As someone with a civil engineering education I’ve always been proud of the little joke where the engineer says, “God made the earth from chaos in seven days, so engineering must be the first profession.” But a politician replied. “No, politics was the first profession. Who do you think made the chaos in the first place?”
The world may seem like chaos; even without the assistance of politicians. Natural disasters, societal shifts, scientific developments, and yes, even mistakes made by engineers can all make life unpredictable. It can be hard to know where the world is going. In the last several months I’ve heard many people ask, “Where will we be ten years from now?” Or even, “…three years from now?” But it is hard to know. Many things we took for granted are now up in the air. That goes for more than just our current national politics. The entire world order that was established in the years after World War 2, and then adjusted with the end of the Cold War, is unraveling.
Anxiety is high throughout the world. That is understandable. Perhaps something that we need to accept is that the stability that most of us grew up having, and thinking should be the norm for human life, turns out to be the exception. For most of human history life has been highly unstable for just about everybody.
If I can I’m going to take some engineering liberties in interpreting the gospel of Matthew. In a way, Matthew writes like an engineer who is trying to bring order to chaos.
Last week we read the very beginning of Matthew. It was the genealogy of Jesus. That’s a good and orderly way to start a story and introduce the main character- tell us where the main character comes from. Like any good engineer, Matthew likes to show that things are orderly. You may remember that the genealogy was broken into three sets of fourteen generations: Fourteen generations between Abraham and David. Fourteen generations from King David to the deportation to Babylon. And fourteen generations from the deportation to Jesus.
Unfortunately for my claim that Matthew is like an engineer, Matthew doesn’t actually list fourteen generations each time. He only lists 13 generations one of those times. Apparently, his counting gets a little shaky once he runs out of fingers! So I guess he wouldn’t make a great engineer. Still though, we get the idea. History, and God’s interactions with it, are orderly.
At the risk of dwelling too much on what you covered last week, there is another thing that must be admitted about that genealogy. It has basically zero chance of being historically accurate. Other parts of Matthew’s gospel do ring true to history. The genealogy, however, is unverifiable.
But that’s actually noteworthy. Many of the people Matthew lists are obscure. They don’t show up anywhere else in history. Nevertheless, even though they are not noteworthy people, God was steadily and consistently working through them to bring about the great acts of salvation by Jesus. So, let’s not expect God to work through big and powerful people or ways that appear big and powerful. And let’s not discount our own importance in God’s plans just because we don’t feel extraordinary.
That takes us to what we read today. We meet Mary and Joseph. Neither were people of any consequence whatsoever. They were just ordinary Joe and Mary. Like most Jews of the time, their lives weren’t stable. We remember that the Jews lived at the extreme eastern edge of the Roman Empire. If you go just a bit father east you enter the vast and powerful Parthian Empire. At the time of Jesus’ birth the Parthians were on the decline a bit, but they were still about equal to Rome in size and power. Jewish territory was a bit of a buffer zone between the two great empires. So, it wasn’t exactly a safe and stable place to call home.
Next week we’re going to read about wise men coming from the east. They are, of course, Parthians. So, what happens when visitors from the rival empire next door come to pay homage to a supposedly newborn king? The birth of Jesus starts having implications for international politics. We’ll talk about that more next week, but you know the story. Jesus and his parents flee. They flee farther west into the Roman empire. But many who stay will be killed. Such is the chaotic world in which they lived.
Joseph’s life becomes even more chaotic when he discovers that Mary is pregnant. Given that a betrothal was considered to be an equal commitment to the marriage, the community would not have been shocked that she was pregnant. Joseph, of course, knows a thing or two about the birds and the bees. There’s no way this story adds up! How could he possibly form a solid marriage with a woman who is so obviously unfaith and untrustworthy? If he continued his life would almost surely be unstable at best, and probably have a very troublesome home life.
We’re told that an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and lays out the truth to him. That gives him the validation he needs about Mary and so he keeps the engagement. So, from Joseph’s point of view, the problem is solved. The story can continue on happily. However, for us the idea of dreams and angels and immaculate conceptions may stretch our sense of reality. They certainly don’t meet the burden of proof an engineer would want before designing something! But offering historical and statistically verifiable truth is not Matthew’s agenda at this point. Ultimately the historical reliability the details don’t matter all that much at this point in the story. The need for historical reliability comes up later. For this part of the story what matters to Matthew is that he shows that God is coming into a world of chaos and instability. You don’t need to have a whole lot of proof to believe that! So into that chaos Jesus comes to the ordinary Jewish couple of Joe and Mary.
God is not a god in chaos. God brings order to a world that is in chaos. Or perhaps it would be better to say that God’s orderly plans for salvation are in no way hindered or weakened by the instability of a nation, or a society, or even the whole world.
Joseph and Mary’s life will not become easier with the birth of Jesus. If anything, it will get worse for many years.
We have to remember that being God’s people, and doing God’s work, does not lead to an easy, stable, predictable life. We may long for an easy, stable, predictable life, but that is unlikely to be God’s agenda for us.
A contrast has formed for Americans. There has been the belief that a stable, easy, predictable life was what God wanted for people; and that it was a sign of God’s blessings. It was proof that you were living right. Many people pursued it. Many people made it their lives’ goal. And many believed it was God’s will.
The thing is, search the scriptures and you’ll find no such teaching in the New Testament. You will find it in a number of places in the Old Testament. But in those places you need to keep the context in mind. God never promises that a life of faith will be an easy life. What scripture really teaches, and especially throughout the New Testament, is that a life of faith is likely to be tumultuous. We’re going to see that in a lot of what Jesus teaches as we read onward in Matthew.
What we find more often, is that a life of faith is indeed rooted in God’s peace and stability, but living out that faith takes us into the world of chaos.
So, when life feels like it’s more chaotic and scary than it’s supposed to be, don’t shrink back from it. Realize instead that God is giving you a nudge. That restlessness and fear you feel is calling you out into the chaos to do something about it.
Remember what Matthew’s gospel teaches. God is indeed at work in stable and steady ways. God always has been, is now, and will be in the future. We are safe no matter what happens and what the world does to us. Our focus is forward to God’s promises of eternal life. That is our energy and ultimate destiny. Therefore, everything here in this life is temporary, fleeting even. So, God sends us to invite others into the stable ultimate reality God provides.
That is where God’s promises do come to life in this world. When more and more people’s perspectives are on God’s future then this world also becomes more stable. Chaos fades. When too many focus on this life being all there is, then there is fighting, conflict over limited resources, fear, and chaos.
Trust in God’s promises just the way Joseph and Mary did. Even if God doesn’t come to you in a dream with a clear message, let the unsettledness of your heart be the recognition of God’s call. The world is broken. God is always at work using ordinary people like us to fix it. So let’s not shrink from the challenge and the privilege of the task.
Monday, December 8, 2025
Monday, November 24, 2025
November 23, 2025 Parable of the Greedy King Luke 19:11-27
As I said at the beginning of the service, the parable that we had in our gospel reading is probably going to be jarring and confusing. It’s likely that we’re more familiar with the version of this parable that is in Matthew’s gospel than this one in Luke. Indeed, it is quite likely that both accounts of this same parable are from the same source, but we are actually to interpret them in the opposite way.
In Matthew’s gospel we call it the Parable of the Talents. There a man is going on a journey. Before he goes he summons his slaves and entrusts his property to them. To one he gives five talents. To another two. And to a third, one. A talent is a large sum of money; in the range of a million dollars today. Two of the three slaves are industrious and double their master’s money upon his return. The third hides the money and then returns it. The master praises the industrious slaves and condemns the one who did nothing. In that parable we come away with the idea that the master is God and we are the slaves. We are to put our resources to work to accomplish God’s purposes.
But that’s Matthew’s gospel. Here in Luke the situation is different. First, we have to remember the context. The Bible passage started with the words, “As they were listening to this…” That connects it to the story we read last week. That is where Jesus has met Zacchaeus the ruling tax collector. Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house. This parable is then told in Zacchaeus’ house with some number of people listening in.
Right after this parable is the Palm Sunday story. This is the final teaching of Jesus before he enters Jerusalem. You know the Palm Sunday story well enough to remember that the crowds welcome him as if he were a king. And by the week’s end Jesus will be crucified with the sign, “King of the Jews,” hanging on his cross. So, what sort of king is Jesus actually? Is he like the king in the parable, or something else? And if he is something else, then how are we, his followers, to follow our different sort of king?
Let’s delve into some of the details of this parable. The idea of a king going off to receive a kingdom is something the people of the area would have known well. The Herod family, who served as puppet kings of the region for Rome, had done just such a thing. And it didn’t happen once. It happened a few times over generations of the Herod family. A member of the Herod family would head off to Rome to get a royal title and power, and Jews back home would become unruly in protest of his leadership. But the member of the Herod family would come back and crush those who were unruly. Either you supported the Herod family or you were punished for unfaithfulness. (Some things never change in the realm of politics and power.) So, Jesus’ hearers of this parable would have lived the very thing he is describing.
We always want to remember that in those days slavery was very different from the way slavery was in America. In those days slaves could be very powerful and wealthy. Master’s would make slaves their legal agents. Slaves would do business on their master’s behalf, and even manage large fortunes. It was typical for slaves to be freed after a certain number of years. Slavery was seldom life-long. And when a slave was freed a slave could use the connections they had made when managing their master’s resources to build a nice life for themselves.
The ruler gives ten slaves each a pound. Unlike a talent, which was worth around a million, a pound was worth around $20 thousand. So, it’s still a good bit of money, but by no means a fortune. Each slave is to do business with the money until the master returns.
We have to remember that not only was slavery different in those days, so was the economy. These days we talk about economic expansion and prosperity for many, if not all. We think the economy is basically unlimited. That may or may not be true. But in Jesus’ day the economy was stagnant. There was only so much money. There was only so much land. There were only so many resources. In order for one person to have more someone else had to have less. This is one of the reasons why Jewish people were forbidden to lend money at interest. Interest was seen as a way of taking from another person without actually laboring for the gain.
So, when the king returns he has a reckoning with his slaves. The first has taken his pound and made ten pounds. That would be equivalent to turning $20 thousand into $200 thousand. There is absolutely no way such a thing could be done in those days with honesty and integrity. This slave has to have leveraged, exploited, manipulated and trampled upon who knows how many people to get such a return. The greedy king is delighted. As a reward for such shrewdness and dirty dealings this slave is put in charge of ten cities. We start to see the qualities this king wants from his staff.
