Wee Little Man

Zaccheus was a wee little man
A wee little man was he
He climbed into a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
The Lord was walking by that day
He looked up into the tree
"Zaccheus, you come down!
I am going to your house today

This is an excerpt from an early Bible. You think not! You are wrong, then. Children's Sunday school songs are the first scripture small children hear. It influences them all their lives, more than you know. Picture the phrase "Zaccheus, you come down!" with a 4 year old shaking their finger and you definitely get the idea that Zaccheus was a naughty boy. And I guess he was.

However, as I studied the scripture for this week, I saw many things about Zaccheus that I had never seen before. Jesus was passing through Jericho and he was gathering a crowd. Pretty big hurrah, folks were gathering along the street, thick enough that Zaccheus could not see. Zaccheus was desperate to see Jesus, so much so, that the rich tax collector, lowered himself enough to climb into a tree. Just to see Him.

Details are like clues in the scripture. They are not there for nothing! Small in stature was not mentioned casually. It was not reveale simply to set the stage for a bit of climbing. Short people are either very comfortable with their size or extremely not. When they are not, they compensate. Whether it is shoe lifts or being the class clown, they do something.

Zaccheus, tired of being looked down upon (literally) put himself in a place where he could look down on the folks who had disrespected him. Top honcho - kind of like a mob godfather. But in this story, he was not beyond risking embarrassment to get a look at Jesus.

What I love is the fact that Jesus looked into the tree and did not miss a beat. "There you are Zaccheus, been looking for you! What's for dinner?" Wasn't that incredible! Has that ever happened to you. You are in an embarrassing situation and someone steps in and helps you save face. To the crowd, it looked like Jesus came to Jericho just to dine with him. Wow!

Zaccheus was taken aback, but delighted. In that encounter, something happened. Zaccheus was extended scandalous grace. Scandalous in that he did not deserve it. Scandalous in the fact that Jesus was immediately condemned for doing it.

Jesus stated to one and all that Zaccheus was a son of Abraham. No matter what he had done, or how tall he was, or what he would continue doing - he was still and always would be a son of Abraham. God was no discerner of persons and boy did that make alot of folks mad. But it did not matter. Because of that extension of the hand of God, Zaccheus found what he was seeking. And it changed his life.

The life of one wee little man.

Constructive Criticism

What is ever constructive about criticism?

Does it ever "build" anything? I mean other than the purveyor's idea of him or herself. Criticism means there is an assumed ideal. And the ideal is in the eye of the beholder. So it is, in fact,the author of the statement.

So where did the ideal originate. Who was the first authority and where did the concept come from? I love to watch dog shows and it is interesting to see exactly what is considered a "true" breed. There are a few really weird and kooky looking dogs. Who originally said that is a whatcha-ma-call-it and this is the most perfect one there is. Where did their authority come from?

As "Christians" we feel we have the ideal in front (or back) of us. In the embodiment of God incarnate, Jesus Christ. But when we judge, we are not using Him as the plumb line, but ourselves. If He came as the form of unconditional grace, any conditions we place on others are truly ours, not His. And if there is any standard we hold, it is ours. That is where the rub is. If it is do-able (we have proven that) then anything less you do is not up to par, which means you did not give it your all, therefore you are unworthy. But unworthy of what? Love that has no conditions?

You can't see it but I am scratching my head.

Open Wide

Spoon feeding
In actuality, during the first part of my life I was spoon-fed probably 7% of the Bible over and over and over. Taken out of the Bible “bowl” and fed to me by caring teachers, preachers, parents, youth counselors. Heck, up until about 20 years ago, I did the feeding. Taking a popular passage or theme and neatly dicing it into manageable, tasteful bites for my adult class.
Lately though, using the lectionary to teach from, I have faced some pretty challenging passages in the Bible. Now it was tempting to take that bite-size morsel and dress it up with some new twist or take and feed them the same verse again, but I couldn’t do it. It was not the text or the verse, it is me. My tastes have changed.
At first, I would leave the verse where it lay and try to work out the surrounding scripture into some type of acceptable compliment. You know, make it behave and mean just exactly what I had always felt the central verse had always meant to me, traditionally. But that did not work. Like a cowlick in your hair, I just could not make it lay there. It just kept sticking out.
It was so tempting to sweep the tough parts under the spiritual carpet, but I could not do that either. So I served up the dish at the first of the week and just mulled it over with God. No commentaries, no former ideas, no throw down lessons from the past. Just let it sit and ferment. And it always (so far) comes out good. No better than good. God always shows me something I had failed to see before. In fact, He shows me that the best stuff is found in the hardest to reach. Like a hard pecan shell that you have to crack and then dig out the soft moist nut meat because that is the only way you can get to it. So worth the work and the wait.

