Luke 19:1-10
He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Salvation
Has Come
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you, the saints at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, and to the
whole people of God in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes in
conversation, we have to define our terms.
-
“Mouse
on my desk.” – Rodent problem, or the tool I use to navigate programs on my
computer?
Yesterday
was All Saints’ Day – that might mean something different for different
hearers.
-
On
the surface, the word “saint” means “one who is holy.”
-
Our
R.C. brothers and sisters have a clear and definite process for defining who is
and who is not a saint – canonization.
o
Valuable
examples of the faith!
-
In
our circles, we tend to think of people who have been declared to be holy
through faith in Jesus
o
Those
who have died and gone to heaven
o
All
the forgiven – You are a saint! Holy in God’s eyes.
o
All
about what Jesus has done
§ Zacchaeus – “Salvation has come to
this house!” (Jesus brought salvation to Zacchaeus! “I must stay at your house
today!”)
All of this
gets intertwined for us when we celebrate All Saints’ Day
-
Heroes
of the Faith.
-
Those
who have died in the faith and are now with Jesus in glory.
-
Us.
o
We
have all died in Christ
§ Tied to Jesus’ death in Baptism.
o
We
all have a new life in Christ.
§ Raised by the Holy Spirit and now
living and waiting for when the Holy Spirit will bring about the final
resurrection in the New Creation.
o
Filled
with Christ’s life.
§ Faith created and strengthened
through Hearing the Word
§ Christ’s life in us by the Lord’s
Supper
-
All
of us – Heroes, the Dead in Christ, and we who still draw breath – are alive in
Christ!
Those who
have gone before – they know the fullness of the glory
-
Mary,
Peter, John – Bible saints – Adam & Eve, Ruth, and David
-
Irenaeus,
Ambrose, Monica, Teresa – and many others, maybe you’ve never heard of
-
Even
your dear loved ones – see Jesus and dwell with him in inapproachable light.
But for us
in the here and now, we experience all of this as a matter of faith – we can’t
see it yet.
-
But
we can imagine it based on what the Bible teaches.
-
“For
All the Saints”
o
But,
lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day: The saints triumphant rise in bright
array; The King of Glory passes on His way! Alleluia!
o
From
earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, Through gates of pearl stream
in the countless host, Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia!
-
Vision
of the resurrection –
o
like
dawn breaking after the long night
o
like
the announcement of victory
o
a
host – a great crowd of people – enter into God’s presence
o
through
gates of pearl – an image from Revelation – 12 gates of huge pearls.
o
The
saints … including us, too!
It is hard
to live in that anticipation
-
We
tend to focus on Jesus’ message – “The Son of Man came to seek and save the
lost.
o
That’s
good! Without Jesus’ seeking and saving, no one is getting in!
o
This
is what we pray in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come” – the kingdom of grace
and salvation comes to us and to all who will believe!
-
All
Saints’ Day is a vision of our future as well as a comfort for our sorrows.
o
The
lost restored to glory God intended for us.
o
Now
truly holy – saints – cleansed by Jesus’ blood.
-
Sometimes
it is hard living in this “now-not-yet.”
There is a
time when all these things come close together, though
-
Eternity
pokes into time
-
At
the Lord’s Supper – “With angels, and archangels, and all the company of
heaven.”
o
Who
is in that company of heaven?
o
This
is why many churches built their altars in a semicircle.
§ The circle continues in glory
§ For us, we can imagine the saints on
the other side of the altar – what connects us?
· Jesus!
· Forgiveness by his death and
resurrection.
· New life.
· Cross and empty tomb – crosses and
empty graves!
· Salvation has come! Fully and with
anticipation
Oh, saints
of God, salvation has come! Jesus has come and saved us! And because salvation
has come, you are holy and will live forever, just like those who have gone
before us trusting in Jesus! Amen.
Comments