The second slave comes and has a five-fold increase in the money. The king is not quite as pleased by this. He offers the slave no praise, but it is still the cunning attitude he is looking for. He puts this slave in charge of five cities.
We then hear about a third slave. This one has hidden the money and is now returning it. Unlike Matthew’s version, where we join in criticizing this slave for being worthless and lazy, here we should be in solidarity with him. This slave was not about to manipulate and exploit others on behalf of the overly greedy king. This king always wants more. He can never have enough. But this slave will put a stop to it in whatever way he can. In this parable it is this slave who shows honesty and integrity. And he will suffer for it.
The king is enraged. He takes the pound from the slave and adds it to the pile already in front of his top achiever. Then the king says, “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
The king wants to surround himself with people who are cunning and greedy. If you can’t deliver for this guy then you will be impoverished.
But the king is not done. Next, he reckons with those who opposed him. He has them brought before him and he slaughters them. If you don’t support this king and his schemes for power and money he annihilates you.
If you can, keep all of that in your head and contrast it with what is about to happen to Jesus. He already has nothing, or almost nothing. About the only thing he has is the clothes on his back, yet even they will be taken away when the powers that be annihilate him. So indeed, someone who had nothing even had that taken away.
Unlike Herod and Pilate, the Roman prefect, Jesus commands no armies. He has no slaves. As king he does not destroy anyone or take their property or enslave them. In being crucified he does the exact opposite. You’ll remember that in his week in Jerusalem before his arrest he spends a lot of time in the temple complex. Among the things he sees are many people putting large sums into the temple treasury. But the one who stands out to him is the poor widow who puts in two pennies; all that she has. She had no earthly power or ability. She had no real way of having a secure life. Yet somehow she gives all that she has, even though it was basically worthless in the vast economics necessary to keep the temple running.
Who is this king of ours? What does following Jesus mean when everything that we depend upon to give us safety and status in life has no value before him?
It would be very easy to wrap up this sermon by saying we are to become social justice advocates for the poor and marginalized in our society. To say that we should use what we have to advocate for those who do not have and do not have a voice of power in society. But that would be an easy way out. In my opinion, too many who say they are standing up for those who are left out are really not actually doing anything. They are just posturing so as to claim for themselves the moral high ground; and they are using the teachings of Jesus to accomplish their agenda.
While such people may have their hearts in the right place, they are still not really risking anything. They are staying safe within their social circles and realms of power.
Jesus didn’t stay safe in his social circle. He didn’t stay safe at all. You know the crucifixion scene in Luke’s gospel. The authorities have handed him over for execution. The crowds have abandoned him or turned against him. The disciples have fled (some loyal friends they were!). The religious leaders taunted him. Even the criminal element mocks him. You remember what the one criminal crucified beside Jesus says, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself! And us!”
Only the other criminal in his dying gasps says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Some royal court Jesus has around him! He’s dying and a dying criminal is his sole supporter!
Yet Jesus fundamentally changed the world that day. He is truly the great king!
Jesus said we are to take up our cross and follow him. That requires seeing status and power in a way fundamentally different from the world. Wealth and power are not to be used to gain more -either wealth and power- or status and honor (like giving money to have something named after you, or social signaling to others by giving to the right charities and priorities). As Jesus taught earlier in the gospel with the parable of the Dishonest Manager, all money and power (regardless of how you came by it) is dishonest wealth. For no amount of money or power can heighten your position before God.
To the extent that we have wealth and power we can faithfully use them to equip others for fullness of life. That’s not about just giving to charities, or going to rallies, or writing letters to congressional leaders. That is applying those things with devotion, hard work, and without any social gain for ourselves.
We’re going to mess up. We always do. Such is the false allure of wealth and power. But wealth and power are no match for the power of the cross. By that our king Jesus saves us. And so ultimately, even in our imperfect ways and with all our flaws, we live in awe of our perfect king and do all things as a reflection of the love he showed for us.
In Matthew’s gospel we call it the Parable of the Talents. There a man is going on a journey. Before he goes he summons his slaves and entrusts his property to them. To one he gives five talents. To another two. And to a third, one. A talent is a large sum of money; in the range of a million dollars today. Two of the three slaves are industrious and double their master’s money upon his return. The third hides the money and then returns it. The master praises the industrious slaves and condemns the one who did nothing. In that parable we come away with the idea that the master is God and we are the slaves. We are to put our resources to work to accomplish God’s purposes.
But that’s Matthew’s gospel. Here in Luke the situation is different. First, we have to remember the context. The Bible passage started with the words, “As they were listening to this…” That connects it to the story we read last week. That is where Jesus has met Zacchaeus the ruling tax collector. Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house. This parable is then told in Zacchaeus’ house with some number of people listening in.
Right after this parable is the Palm Sunday story. This is the final teaching of Jesus before he enters Jerusalem. You know the Palm Sunday story well enough to remember that the crowds welcome him as if he were a king. And by the week’s end Jesus will be crucified with the sign, “King of the Jews,” hanging on his cross. So, what sort of king is Jesus actually? Is he like the king in the parable, or something else? And if he is something else, then how are we, his followers, to follow our different sort of king?
Let’s delve into some of the details of this parable. The idea of a king going off to receive a kingdom is something the people of the area would have known well. The Herod family, who served as puppet kings of the region for Rome, had done just such a thing. And it didn’t happen once. It happened a few times over generations of the Herod family. A member of the Herod family would head off to Rome to get a royal title and power, and Jews back home would become unruly in protest of his leadership. But the member of the Herod family would come back and crush those who were unruly. Either you supported the Herod family or you were punished for unfaithfulness. (Some things never change in the realm of politics and power.) So, Jesus’ hearers of this parable would have lived the very thing he is describing.
We always want to remember that in those days slavery was very different from the way slavery was in America. In those days slaves could be very powerful and wealthy. Master’s would make slaves their legal agents. Slaves would do business on their master’s behalf, and even manage large fortunes. It was typical for slaves to be freed after a certain number of years. Slavery was seldom life-long. And when a slave was freed a slave could use the connections they had made when managing their master’s resources to build a nice life for themselves.
The ruler gives ten slaves each a pound. Unlike a talent, which was worth around a million, a pound was worth around $20 thousand. So, it’s still a good bit of money, but by no means a fortune. Each slave is to do business with the money until the master returns.
We have to remember that not only was slavery different in those days, so was the economy. These days we talk about economic expansion and prosperity for many, if not all. We think the economy is basically unlimited. That may or may not be true. But in Jesus’ day the economy was stagnant. There was only so much money. There was only so much land. There were only so many resources. In order for one person to have more someone else had to have less. This is one of the reasons why Jewish people were forbidden to lend money at interest. Interest was seen as a way of taking from another person without actually laboring for the gain.
So, when the king returns he has a reckoning with his slaves. The first has taken his pound and made ten pounds. That would be equivalent to turning $20 thousand into $200 thousand. There is absolutely no way such a thing could be done in those days with honesty and integrity. This slave has to have leveraged, exploited, manipulated and trampled upon who knows how many people to get such a return. The greedy king is delighted. As a reward for such shrewdness and dirty dealings this slave is put in charge of ten cities. We start to see the qualities this king wants from his staff.
The second slave comes and has a five-fold increase in the money. The king is not quite as pleased by this. He offers the slave no praise, but it is still the cunning attitude he is looking for. He puts this slave in charge of five cities.
We then hear about a third slave. This one has hidden the money and is now returning it. Unlike Matthew’s version, where we join in criticizing this slave for being worthless and lazy, here we should be in solidarity with him. This slave was not about to manipulate and exploit others on behalf of the overly greedy king. This king always wants more. He can never have enough. But this slave will put a stop to it in whatever way he can. In this parable it is this slave who shows honesty and integrity. And he will suffer for it.
The king is enraged. He takes the pound from the slave and adds it to the pile already in front of his top achiever. Then the king says, “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
The king wants to surround himself with people who are cunning and greedy. If you can’t deliver for this guy then you will be impoverished.
But the king is not done. Next, he reckons with those who opposed him. He has them brought before him and he slaughters them. If you don’t support this king and his schemes for power and money he annihilates you.
If you can, keep all of that in your head and contrast it with what is about to happen to Jesus. He already has nothing, or almost nothing. About the only thing he has is the clothes on his back, yet even they will be taken away when the powers that be annihilate him. So indeed, someone who had nothing even had that taken away.
Unlike Herod and Pilate, the Roman prefect, Jesus commands no armies. He has no slaves. As king he does not destroy anyone or take their property or enslave them. In being crucified he does the exact opposite. You’ll remember that in his week in Jerusalem before his arrest he spends a lot of time in the temple complex. Among the things he sees are many people putting large sums into the temple treasury. But the one who stands out to him is the poor widow who puts in two pennies; all that she has. She had no earthly power or ability. She had no real way of having a secure life. Yet somehow she gives all that she has, even though it was basically worthless in the vast economics necessary to keep the temple running.
Who is this king of ours? What does following Jesus mean when everything that we depend upon to give us safety and status in life has no value before him?
It would be very easy to wrap up this sermon by saying we are to become social justice advocates for the poor and marginalized in our society. To say that we should use what we have to advocate for those who do not have and do not have a voice of power in society. But that would be an easy way out. In my opinion, too many who say they are standing up for those who are left out are really not actually doing anything. They are just posturing so as to claim for themselves the moral high ground; and they are using the teachings of Jesus to accomplish their agenda.
While such people may have their hearts in the right place, they are still not really risking anything. They are staying safe within their social circles and realms of power.
Jesus didn’t stay safe in his social circle. He didn’t stay safe at all. You know the crucifixion scene in Luke’s gospel. The authorities have handed him over for execution. The crowds have abandoned him or turned against him. The disciples have fled (some loyal friends they were!). The religious leaders taunted him. Even the criminal element mocks him. You remember what the one criminal crucified beside Jesus says, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself! And us!”
Only the other criminal in his dying gasps says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Some royal court Jesus has around him! He’s dying and a dying criminal is his sole supporter!
Yet Jesus fundamentally changed the world that day. He is truly the great king!
