as the God who loves us –
who died for us while we were still evildoers,
as St. Paul tells us in his missive to the Romans –
if we reflect upon that world
more than fear the world of penalty,
we will happen a much Fuller transition
than what fright can convey approximately.
A
A
Zacchaeus did non alteration because he was afraid ;
he changed because he was loved.
Jesus Christ loves us no less than he did Zacchaeus ;
are we smart plenty to come down and allow that love alteration us?
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And, speech production of the love of Christ,
if brings us to the 3rd point I mentioned earlier:
the ever-embracing love of God.
We are ever happy that God has a broad embracing
when that broad embracing pulls us in from peripheries of Christian life,
where we have non been at our best,
or possibly even when we have been at our worst.
We are thankful for the forbearance of God
in leting us clip to turn in transition.
A
However, we are non ever happy with God ‘s broad embracing
when we are safely standing right before God
and that broad embracing is garnering in
other people on the peripheries
who are different than we,
people who are n’t yet the finished merchandise of Christian life.
We are non rather so patient with these Zacchaeuses
when they are caught up in the merciful embracing of God.
We are n’t so happy to see people
whose wickednesss are non the same as ours,
or who do non suit our description
of whom should be at table with the Lord.
It could be a Republican or a Democrat,
a broad or conservative,
a homosexual or transgender individual,
or a individual who has wronged us
who is mounting down from the tree to feed the Lord.
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Possibly we have to recognize
that God ‘s embracing does non hold holes to filtrate out
the people we want outside of it.
If God is encompassing us,
we have to accept all who are caught up with us.
Possibly transition is n’t merely needed by the Zacchaeuses
falling from the trees,
but by us,
for if we want to eat with the Lord,
we have to eat with evildoers
non of our ain liking.
A
Possibly Danny DeVito is n’t the best individual to play Zacchaeus ;
( and possibly I ‘m non the best individual to play Christ. )
Possibly we have to see ourselves as Zacchaeus,
and to see if we are the holier-than-thou
who do non desire a evildoer near us.
Possibly we need to see ourselves as Christ,
with an embracing broad plenty to accept anyone looking for the Lord.
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A© 2010 Jeffrey M. Kemper
