How Will You Go Forth and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself: 24th Sunday after Pentecost- Proper 26, Year C
Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Last week we talked about how the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, while seeming to
be holy in following Torah, really wasn’t getting at the heart of the law.
And the reading from the Prophet Isaiah is very condemning for someone who
only follows the letter of the law, no matter how strictly. Because Isaiah makes it
very clear what it is we actually should be doing.
He makes it clear that God isn’t just looking for sacrifices and festivals. He’s looking for something more. For something deeper from His people.
Because Torah does not just call us to honor God. It also means loving our neighbor, as we once again hear at the beginning of our service this morning.
Following the ritual laws to honor God doesn’t mean just blindly following step by step the process of worship. It means allowing ourselves to be in relationship with God. And we cannot do that unless we are in relationship with each other.
In fact, God says He won’t even listen to the Israelites’ prayers until they renew their relationship with each other. Until they “seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
And then, when His people allow themselves to be close not only to God but with each other, God will go even further to renew His people. He says that “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
And we see an example of God doing this in the Gospel story this morning. We see Zacchaeus, who is not only a tax collector (which I know all of you remember from last week what that means!), he is a chief tax collector. A man has become rich from his dastardly profession.
Now Zacchaeus heard Jesus was nearby, and felt some sort of call to go see Him. And Zacchaeus happened to have the same problem I do. He was quite short. So he had trouble seeing Jesus.
So Zacchaeus does what most of us would try to do. He looks for a good, elevated place to actually be able to see Jesus. Zacchaeus, though, happens to climb a tree to do so. And Jesus ends up spotting him.
But Jesus, while recognizing Zacchaeus, chooses not to chastise him. Instead, He honors him with His presence.
And because Jesus was willing to be in relationship with him, Zacchaeus decides to renew his relationship with his neighbor. He gives away half of his riches to those who need it. And in addition to that generosity, promises to give back anything he’s defrauded anyone of. And not only give it back, but do so four fold.
This is a great example of giving to the church. And a reminder to us all that we don’t need to merely tithe. That we really should give proportional to our wealth. Whatever that might be.
But the full extent of what Zacchaeus is doing is to repair the broken relationship he has with his neighbors. Those around him. And this comes about only because God chooses to come down and have a relationship with Him.
And because of the work Jesus did in restoring Zacchaeus in relationship with Him, Zacchaeus receives salvation, as Jesus tells us.
Because at the end of the day, only God can bring us to salvation. Only God can renew us.
But that renewal means being in relationship with God. And if we are in relationship with God, we are in relationship with each other too. Just as we see with Zacchaeus trying to make amends for his past wrongs. Trying to change his life. Trying to move away from selfishness to love and charity for others.
We are called to be the same with our own lives. We are not called to merely follow a law set before us like a step-by-step manual. Instead, we are called to develop our relationship with God. And often times the best way to do that is to build our relationships up with each other.
That means doing many of the things we have done already. It means being present with the people we cook for, as we did with the catfish supper, not just dropping something off to fulfill our duty. It means opening our doors to others and being present with them, as we were for our celebration of Communion with Sawyerville this summer.
It also means going outside our boundaries and being present with those who need help in this community. Even if we don’t know them.
And it means keeping our eyes open. Seeing when someone’s feeling sad. Or just needs an extra helping hand. Whether that is a stranger we meet. Or even the person sitting next to you in the pew today.
We are all, as baptized members into Christ’s body, called to love God. And by loving God, to love our neighbor. And so we are called to be in relationship with each other. To care for each other and to show that we care. So as we go forth from here, think about how you will be in love and charity with your neighbor. Think about how you will restore yourself to those you may have wronged. How you might care for the needy, the widow, and the orphan among you. Basically, ask yourself: how will you go forth and love your neighbor as yourself?