Jesus said we are to take up our cross and follow him. That requires seeing status and power in a way fundamentally different from the world. Wealth and power are not to be used to gain more -either wealth and power- or status and honor (like giving money to have something named after you, or social signaling to others by giving to the right charities and priorities). As Jesus taught earlier in the gospel with the parable of the Dishonest Manager, all money and power (regardless of how you came by it) is dishonest wealth. For no amount of money or power can heighten your position before God.
To the extent that we have wealth and power we can faithfully use them to equip others for fullness of life. That’s not about just giving to charities, or going to rallies, or writing letters to congressional leaders. That is applying those things with devotion, hard work, and without any social gain for ourselves.
We’re going to mess up. We always do. Such is the false allure of wealth and power. But wealth and power are no match for the power of the cross. By that our king Jesus saves us. And so ultimately, even in our imperfect ways and with all our flaws, we live in awe of our perfect king and do all things as a reflection of the love he showed for us.
Monday, November 17, 2025
November 16, 2025 Zaccheaus and Power Luke 19:1-10
Sometimes creating a sermon feels like pulling teeth. You can work and struggle and think and think and think about a Bible text and not come up with anything that seems meaningful to proclaim today. Sometimes when creating a sermon the biblical texts are so complex and there are so many subtleties that you don’t even know where to start. The challenge becomes how to preach it without oversimplifying things, or ignoring important parts. And sometimes it feels like sermons just write themselves. It is as if the Bible text just flows right into living it. That is the case with the story of Zaccheaus today.
You may have learned the song of Zaccheaus in Sunday school when you were a little kid; about how he was: a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree. The Lord he wanted to see. But Jesus tells him to come down because he’s coming to his house today.
That simple song captures what is going on in the text. We’ll remember that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem with his disciples. Along the way there have been crowds around him. There have been supporters and opponents. Jesus has given many teachings that are difficult to understand. Right after a particularly difficult teaching a rich ruler approaches Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. This man shows that he is righteous. He has followed all the rules since he was a kid. He’s a model of upstanding citizenship. But Jesus tells him that what he has to do is to sell everything, give the money to the poor, and then come follow him. We do not like hearing this from Jesus, but Jesus never was too worked up about sugar coating the truth for those who heard him. So we’re told that the rich ruler became sad and went away.
Last week we read about a blind man asked Jesus to cure him. In that case the blind man did not approach Jesus the way the rich man did. How could he have in the midst of a noisy crowd? But Jesus stops and commands that the man be brought to him. Upon receiving his sight, the blind man glorifies God in happiness and follows Jesus. He was the exact opposite of the rich man.
This week we read about Zacchaeus. The parallels with earlier rich man continue. The story of the rich man began with us being told that he was a ruler. Now the story of Zacchaeus begins with us being told that Zaccaeus is a ruling tax collector. Unlike the ruler who strode up to Jesus and asked him a question, Zacchaeus runs ahead and climbs a tree. He can’t get to Jesus. This is due to two things. First, and obviously, he is short. He’s like the kid at a parade who can’t see over the crowd to see what is passing by. And two, as a ruling tax collector he would have been especially disliked by the crowds. No one was going to make room for little Zacchaeus to be in the front of the crowd.
Zacchaeus doesn’t want to ask Jesus any particular questions. He just wants to see Jesus pass by. Yet still, Zacchaeus is on a quest to see Jesus. He has to go ahead and climb up a tree. While I’ll always maintain that climbing trees is fun, dignified men do not usually make a habit of climbing trees. If the rich ruler was stately and poised as he approaches Jesus, Zacchaeus is childish and embarrassing. He wanted to see Jesus. But did he want to be seen by Jesus? Did he really want to be pointed out to the public as he’s up a tree? The scene is somewhat comic.
But here we get a twist. We’ve been told that Zacchaeus is on a quest to see Jesus. But now we learn that Jesus is also on a quest for Zacchaeus. Unlike the rich man who came to Jesus of his own accord, and unlike the blind man who had to be brought to Jesus by others, Jesus comes to the place where Zacchaeus is up a tree. Jesus gives a command. “Zacchaeus,” (notice that Jesus knows Zacchaeus by name!) “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
Zacchaeus is commanded to come to Jesus. And to come fast. And to be told that he will be hosting Jesus that very day. Jesus did not ask if he could come to Zacchaeus’ house. Jesus tells Zacchaeus that he is coming to his house! (I certainly hope Zacchaeus had the place clean and tidy!)
Remember what happens with the rich ruler. Jesus tells him what he must do – he must sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, then come follow him. Now contrast that with Zacchaeus. Jesus has told Zacchaeus what to do – come down and host him at his house. That is all the Jesus has told Zacchaeus to do. In response Zacchaeus comes down from the tree. He is happy to welcome Jesus. And then, without further prompt or command from Jesus, right there in the midst of the crowd in the town Zacchaeus replies.
Here we must depart from our English translations because they twice add a word that is not in what Luke wrote. Our text says, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will repay back four times as much.”
Except the word “will” is not in what Luke wrote. Luke wrote something more along the lines of Zacchaeus stating to Jesus what he already does, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I repay back four times as much.”
Thus, when Jesus calls Zacchaeus down from the tree it is not a conversion experience for Zacchaeus. He does not suddenly change his mind about his lifestyle. Zacchaeus is already living by the principles of God’s kingdom.
So the rich ruler we met a few weeks ago thinks he is living by the principles of God’s kingdom by following a set of religious rules. He was seen to be an exemplary citizen. But this ruler tax collector, who as a tax collector was seen as a sell-out to their enemies, is actually living by the principles of God’s kingdom.
In other words, Zacchaeus has already been giving to those who cannot return the favor. And where Zacchaeus does discover mistakes, he rectifies the situation according to the most stringent standards. You would think that someone like Zacchaeus would be using his wealth and power to buy himself a social status and good reputation despite his occupation. But he has not been doing that. He’s been using his resources in ways that he does not get kickbacks of any sort.
In the story of Zacchaeus we find a man who is disliked by society yet who is actually living a godly life. He is seeking Jesus by climbing a tree, then discovers that Jesus is actually seeking him. He obeys every one of Jesus’ commands immediately and happily. Jesus then says, “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 save the lost.” We just saw that in action. Jesus has sought out one whom society considered to be lost.
Yes, Zaccheaus gives us a rich and fun story that almost writes itself into a sermon. And with equal ease it tells us how we are to live.
To the extent that you have wealth and possessions, do not use them for self-protection or to leverage yourself into a higher social rank. That’s what the rich ruler did. Like Zacchaeus, use them to build up those who lack power in society. Don’t waste your time and energy worrying about appearances or your reputation. God sees and God knows. It doesn’t matter what other people think.
Live like that and you will be like Zacchaeus, on a quest to see God. But don’t expect it to be the way you think. Many people seek to find God and know God’s will. They do so by climbing all sort of symbolic trees: they go on retreats, seek spiritual guidance, read books, and the like. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just like there’s nothing wrong with a grown man climbing a tree. But don’t be surprised in your quest for God that you discover that God is also on a quest for you. Don’t expect God to climb up your tree to be with you. Most likely, like Zacchaeus, God will call you down from the tree and back into the ordinary, yet complex, messiness of life. God may come to your house, even if it is an untidy mess. There God will proclaim blessing. And there God will give you deep and lasting joy.
You may have learned the song of Zaccheaus in Sunday school when you were a little kid; about how he was: a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree. The Lord he wanted to see. But Jesus tells him to come down because he’s coming to his house today.
That simple song captures what is going on in the text. We’ll remember that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem with his disciples. Along the way there have been crowds around him. There have been supporters and opponents. Jesus has given many teachings that are difficult to understand. Right after a particularly difficult teaching a rich ruler approaches Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. This man shows that he is righteous. He has followed all the rules since he was a kid. He’s a model of upstanding citizenship. But Jesus tells him that what he has to do is to sell everything, give the money to the poor, and then come follow him. We do not like hearing this from Jesus, but Jesus never was too worked up about sugar coating the truth for those who heard him. So we’re told that the rich ruler became sad and went away.
Last week we read about a blind man asked Jesus to cure him. In that case the blind man did not approach Jesus the way the rich man did. How could he have in the midst of a noisy crowd? But Jesus stops and commands that the man be brought to him. Upon receiving his sight, the blind man glorifies God in happiness and follows Jesus. He was the exact opposite of the rich man.
This week we read about Zacchaeus. The parallels with earlier rich man continue. The story of the rich man began with us being told that he was a ruler. Now the story of Zacchaeus begins with us being told that Zaccaeus is a ruling tax collector. Unlike the ruler who strode up to Jesus and asked him a question, Zacchaeus runs ahead and climbs a tree. He can’t get to Jesus. This is due to two things. First, and obviously, he is short. He’s like the kid at a parade who can’t see over the crowd to see what is passing by. And two, as a ruling tax collector he would have been especially disliked by the crowds. No one was going to make room for little Zacchaeus to be in the front of the crowd.
Zacchaeus doesn’t want to ask Jesus any particular questions. He just wants to see Jesus pass by. Yet still, Zacchaeus is on a quest to see Jesus. He has to go ahead and climb up a tree. While I’ll always maintain that climbing trees is fun, dignified men do not usually make a habit of climbing trees. If the rich ruler was stately and poised as he approaches Jesus, Zacchaeus is childish and embarrassing. He wanted to see Jesus. But did he want to be seen by Jesus? Did he really want to be pointed out to the public as he’s up a tree? The scene is somewhat comic.
But here we get a twist. We’ve been told that Zacchaeus is on a quest to see Jesus. But now we learn that Jesus is also on a quest for Zacchaeus. Unlike the rich man who came to Jesus of his own accord, and unlike the blind man who had to be brought to Jesus by others, Jesus comes to the place where Zacchaeus is up a tree. Jesus gives a command. “Zacchaeus,” (notice that Jesus knows Zacchaeus by name!) “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
Zacchaeus is commanded to come to Jesus. And to come fast. And to be told that he will be hosting Jesus that very day. Jesus did not ask if he could come to Zacchaeus’ house. Jesus tells Zacchaeus that he is coming to his house! (I certainly hope Zacchaeus had the place clean and tidy!)
Remember what happens with the rich ruler. Jesus tells him what he must do – he must sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, then come follow him. Now contrast that with Zacchaeus. Jesus has told Zacchaeus what to do – come down and host him at his house. That is all the Jesus has told Zacchaeus to do. In response Zacchaeus comes down from the tree. He is happy to welcome Jesus. And then, without further prompt or command from Jesus, right there in the midst of the crowd in the town Zacchaeus replies.
Here we must depart from our English translations because they twice add a word that is not in what Luke wrote. Our text says, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will repay back four times as much.”
Except the word “will” is not in what Luke wrote. Luke wrote something more along the lines of Zacchaeus stating to Jesus what he already does, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I repay back four times as much.”
Thus, when Jesus calls Zacchaeus down from the tree it is not a conversion experience for Zacchaeus. He does not suddenly change his mind about his lifestyle. Zacchaeus is already living by the principles of God’s kingdom.
So the rich ruler we met a few weeks ago thinks he is living by the principles of God’s kingdom by following a set of religious rules. He was seen to be an exemplary citizen. But this ruler tax collector, who as a tax collector was seen as a sell-out to their enemies, is actually living by the principles of God’s kingdom.
In other words, Zacchaeus has already been giving to those who cannot return the favor. And where Zacchaeus does discover mistakes, he rectifies the situation according to the most stringent standards. You would think that someone like Zacchaeus would be using his wealth and power to buy himself a social status and good reputation despite his occupation. But he has not been doing that. He’s been using his resources in ways that he does not get kickbacks of any sort.
In the story of Zacchaeus we find a man who is disliked by society yet who is actually living a godly life. He is seeking Jesus by climbing a tree, then discovers that Jesus is actually seeking him. He obeys every one of Jesus’ commands immediately and happily. Jesus then says, “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 save the lost.” We just saw that in action. Jesus has sought out one whom society considered to be lost.
Yes, Zaccheaus gives us a rich and fun story that almost writes itself into a sermon. And with equal ease it tells us how we are to live.
To the extent that you have wealth and possessions, do not use them for self-protection or to leverage yourself into a higher social rank. That’s what the rich ruler did. Like Zacchaeus, use them to build up those who lack power in society. Don’t waste your time and energy worrying about appearances or your reputation. God sees and God knows. It doesn’t matter what other people think.
Live like that and you will be like Zacchaeus, on a quest to see God. But don’t expect it to be the way you think. Many people seek to find God and know God’s will. They do so by climbing all sort of symbolic trees: they go on retreats, seek spiritual guidance, read books, and the like. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just like there’s nothing wrong with a grown man climbing a tree. But don’t be surprised in your quest for God that you discover that God is also on a quest for you. Don’t expect God to climb up your tree to be with you. Most likely, like Zacchaeus, God will call you down from the tree and back into the ordinary, yet complex, messiness of life. God may come to your house, even if it is an untidy mess. There God will proclaim blessing. And there God will give you deep and lasting joy.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
November 9, 2025 What Is Blindness? Luke 8:31-43
Let’s say you get the very difficult news that you need brain surgery. Brain surgery is delicate and often difficult work. There are significant chances of infection, decreased brain function, paralysis, and death. So you go to meet the surgeon in the surgeon’s office to discuss the situation. What do you expect when you meet with the surgeon?
You expect someone who is probably middle aged or older. You imagine someone who is: clean-cut, professionally dressed, poised, and articulate. When you step into the office you expect to see it well laid out and orderly. You expect there to be diplomas and certificates hanging on the wall giving proof of the surgeon’s education and qualifications. It would be nice to see some award sitting around for accomplishments, research, and advancement of the field. All of these things give you confidence that your life and your future are going to be in good hands when you are in surgery.
So how would you feel if it turns out that the surgeon’s office is in the property maintenance shed of the hospital? The office is dirty and cluttered. There are engine parts lying around. It smells like oil. The surgeon then walks in: dirty, unkempt, and smelling of alcohol. The surgeon spits in the trash can and then pulls out earbuds. You hear a faint sound of bluegrass music.
How are you feeling about your surgery now? How would you feel if you were told this is the top surgeon in the world for the operation you need? They would be mixed feelings for sure! I’d probably ask for directions to the surgeon’s office because surely this couldn’t be the person!
There’s something along these lines going on in our gospel reading though. The people we expect to know what is going on don’t. And the person we’d expect to know nothing does.
Let’s remind ourselves of the last few chapters of Luke’s gospel and what we’ve heard the last several weeks. Jesus has been giving teachings to the twelve apostles, and to the crowds, and to some critical Pharisees. We learn that they’re all struggling with what Jesus is saying. However, since the twelve apostles are the closest and they get inside information from Jesus regularly, we expect them to have good knowledge of who Jesus is and what Jesus is doing. Yet that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Our gospel reading began with Jesus taking the twelve aside for some private instruction. He tells them what’s coming up in Jerusalem. He will be: arrested, humiliated, beaten, and executed. Then on the third day he will rise again. This is not the first time he has told them this. He told them something similar right after the Transfiguration recorded in chapter 9. But they didn’t get it then.
Sadly, despite more time and teachings, they still don’t get it. Luke is pretty emphatic about how they don’t get it at all. In just verse 34 Luke has a threefold statement that they didn’t understand. He says, “But they understood nothing about all these things…” That’s the first assertion. Then the second, “…in fact, what he said was hidden from them…” That’s the second assertion. “…and they did not grasp what was said.” That’s the third assertion. It’s all in one sentence but said three times over… they didn’t get it at all!
We shouldn’t be too hard on these guys. It all makes perfect sense to us because we know the end of the story. It was pretty much impossible for them to understand. Yet that is part of the point. The kingdom of God that Jesus promises to be making real is so out of sync with the way the world works that we deem it impossible. Even today, knowing the end of the story, it is very hard to believe: God’s greatest accomplishments, and the reality of God’s kingdom, come most powerfully in the form of suffering, shame, and helplessness. The values of the kingdom of God are about humility; not self-advancement. We ultimately ask how God could possibly bring about forgiveness and salvation that would change the world… by being completely passive in the face of humiliation and death.
So, the disciples, with their inside information on Jesus, are along the lines of what we expect a skilled brain surgeon to look like. Yet they don’t get it. The next person we meet is more like the person you’d meet in a maintenance garage. Yet despite this, he seems to have remarkable insight into who Jesus is.
Immediately after the failure of the disciples to understand the scene shifts to a blind man sitting by the roadside begging. Commentator Joel Green says a blind beggar like this would be seen as “social refuse.” (New International Commentary on the New Testament, Luke, 662) His physical malady would have been interpreted by many as proof of God’s displeasure for him. (After all, doesn’t God reward the good and punish the bad?) Being blind, he had no skills or purpose. He was basically a drain on society. He was probably an embarrassment to his family. He had no role in the world. He had to live off the charity of others. If it weren’t for the way the Jewish people put a priority on almsgiving for those who couldn’t provide for themselves, he would probably have been neglected to death.
He’s begging by the roadside. Then he hears a crowd going by. He asks what is happening and he is told that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
How would he, a blind beggar, living near Jericho, have even heard of someone from Nazareth; (which was considered to be a hick town) over 70 miles away? Then he shouts, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Notice he doesn’t say, “Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me!” He says, “Jesus, Son of David…” How would he, an uneducated, socially expendable, blind beggar, come to have this insight into Jesus’ identity? And even more so, to know to ask the Son of David for mercy. He should know about as much about Jesus as a car mechanic would know about brain surgery. Yet, in Luke’s gospel, this is the first person to recognize Jesus as the Son of David, and to understand all the prophesies that go with it.
We as the readers aren’t told how he knows this. This is a little trick of Luke’s. Often the ones who you’d expect to have insight don’t. And the ones who have no reason to know, do. The kingdom of God truly does come to the lost and least of the world. Perhaps because they cannot play the games of power and influence the world runs by they can more readily see God’s kingdom.
Then there’s a little twist in the story. Upon hearing the blind man shout out for Jesus we’d expect Jesus to go to him. After all, how is a blind man to find his way to Jesus in a crowd? But Jesus stands still. Jesus orders that the blind man be brought to him.
Why is this so? Perhaps Jesus is making a point. We read that those who were in front of the blind beggar ordered him to be quiet. Yet now when Jesus commands that he be brought to him, those in front must either help in bringing the blind man, or they must stand out of the way so that others can bring the blind man to Jesus. Whatever the case, even before the man is healed of his blindness, the word of Jesus is changing his life situation and giving him importance and place in the world. No longer will he be both blind himself and overlooked by society.
When he arrives at Jesus, Jesus asks what he can do for him. We are reminded that this blind man has had remarkable insight into who Jesus is. What would he want? To be able to see again to be sure! Yet he is already seeing some things better than the whole crowd.
Jesus says, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” I’m pretty sure this man’s faith was his openness to the will of God and the belief that God saw him.
The man is immediately healed. He then does two other things. One, he follows Jesus. Two, he glorifies God.
Contrast this blind man with the rich ruler we read about a few weeks ago. The rich ruler had it all: money, morality, respectability, prestige. Jesus told him he had to give it all up and then come follow him. But the man left and was sad. Here the blind man, who had nothing in the world at all, glorifies God and follows Jesus. The two men are opposites.
Sadly, the most capable of the world often cannot see God at work. Perhaps they are the wealthy or the smart or the young and good looking. The more you can look to yourself for fulfillment the less you think you need God. Then it is the weak, old, broken, and overlooked who can see God at work.
Regardless of where we fall, we are blessed to be able to see God. God is the source of true sight – not meaning the ability of our eyes to take in light and comprehend things – but the insight into God’s nature and God’s promises. Humans cannot get there on their own. It must come from God. We are ultimately needy then. Regardless of how the world treats us, we need God.
You expect someone who is probably middle aged or older. You imagine someone who is: clean-cut, professionally dressed, poised, and articulate. When you step into the office you expect to see it well laid out and orderly. You expect there to be diplomas and certificates hanging on the wall giving proof of the surgeon’s education and qualifications. It would be nice to see some award sitting around for accomplishments, research, and advancement of the field. All of these things give you confidence that your life and your future are going to be in good hands when you are in surgery.
So how would you feel if it turns out that the surgeon’s office is in the property maintenance shed of the hospital? The office is dirty and cluttered. There are engine parts lying around. It smells like oil. The surgeon then walks in: dirty, unkempt, and smelling of alcohol. The surgeon spits in the trash can and then pulls out earbuds. You hear a faint sound of bluegrass music.
How are you feeling about your surgery now? How would you feel if you were told this is the top surgeon in the world for the operation you need? They would be mixed feelings for sure! I’d probably ask for directions to the surgeon’s office because surely this couldn’t be the person!
There’s something along these lines going on in our gospel reading though. The people we expect to know what is going on don’t. And the person we’d expect to know nothing does.
Let’s remind ourselves of the last few chapters of Luke’s gospel and what we’ve heard the last several weeks. Jesus has been giving teachings to the twelve apostles, and to the crowds, and to some critical Pharisees. We learn that they’re all struggling with what Jesus is saying. However, since the twelve apostles are the closest and they get inside information from Jesus regularly, we expect them to have good knowledge of who Jesus is and what Jesus is doing. Yet that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Our gospel reading began with Jesus taking the twelve aside for some private instruction. He tells them what’s coming up in Jerusalem. He will be: arrested, humiliated, beaten, and executed. Then on the third day he will rise again. This is not the first time he has told them this. He told them something similar right after the Transfiguration recorded in chapter 9. But they didn’t get it then.
Sadly, despite more time and teachings, they still don’t get it. Luke is pretty emphatic about how they don’t get it at all. In just verse 34 Luke has a threefold statement that they didn’t understand. He says, “But they understood nothing about all these things…” That’s the first assertion. Then the second, “…in fact, what he said was hidden from them…” That’s the second assertion. “…and they did not grasp what was said.” That’s the third assertion. It’s all in one sentence but said three times over… they didn’t get it at all!
We shouldn’t be too hard on these guys. It all makes perfect sense to us because we know the end of the story. It was pretty much impossible for them to understand. Yet that is part of the point. The kingdom of God that Jesus promises to be making real is so out of sync with the way the world works that we deem it impossible. Even today, knowing the end of the story, it is very hard to believe: God’s greatest accomplishments, and the reality of God’s kingdom, come most powerfully in the form of suffering, shame, and helplessness. The values of the kingdom of God are about humility; not self-advancement. We ultimately ask how God could possibly bring about forgiveness and salvation that would change the world… by being completely passive in the face of humiliation and death.
So, the disciples, with their inside information on Jesus, are along the lines of what we expect a skilled brain surgeon to look like. Yet they don’t get it. The next person we meet is more like the person you’d meet in a maintenance garage. Yet despite this, he seems to have remarkable insight into who Jesus is.
Immediately after the failure of the disciples to understand the scene shifts to a blind man sitting by the roadside begging. Commentator Joel Green says a blind beggar like this would be seen as “social refuse.” (New International Commentary on the New Testament, Luke, 662) His physical malady would have been interpreted by many as proof of God’s displeasure for him. (After all, doesn’t God reward the good and punish the bad?) Being blind, he had no skills or purpose. He was basically a drain on society. He was probably an embarrassment to his family. He had no role in the world. He had to live off the charity of others. If it weren’t for the way the Jewish people put a priority on almsgiving for those who couldn’t provide for themselves, he would probably have been neglected to death.
He’s begging by the roadside. Then he hears a crowd going by. He asks what is happening and he is told that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
How would he, a blind beggar, living near Jericho, have even heard of someone from Nazareth; (which was considered to be a hick town) over 70 miles away? Then he shouts, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Notice he doesn’t say, “Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me!” He says, “Jesus, Son of David…” How would he, an uneducated, socially expendable, blind beggar, come to have this insight into Jesus’ identity? And even more so, to know to ask the Son of David for mercy. He should know about as much about Jesus as a car mechanic would know about brain surgery. Yet, in Luke’s gospel, this is the first person to recognize Jesus as the Son of David, and to understand all the prophesies that go with it.
We as the readers aren’t told how he knows this. This is a little trick of Luke’s. Often the ones who you’d expect to have insight don’t. And the ones who have no reason to know, do. The kingdom of God truly does come to the lost and least of the world. Perhaps because they cannot play the games of power and influence the world runs by they can more readily see God’s kingdom.
Then there’s a little twist in the story. Upon hearing the blind man shout out for Jesus we’d expect Jesus to go to him. After all, how is a blind man to find his way to Jesus in a crowd? But Jesus stands still. Jesus orders that the blind man be brought to him.
Why is this so? Perhaps Jesus is making a point. We read that those who were in front of the blind beggar ordered him to be quiet. Yet now when Jesus commands that he be brought to him, those in front must either help in bringing the blind man, or they must stand out of the way so that others can bring the blind man to Jesus. Whatever the case, even before the man is healed of his blindness, the word of Jesus is changing his life situation and giving him importance and place in the world. No longer will he be both blind himself and overlooked by society.
When he arrives at Jesus, Jesus asks what he can do for him. We are reminded that this blind man has had remarkable insight into who Jesus is. What would he want? To be able to see again to be sure! Yet he is already seeing some things better than the whole crowd.
Jesus says, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” I’m pretty sure this man’s faith was his openness to the will of God and the belief that God saw him.
The man is immediately healed. He then does two other things. One, he follows Jesus. Two, he glorifies God.
Contrast this blind man with the rich ruler we read about a few weeks ago. The rich ruler had it all: money, morality, respectability, prestige. Jesus told him he had to give it all up and then come follow him. But the man left and was sad. Here the blind man, who had nothing in the world at all, glorifies God and follows Jesus. The two men are opposites.
Sadly, the most capable of the world often cannot see God at work. Perhaps they are the wealthy or the smart or the young and good looking. The more you can look to yourself for fulfillment the less you think you need God. Then it is the weak, old, broken, and overlooked who can see God at work.
Regardless of where we fall, we are blessed to be able to see God. God is the source of true sight – not meaning the ability of our eyes to take in light and comprehend things – but the insight into God’s nature and God’s promises. Humans cannot get there on their own. It must come from God. We are ultimately needy then. Regardless of how the world treats us, we need God.
Monday, November 3, 2025
November 2, 2025 All Saints Sunday Luke 6:20-31
We don’t follow the texts for worship chosen by the Revised Common Lectionary the way many churches do. For many and various reasons we do our own thing. One of those reasons is that key verses are sometimes overlooked. For All Saints Sunday though, we are following the chosen Bible readings, and in one of those readings key verses are skipped. That reading is the first one from Daniel. You’ll notice that we read Daniel 7:1-3 and then skipped to verse 15. What are the verses in between?
Well, we did read from verse three that Daniel had a vision of four great beasts coming from the sea. The skipped verses are the description of those four beasts. They’re fantastic and terrifying, so skipping them makes some sense. But also in those verses is God’s judgment upon them.
I want to read those skipped verses because they set us up for a good message for All Saints Sunday, and also a good message for our day and time.
So, I’ll reread verses 2 and 3, and then go on with about half of the skipped verses:
I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being; and a human mind was given to it. Another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks in its mouth among its teeth and was told, "Arise, devour many bodies!"
After this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the visions by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and was devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that preceded it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, when another horn appeared, a little one coming up among them; to make room for it, three of the earlier horns were plucked up by the roots. There were eyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly.
Those verses are a weird and terrifying vision. I can understand why they are skipped over. Yet there is an important message there.
The book of Daniel presents itself as prophesy, yet most of it was written after the events happened that it pretends to predict. That is the case here. Those four beasts refer to four kingdoms.
The first beast was like a lion with eagle’s wings. That is the Babylonian Empire which used winged lions in its art.
The second beast was a bear. The Median Empire is represented here as it threatened the Babylonian Empire.
The third beast was a leopard with wings. This is the Persian Empire who took down the Babylonians Empire.
The fourth beast is described as terrifying and dreadfully strong. That is the conquest of the Greeks under the leadership of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great’s empire was very short lived. Upon his death his empire split in two. One of those empires was the Seleucid Empire. The ten horns are the line of Seleucid rulers. The first of those rulers had coins made that depicted horns. The eleventh horn with eyes is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who disposed of other claimants to the throne.
Put it all together and the message is that God’s chosen people -small in number, weak, and fragile- will undergo centuries of being dominated and pushed around by great imperial powers. Those great imperial powers will rise and fall but the Israelites will endure.
And then… Daniel’s vision continues. Here are the rest of the skipped verses:
As I watched, thrones were set in place,
and an Ancient One took his throne,
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
and its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence.
A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
I watched then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking. And as I watched, the beast was put to death, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
Here the vision changes to one of promise and hope. Despite feeling weak and powerless, God’s people have not been abandoned at all. God has protected them all along. And now God acts in judgment against all who dominated them.
Notice the people themselves do not have to take up arms. God’s divine judgment comes of its own accord. It is all God’s work.
Though the prophesy is not specific, it is hard not to imagine Jesus into the scene as the one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. To him is given an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that will never be destroyed.
What does all this mean for us today then? I hear many people frustrated, worried, and afraid of the way things are going in the world, especially the United States. Regardless of where you fall into our political spectrum, I find almost no one who’s actually happy even with their own party and its leadership. National and international politics are unstable, unpredictably, messy, and out of our control.
Now more than ever, for many of us, we feel like we are small insignificant pawns getting pushed around by the great forces of the world.
Perhaps adding to that is the general decline of Christian faith in America. Churches have dwindled for decades and many have reached the stage of closure.
What is happening in our world and in our faith?
We do well to remember that as people of God, this is not a new thing. The ancient Israelites were seldom in a position that was strong enough for them to confidently defend themselves. But God continued to watch over them and protect them from utter destruction. The early Christians were similarly weak and fragile in the vastness of the seemingly eternal Roman Empire. Yet God was with them as they struggled. The Roman Empire is long gone. So are pretty much all of its many religions. But Christianity remains and is spread throughout the world. God does protect us and guide us in the midst of things that make us feel like we are too small and insignificant to be of any purpose.
We are always held securely by God. We have nothing to ultimately fear by what goes on in the world around us. And remember, all the work of preservation and protection is also God’s work. It is not by our own efforts that we survive.
Which takes us to the question, what then are we to do? If we are powerless in the forces that sway the world, and God ultimately brings about this glorious secure future, then what role do we actually play? There we look what Jesus says in our gospel reading: He proclaims blessings on many who are overlooked and oppressed; and woes on many who are comfortable and powerful. Then he concludes, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you…” and onward.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not us being weak or timid. It is not about letting the world walk all over us as if we were doormats. What Jesus teaches is actually encouraging the weak to constructively stand up to the strong, and in ways that challenge the honor of the strong. It is about solidly standing on the promises of God and realizing everything else is of lesser consequence.
If following God leads to poverty, hunger, and weeping, then so be it. It is the greater honor and promise to serve our God. If we are hurt and battered and pushed about, then so be it. It is the greater power to do God’s work. And if we even be killed in the service of our God, then so be it. It is the greater glory to be held by God in eternity.
God scoffs at what we humans call powerful: money, status, weapons, and the like. God shows real eternal power in the work of Jesus – where self-gift on the cross brought about salvation and resurrection.
The prophet Daniel talked about great empires that appeared powerful and who menaced God’s people for centuries. All of those empires are gone. God’s people continue. The early Christians felt the same powerlessness in the face of Roman power. But God protected them and helped them grow. No matter what happens in the future of our nation, God’s love and God’s people continue. The solid enduring love of Christ goes on and on into eternity. On All Saints Sunday we remember those who struggled before us. We celebrate them. Our own lives continue the struggle. In time, we will take our rest too. And ultimately God will bring all things to his promised fulfillment.
Well, we did read from verse three that Daniel had a vision of four great beasts coming from the sea. The skipped verses are the description of those four beasts. They’re fantastic and terrifying, so skipping them makes some sense. But also in those verses is God’s judgment upon them.
I want to read those skipped verses because they set us up for a good message for All Saints Sunday, and also a good message for our day and time.
So, I’ll reread verses 2 and 3, and then go on with about half of the skipped verses:
I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being; and a human mind was given to it. Another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks in its mouth among its teeth and was told, "Arise, devour many bodies!"
After this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the visions by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and was devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that preceded it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, when another horn appeared, a little one coming up among them; to make room for it, three of the earlier horns were plucked up by the roots. There were eyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly.
Those verses are a weird and terrifying vision. I can understand why they are skipped over. Yet there is an important message there.
The book of Daniel presents itself as prophesy, yet most of it was written after the events happened that it pretends to predict. That is the case here. Those four beasts refer to four kingdoms.
The first beast was like a lion with eagle’s wings. That is the Babylonian Empire which used winged lions in its art.
The second beast was a bear. The Median Empire is represented here as it threatened the Babylonian Empire.
The third beast was a leopard with wings. This is the Persian Empire who took down the Babylonians Empire.
The fourth beast is described as terrifying and dreadfully strong. That is the conquest of the Greeks under the leadership of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great’s empire was very short lived. Upon his death his empire split in two. One of those empires was the Seleucid Empire. The ten horns are the line of Seleucid rulers. The first of those rulers had coins made that depicted horns. The eleventh horn with eyes is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who disposed of other claimants to the throne.
Put it all together and the message is that God’s chosen people -small in number, weak, and fragile- will undergo centuries of being dominated and pushed around by great imperial powers. Those great imperial powers will rise and fall but the Israelites will endure.
And then… Daniel’s vision continues. Here are the rest of the skipped verses:
As I watched, thrones were set in place,
and an Ancient One took his throne,
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
and its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence.
A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
I watched then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking. And as I watched, the beast was put to death, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
Here the vision changes to one of promise and hope. Despite feeling weak and powerless, God’s people have not been abandoned at all. God has protected them all along. And now God acts in judgment against all who dominated them.
Notice the people themselves do not have to take up arms. God’s divine judgment comes of its own accord. It is all God’s work.
Though the prophesy is not specific, it is hard not to imagine Jesus into the scene as the one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. To him is given an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that will never be destroyed.
What does all this mean for us today then? I hear many people frustrated, worried, and afraid of the way things are going in the world, especially the United States. Regardless of where you fall into our political spectrum, I find almost no one who’s actually happy even with their own party and its leadership. National and international politics are unstable, unpredictably, messy, and out of our control.
Now more than ever, for many of us, we feel like we are small insignificant pawns getting pushed around by the great forces of the world.
Perhaps adding to that is the general decline of Christian faith in America. Churches have dwindled for decades and many have reached the stage of closure.
What is happening in our world and in our faith?
We do well to remember that as people of God, this is not a new thing. The ancient Israelites were seldom in a position that was strong enough for them to confidently defend themselves. But God continued to watch over them and protect them from utter destruction. The early Christians were similarly weak and fragile in the vastness of the seemingly eternal Roman Empire. Yet God was with them as they struggled. The Roman Empire is long gone. So are pretty much all of its many religions. But Christianity remains and is spread throughout the world. God does protect us and guide us in the midst of things that make us feel like we are too small and insignificant to be of any purpose.
We are always held securely by God. We have nothing to ultimately fear by what goes on in the world around us. And remember, all the work of preservation and protection is also God’s work. It is not by our own efforts that we survive.
Which takes us to the question, what then are we to do? If we are powerless in the forces that sway the world, and God ultimately brings about this glorious secure future, then what role do we actually play? There we look what Jesus says in our gospel reading: He proclaims blessings on many who are overlooked and oppressed; and woes on many who are comfortable and powerful. Then he concludes, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you…” and onward.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not us being weak or timid. It is not about letting the world walk all over us as if we were doormats. What Jesus teaches is actually encouraging the weak to constructively stand up to the strong, and in ways that challenge the honor of the strong. It is about solidly standing on the promises of God and realizing everything else is of lesser consequence.
If following God leads to poverty, hunger, and weeping, then so be it. It is the greater honor and promise to serve our God. If we are hurt and battered and pushed about, then so be it. It is the greater power to do God’s work. And if we even be killed in the service of our God, then so be it. It is the greater glory to be held by God in eternity.
God scoffs at what we humans call powerful: money, status, weapons, and the like. God shows real eternal power in the work of Jesus – where self-gift on the cross brought about salvation and resurrection.
The prophet Daniel talked about great empires that appeared powerful and who menaced God’s people for centuries. All of those empires are gone. God’s people continue. The early Christians felt the same powerlessness in the face of Roman power. But God protected them and helped them grow. No matter what happens in the future of our nation, God’s love and God’s people continue. The solid enduring love of Christ goes on and on into eternity. On All Saints Sunday we remember those who struggled before us. We celebrate them. Our own lives continue the struggle. In time, we will take our rest too. And ultimately God will bring all things to his promised fulfillment.
Monday, October 27, 2025
October 26, 2025 Reformation Sunday Luke 18:15-30
It is Reformation Sunday. The phrase for today is that we are, “saved by grace through faith.” Those are fine churchy words, but what do they mean? The wealthy ruler that we read about in the gospel reading gives us a perfect example to learn from.
This ruler doesn’t just suddenly appear in front of Jesus out of the blue though. As Luke tells the story of Jesus he says that people were bringing infants to him that he might touch them. The disciples saw it. In what we might call an admirable attempt to protect their master from being bothered, they tell people to stop. But Jesus replies, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” (Luke 18:16)
It's a sweet scene – Jesus welcoming children and being kind to them. But then Jesus says something that is difficult and confusing, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17) What are we to make of that? Does that mean you have to start your journey of Christian faith in childhood? Or is it more symbolic, like you need to have childish innocence and powerlessness in order to enter the kingdom of God? Jesus doesn’t give any answers directly, but when the rich ruler steps forward we find out what Jesus means.
It appears that the ruler was in the crowd as Jesus was blessing the children. So he steps forward and asks for clarification about his own situation. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” That sounds to us like this ruler is complementing Jesus by calling him good. And he was, but what we may miss is that it was a compliment with strings attached. According to social rules of the day, one complement deserves another. In other words, the way this man compliments Jesus sort of puts Jesus under obligation to compliment him in return.
These days what you say and how you say it often indicates what political party you belong to and what your values are. We could call it moral posturing or virtue signaling. That’s along the lines of what this man is doing with Jesus. He’s showing his commitment to a particular set of social conventions, showing he is part of a particular social group, and how he expects life and relationships to work.
When Jesus replies, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” Jesus is not denying his own goodness. He is signaling to the man that he is not going to play a game of moral posturing and virtue signaling. Jesus continues, “You know the commandments…” and he lists some of them. Thus, while Jesus isn’t playing along, he does start a different game of sorts. Listing the commandments like this is not meant to teach them. Jesus started off with, “You know the commandments…” What Jesus is doing is using a technique of using the Ten Commandments as a baseline to then teach something about how to apply them. So the ruler replies, “I have kept all these since my youth.” In other words, he is blameless. He is powerful, a leader, upright, and of high social standing. All of it has come about from his own efforts. By social conventions of the time you could say that he has it all, and that he merits it.
So now it is Jesus’ turn to teach something about how to apply the commandments. What things more should this ruler do? What should he do to merit a higher and more certain status before God?
You know Jesus’ reply. He does not reply about the commandments at all. If this man started off by complimenting Jesus so as to manipulate social conventions such that Jesus had to compliment him in return, Jesus now manipulates religious conventions in a way that corners this man. “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
The ruler is now faced with the wholesale rejection of: his status in the world, his financial security, his social networks, and even his understanding of God. Everything, and Jesus means everything, that gives this man a position in the world has to go.
This scene was initiated by Jesus welcoming little children and saying that it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. A little child has: no developed social network, no financial portfolio to leverage, no possessions, and not even a morality that could lead to moral posturing or virtue signaling. A child is dependent upon its parents for everything. It is not even capable of meriting being loved. Now we know what Jesus meant. Receiving the kingdom as a child is not about innocence or immaturity. It is about dependence.
Faced with the wholesale rejection of everything that gave the ruler an identity he is saddened. He could have been angry. He could have lashed out at what Jesus taught. If social media were around at the time he could have lashed out against Jesus and tried to get him “cancelled”. But since he is saddened we realize that he probably was genuinely interested in what Jesus had to say. He did respect Jesus when he called him good and teacher. Jesus looks at him in his sadness and says, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier to for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (18:24-25)
The rich man disappears from the story line. We are left to wonder what happened to him. Presumably he couldn’t do what Jesus said.
But he’s not the only one struggling with all of this. Those who heard Jesus said, “Then who can be saved?” Indeed, if being: respectable, hardworking, conscientious, and rule-abiding doesn’t make God love you, then what possibly could? What could God possibly want from us so that God loves us?
Here on Reformation Sunday we realize that that whole way of thinking is totally backwards. Yet that is exactly the way we are inclined to think. We live the way God wants – we are “good people” in other words – and God then takes us to heaven after we die.
I have been at a lot of death beds over the years and I’ve done plenty of funerals. I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard things like, “She was a good person.” Or, “He may have been a bit rough, but he was a good person at heart. I’m sure he’s in heaven with God right now.” My Lutheran theology wants to scream out and say: “Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!” But my pastoral sensibility keeps me quiet. I end up muttering something about we are all sinners in need of God’s grace, but the hearer thinks I’ve actually agreed with them.
“Then who can be saved?” they ask. Jesus replies with the truth. It is the simple, honest, straightforward truth: it is impossible.
That’s it. End of story. Do you want to be saved? Forget it. It’s not going to happen. You can’t do it. You’re lost, condemned, dead, damned. Too bad.
Except you aren’t saved by being: respectable, hardworking, conscientious, and rule-abiding. You are saved by God’s grace through faith; with faith itself being a gracious gift from God.
Jesus said, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”
Now we’re at the core of what the rich ruler needed. We’re at the core of what we need too. It is the profound and absolute recognition of how helpless we are in our situation and how completely dependent we are upon God.
Salvation comes by God and God alone. It is not possible for us. No morality or merit of our own, regardless of the religious system, can get us there. If it could, then we could be smug and leveraging and manipulative; and do our virtue signaling and moral posturing, and have ‘correct’ political leanings, and all of that.
But when you are saved by God’s grace through faith all of that – all of it – is chucked out completely.
Inasmuch as we are moral, hard-working, conscientious, and all of that, it is the reasonable response to God’s grace. We say that if God does truly save us out of unmerited love, then we can live in love as well. We do so without strategy or scheme. We simply do it. Our lives of faith are not a strategy. They are a response.
God’s love and constant embrace of us gives us freedom. It gives us comfort. It gives us joy. We can live in true confidence. The Reformation renewed these truths 500 years ago. But of course they go back to Jesus himself. Despite their age they are as relevant to today as ever. They are what we build our lives upon.
This ruler doesn’t just suddenly appear in front of Jesus out of the blue though. As Luke tells the story of Jesus he says that people were bringing infants to him that he might touch them. The disciples saw it. In what we might call an admirable attempt to protect their master from being bothered, they tell people to stop. But Jesus replies, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” (Luke 18:16)
It's a sweet scene – Jesus welcoming children and being kind to them. But then Jesus says something that is difficult and confusing, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17) What are we to make of that? Does that mean you have to start your journey of Christian faith in childhood? Or is it more symbolic, like you need to have childish innocence and powerlessness in order to enter the kingdom of God? Jesus doesn’t give any answers directly, but when the rich ruler steps forward we find out what Jesus means.
It appears that the ruler was in the crowd as Jesus was blessing the children. So he steps forward and asks for clarification about his own situation. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” That sounds to us like this ruler is complementing Jesus by calling him good. And he was, but what we may miss is that it was a compliment with strings attached. According to social rules of the day, one complement deserves another. In other words, the way this man compliments Jesus sort of puts Jesus under obligation to compliment him in return.
These days what you say and how you say it often indicates what political party you belong to and what your values are. We could call it moral posturing or virtue signaling. That’s along the lines of what this man is doing with Jesus. He’s showing his commitment to a particular set of social conventions, showing he is part of a particular social group, and how he expects life and relationships to work.
When Jesus replies, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” Jesus is not denying his own goodness. He is signaling to the man that he is not going to play a game of moral posturing and virtue signaling. Jesus continues, “You know the commandments…” and he lists some of them. Thus, while Jesus isn’t playing along, he does start a different game of sorts. Listing the commandments like this is not meant to teach them. Jesus started off with, “You know the commandments…” What Jesus is doing is using a technique of using the Ten Commandments as a baseline to then teach something about how to apply them. So the ruler replies, “I have kept all these since my youth.” In other words, he is blameless. He is powerful, a leader, upright, and of high social standing. All of it has come about from his own efforts. By social conventions of the time you could say that he has it all, and that he merits it.
So now it is Jesus’ turn to teach something about how to apply the commandments. What things more should this ruler do? What should he do to merit a higher and more certain status before God?
You know Jesus’ reply. He does not reply about the commandments at all. If this man started off by complimenting Jesus so as to manipulate social conventions such that Jesus had to compliment him in return, Jesus now manipulates religious conventions in a way that corners this man. “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
The ruler is now faced with the wholesale rejection of: his status in the world, his financial security, his social networks, and even his understanding of God. Everything, and Jesus means everything, that gives this man a position in the world has to go.
This scene was initiated by Jesus welcoming little children and saying that it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. A little child has: no developed social network, no financial portfolio to leverage, no possessions, and not even a morality that could lead to moral posturing or virtue signaling. A child is dependent upon its parents for everything. It is not even capable of meriting being loved. Now we know what Jesus meant. Receiving the kingdom as a child is not about innocence or immaturity. It is about dependence.
Faced with the wholesale rejection of everything that gave the ruler an identity he is saddened. He could have been angry. He could have lashed out at what Jesus taught. If social media were around at the time he could have lashed out against Jesus and tried to get him “cancelled”. But since he is saddened we realize that he probably was genuinely interested in what Jesus had to say. He did respect Jesus when he called him good and teacher. Jesus looks at him in his sadness and says, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier to for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (18:24-25)
The rich man disappears from the story line. We are left to wonder what happened to him. Presumably he couldn’t do what Jesus said.
But he’s not the only one struggling with all of this. Those who heard Jesus said, “Then who can be saved?” Indeed, if being: respectable, hardworking, conscientious, and rule-abiding doesn’t make God love you, then what possibly could? What could God possibly want from us so that God loves us?
Here on Reformation Sunday we realize that that whole way of thinking is totally backwards. Yet that is exactly the way we are inclined to think. We live the way God wants – we are “good people” in other words – and God then takes us to heaven after we die.
I have been at a lot of death beds over the years and I’ve done plenty of funerals. I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard things like, “She was a good person.” Or, “He may have been a bit rough, but he was a good person at heart. I’m sure he’s in heaven with God right now.” My Lutheran theology wants to scream out and say: “Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!” But my pastoral sensibility keeps me quiet. I end up muttering something about we are all sinners in need of God’s grace, but the hearer thinks I’ve actually agreed with them.
“Then who can be saved?” they ask. Jesus replies with the truth. It is the simple, honest, straightforward truth: it is impossible.
That’s it. End of story. Do you want to be saved? Forget it. It’s not going to happen. You can’t do it. You’re lost, condemned, dead, damned. Too bad.
Except you aren’t saved by being: respectable, hardworking, conscientious, and rule-abiding. You are saved by God’s grace through faith; with faith itself being a gracious gift from God.
Jesus said, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”
Now we’re at the core of what the rich ruler needed. We’re at the core of what we need too. It is the profound and absolute recognition of how helpless we are in our situation and how completely dependent we are upon God.
Salvation comes by God and God alone. It is not possible for us. No morality or merit of our own, regardless of the religious system, can get us there. If it could, then we could be smug and leveraging and manipulative; and do our virtue signaling and moral posturing, and have ‘correct’ political leanings, and all of that.
But when you are saved by God’s grace through faith all of that – all of it – is chucked out completely.
Inasmuch as we are moral, hard-working, conscientious, and all of that, it is the reasonable response to God’s grace. We say that if God does truly save us out of unmerited love, then we can live in love as well. We do so without strategy or scheme. We simply do it. Our lives of faith are not a strategy. They are a response.
God’s love and constant embrace of us gives us freedom. It gives us comfort. It gives us joy. We can live in true confidence. The Reformation renewed these truths 500 years ago. But of course they go back to Jesus himself. Despite their age they are as relevant to today as ever. They are what we build our lives upon.
Monday, October 20, 2025
October 19, 2025 Pray Persistently and Humbly Luke 18:1-14
I said at the beginning of the service that the two parables in the gospel reading may seem to be separate but they are actually linked. It’s pretty obvious, as the second parable begins with the words, “[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.” Even so, how do the Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge, and the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector link? To get right to it, they’re both about prayer. The combined message is to pray with both persistence and humility. I suppose I could end the sermon right there, but it’s worth seeing how and why they link.
Let’s remember that even the first of these two parables doesn’t come out of nowhere. Last week we left off with Luke 17. People were asking Jesus about the coming of the kingdom of God. That ended with us the readers realizing that the disciples of Jesus had no greater faith or understanding than Jesus’ opponents. We keep that in mind as we go forward.
The first parable is about the need to pray always and not lose heart. Perhaps the easiest way to understand what this parable is teaching is to understand what it is not. It is not about praying to God like a teenager badgering his or her parents for something until, hopefully, eventually, they give in out of exasperation. Prayer is not about pestering God; as if God is testing you to see if you really want it badly enough to ask for it over and over again.
Prayer is also not asking for things from God as if God were a genie in a lamp. The genie then comes out and grants wishes. Many people basically have that as their prayer life. As long as everything is going okay in life, or perhaps as long as everything in life is going on in a way that they feel they can control, they’re quite content to trust in themselves. Only when something goes out of control do they turn to God in prayer.
I’ve used the example before of the time that the pastor of the Lutheran church in Verona asked me to visit a parishioner who was in her late 20s and had been sent to Strong Hospital with several life-threatening conditions. When I first arrived she was in surgery. It didn’t look good. I talked with her husband and friends in the surgical waiting room. If she survived the first surgery there would be more ahead. None of it would be easy and she’d never live a truly good life no matter what. The family and friends were distraught; begging me to pray for them and for God to give a miracle. It was a tough situation. I stayed with them for quite a while and indeed prayed with them. The surgery was going to take a long time and I eventually left. I checked back in with them several hours later and that particular surgery had been successful. They were happy. They told me they were now good and they didn’t need me. Even as I reminded them that this was the first of several surgeries, and the whole situation had no real chance of coming out good, they said they were fine.
But things weren’t fine. Her condition plummeted a few hours later as a series of other things went wrong. Now the family was distraught again and asked for me and for prayer. We went through a few of those cycles. Every time things looked good they said they didn’t need me. Every time things looked hopeless they asked God for a miracle. Though it was difficult, her condition really was beyond hope from the very beginning. All the hospital staff knew that. Mercifully she died within a couple days.
That is an example of how many people pray. They look to themselves for most things. When things are beyond their control they look to God. But that’s no way to pray. The way to pray is a persistent attitude of wrestling with issues with God, and in a relationship of faith. Prayer is not about getting stuff.
Another thing that the parable is not, is that the unjust judge in the parable does not represent God. The judge is just a foil against whom God is compared. Jesus says, ““Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.” (18:6b-7) In other words, God is truly with us, wants what is good for us, and on our side all along.
Justice in the parable is not identical to our notions of social justice today; although there are overlaps. Justice in the parable is much broader. Commentator Joel Green notes, “God’s people will be the objects of unjust actions within an unjust world.” (New International Commentary of the New Testament, Luke, Pg. 642) The entire orientation of society, and the whole human enterprise, is fundamentally unjust. Humans do not trust God as they should. Just like people who only turn to God when they need something they can’t get otherwise, we humans look to ourselves for fulfillment rather than absolutely trusting the God who created us and loves us.
Jesus says to pray to God persistently. This is not because we want stuff. It is because it’s the correct attitude to understand all things and to act accordingly. Much later in Luke’s gospel Jesus is in Gethsemane and about to be arrested. He begs three times in prayer that he not have to go through with the arrest, beating, and painful execution. But apparently the answer is no. That is the most faith-filled prayer ever made, and it led to Jesus having the strength to stay the course.
So, persistence in prayer then leads us to the second parable about humility in prayer. Jesus creates a story about a Pharisee and tax collector who go to the temple to pray. The Pharisee may seem arrogant to us, but let’s realize something of ourselves in him. Perhaps we don’t strut around with our noses stuck in the air thinking that we are somehow superior beings. And yet, that thinking can pervade our faith.
The Pharisee in the parable seems to do everything right. He has an honorable profession and conducts himself appropriately. He says in his prayer that he is not a thief, rogue, adulterer, or like the tax collector. He observes all religious duties and gives generously. Presumably he is thought of highly in society. He is disciplined, conscientious, and diligent. He’s the kind of guy you want to have as a next-door neighbor. We can picture him as having a good wife. His kids are well-behaved, well-rounded, and get good grades.
It’s hard to be that sort of person and not become a bit arrogant about it. After all, doing life “right” takes a lot of work and discipline. You can look at a person who is never consistent with a job, or has wasteful habits, or is addicted to something and see them as lazy, sloppy, and careless. You then conclude that they deserve the hardships and problems in their lives.
While I never want to preach anything other than being highly conscientious and responsible, when you achieve earthly success it is easy to slip into the thinking that God must be smiling down on you for your goodness. You think that God creates and sustains the lives of people like you. You think you deserve, and have every right to, the life you live. You think that if others just did what is right and lived with the priorities that you exhibit, their lives would be good too. You subtly think that others whose lives are full of problems are clearly living out the consequences of their flawed morality. God is then just giving them what they deserve; perhaps even as a means of goading them into righteousness.
The tax collector in the parable would be such a person. Tax collectors were generally despised for any number of reasons. He stands back and just asks God for mercy.
It is worth noting that throughout Luke’s gospel tax collectors are never actually called out for being especially sinful for their jobs. Both Jesus and John the Baptist just call on them to do their jobs ethically. So, the tax collector here is not necessarily sinful. The only real difference between the two men in the parable is that the Pharisee is exulted by society and the tax collector is looked down upon.
Notice in the parable the Jesus does not describe the tax collector as listing out before God all the things he does that are immoral or wrong. He simply comes before God with humility and says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Let’s not read all sorts of immoral conduct into this man that may or may not be there. Again, the only real difference between he and the Pharisee is that the Pharisee is focused on his self-made righteousness. That shows up in his prayer. He sees his faith in God as something that is his own good work. Whereas the tax collector (also clearly a man of faith or else he wouldn’t be praying in the temple), focuses on his need for God’s mercy. Though Jesus describes the tax collector as beating his breast as he asks for mercy, that does not mean that he is depressed or ashamed. He simply knows he comes to God with needs while also having nothing of value to give to God. He is truly humble. Jesus says this is the correct attitude for prayer.
So again, together the parables teach us persistence and humility in prayer. This is not a strategy to pray most effectively. It is the attitude that puts you in right relationship with God. Prayer is a core aspect of that relationship. Let me end with theses fitting words from Martin Luther: “When I look at myself I don’t see how I can be saved. When I look at Christ, I don’t see how I can be lost.”
Let’s remember that even the first of these two parables doesn’t come out of nowhere. Last week we left off with Luke 17. People were asking Jesus about the coming of the kingdom of God. That ended with us the readers realizing that the disciples of Jesus had no greater faith or understanding than Jesus’ opponents. We keep that in mind as we go forward.
The first parable is about the need to pray always and not lose heart. Perhaps the easiest way to understand what this parable is teaching is to understand what it is not. It is not about praying to God like a teenager badgering his or her parents for something until, hopefully, eventually, they give in out of exasperation. Prayer is not about pestering God; as if God is testing you to see if you really want it badly enough to ask for it over and over again.
Prayer is also not asking for things from God as if God were a genie in a lamp. The genie then comes out and grants wishes. Many people basically have that as their prayer life. As long as everything is going okay in life, or perhaps as long as everything in life is going on in a way that they feel they can control, they’re quite content to trust in themselves. Only when something goes out of control do they turn to God in prayer.
I’ve used the example before of the time that the pastor of the Lutheran church in Verona asked me to visit a parishioner who was in her late 20s and had been sent to Strong Hospital with several life-threatening conditions. When I first arrived she was in surgery. It didn’t look good. I talked with her husband and friends in the surgical waiting room. If she survived the first surgery there would be more ahead. None of it would be easy and she’d never live a truly good life no matter what. The family and friends were distraught; begging me to pray for them and for God to give a miracle. It was a tough situation. I stayed with them for quite a while and indeed prayed with them. The surgery was going to take a long time and I eventually left. I checked back in with them several hours later and that particular surgery had been successful. They were happy. They told me they were now good and they didn’t need me. Even as I reminded them that this was the first of several surgeries, and the whole situation had no real chance of coming out good, they said they were fine.
But things weren’t fine. Her condition plummeted a few hours later as a series of other things went wrong. Now the family was distraught again and asked for me and for prayer. We went through a few of those cycles. Every time things looked good they said they didn’t need me. Every time things looked hopeless they asked God for a miracle. Though it was difficult, her condition really was beyond hope from the very beginning. All the hospital staff knew that. Mercifully she died within a couple days.
That is an example of how many people pray. They look to themselves for most things. When things are beyond their control they look to God. But that’s no way to pray. The way to pray is a persistent attitude of wrestling with issues with God, and in a relationship of faith. Prayer is not about getting stuff.
Another thing that the parable is not, is that the unjust judge in the parable does not represent God. The judge is just a foil against whom God is compared. Jesus says, ““Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.” (18:6b-7) In other words, God is truly with us, wants what is good for us, and on our side all along.
Justice in the parable is not identical to our notions of social justice today; although there are overlaps. Justice in the parable is much broader. Commentator Joel Green notes, “God’s people will be the objects of unjust actions within an unjust world.” (New International Commentary of the New Testament, Luke, Pg. 642) The entire orientation of society, and the whole human enterprise, is fundamentally unjust. Humans do not trust God as they should. Just like people who only turn to God when they need something they can’t get otherwise, we humans look to ourselves for fulfillment rather than absolutely trusting the God who created us and loves us.
Jesus says to pray to God persistently. This is not because we want stuff. It is because it’s the correct attitude to understand all things and to act accordingly. Much later in Luke’s gospel Jesus is in Gethsemane and about to be arrested. He begs three times in prayer that he not have to go through with the arrest, beating, and painful execution. But apparently the answer is no. That is the most faith-filled prayer ever made, and it led to Jesus having the strength to stay the course.
So, persistence in prayer then leads us to the second parable about humility in prayer. Jesus creates a story about a Pharisee and tax collector who go to the temple to pray. The Pharisee may seem arrogant to us, but let’s realize something of ourselves in him. Perhaps we don’t strut around with our noses stuck in the air thinking that we are somehow superior beings. And yet, that thinking can pervade our faith.
The Pharisee in the parable seems to do everything right. He has an honorable profession and conducts himself appropriately. He says in his prayer that he is not a thief, rogue, adulterer, or like the tax collector. He observes all religious duties and gives generously. Presumably he is thought of highly in society. He is disciplined, conscientious, and diligent. He’s the kind of guy you want to have as a next-door neighbor. We can picture him as having a good wife. His kids are well-behaved, well-rounded, and get good grades.
It’s hard to be that sort of person and not become a bit arrogant about it. After all, doing life “right” takes a lot of work and discipline. You can look at a person who is never consistent with a job, or has wasteful habits, or is addicted to something and see them as lazy, sloppy, and careless. You then conclude that they deserve the hardships and problems in their lives.
While I never want to preach anything other than being highly conscientious and responsible, when you achieve earthly success it is easy to slip into the thinking that God must be smiling down on you for your goodness. You think that God creates and sustains the lives of people like you. You think you deserve, and have every right to, the life you live. You think that if others just did what is right and lived with the priorities that you exhibit, their lives would be good too. You subtly think that others whose lives are full of problems are clearly living out the consequences of their flawed morality. God is then just giving them what they deserve; perhaps even as a means of goading them into righteousness.
The tax collector in the parable would be such a person. Tax collectors were generally despised for any number of reasons. He stands back and just asks God for mercy.
It is worth noting that throughout Luke’s gospel tax collectors are never actually called out for being especially sinful for their jobs. Both Jesus and John the Baptist just call on them to do their jobs ethically. So, the tax collector here is not necessarily sinful. The only real difference between the two men in the parable is that the Pharisee is exulted by society and the tax collector is looked down upon.
Notice in the parable the Jesus does not describe the tax collector as listing out before God all the things he does that are immoral or wrong. He simply comes before God with humility and says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Let’s not read all sorts of immoral conduct into this man that may or may not be there. Again, the only real difference between he and the Pharisee is that the Pharisee is focused on his self-made righteousness. That shows up in his prayer. He sees his faith in God as something that is his own good work. Whereas the tax collector (also clearly a man of faith or else he wouldn’t be praying in the temple), focuses on his need for God’s mercy. Though Jesus describes the tax collector as beating his breast as he asks for mercy, that does not mean that he is depressed or ashamed. He simply knows he comes to God with needs while also having nothing of value to give to God. He is truly humble. Jesus says this is the correct attitude for prayer.
So again, together the parables teach us persistence and humility in prayer. This is not a strategy to pray most effectively. It is the attitude that puts you in right relationship with God. Prayer is a core aspect of that relationship. Let me end with theses fitting words from Martin Luther: “When I look at myself I don’t see how I can be saved. When I look at Christ, I don’t see how I can be lost.”
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