How They Loved Me

I love to personalize scripture and hymns. May not be correct or right or legal, but I like to do it. I love to speak the words of the Psalmist or hear the words of God spoken to me. Not the same situation, not the same time, not the same promise, but oh how I love hearing the words. This is "my" version of Psalms 91.

Psalm 91
1Whoever lives under the shelter of the Most High
will remain in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say to the LORD,
“You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
3He is the one who will rescue me from hunters’ traps
and from deadly plagues.
4He will cover me with his feathers,
and under his wings I will find refuge.
His truth is my shield and armor.
5I do not need to fear
terrors of the night,
arrows that fly during the day,
6plagues that roam the dark,
epidemics that strike at noon.
7They will not come near me,
even though a thousand may fall dead beside me
or ten thousand at me right side.
8I only have to look with your eyes
to see the punishment of wicked people.
9You, O LORD, are my refuge!
You have made the Most High your home.
10No harm will come to me.
No sickness will come near my house.
11He will put his angels in charge of me
to protect me in all my ways.
12They will carry me in their hands
so that I never hit my foot against a rock.
13I will step on lions and cobras.
I will trample young lions and snakes.
14Because I love Him, He will rescue me.
He will protect me because I know His name.
15When I call to Him, He will answer me.
He will be with me when I am in trouble.
He will save me and honor me.
16He will satisfy me with a long life.
He will show me how He will save me.

I prepared this Psalm for this Sunday's lesson. I diced and sliced. Read about the meanings of all those words not as common now as then. How their perception of might is right and evil loses though not entirely accurate was their way of looking and dealing with God.

Early Sunday morning, I took a walk at the neighborhood track. It is located in a great field with a glorious view of sunrise or sunset, depending on the time of day. I was there for the morning show and it was absolutely beautiful. I more or less told God I was just there to listen. To the beauty, to His Words in the Psalms, and any extra commentary He wanted to throw in there. I walked and walked, tossing the scripture around. Thinking how my relationship with God had changed during my life. How the very words of the Psalms had meant so many things during each stage of living.

As I started to impart my words of wisdom and discernment about His Psalms, He stopped me somehow. It was not audible, not in anyway. But God has a habit of stopping me mid sentence. I think it is the only way He can get a word in edgewise.
He said "It was how they loved me" It was not a doctrine of theology, it was a man's expression in the best way he knew to tell the world what God meant to Him.

I could pare away at it or I could just glory in the beauty of those verses. I could join him or her in the depths of their love for our mutual Father. Sing the song with him, for Him. Wow!

My Hiding Place

When I was young, I was greatly moved and formed in a way by the book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. She, her father, and her sister hid Jews during WWII. They were arrested and imprisoned at the concentration camp Ravensbruck. Only Corrie survived the time there and she went on to become a missionary to the world, fairly late in her life.

I read it at a time when anxiety and worry were the mainstay of my life. The idea of this woman, living in such horrible conditions, with only death and despair surrounding her - finding a place of peace. A place where she could dwell with God - a sanctuary, a hiding place - amidst the evil. Maybe that is why Psalms 91 is one of my favorites...

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"

For a young woman, afraid of her own shadow, I needed that shelter, that shadow, that refuge and fortress. I saw it in a home to live in, money stretching to the end of the month, car repairs that cost $50 instead of $500. All gifts from God, all signs of this protection, this refuge.

As I lived my life, I was somewhat confused about the difficulties life brought. I saw incredible Christians experience and survive some of the most horrible of events.
I became somewhat shaky in my belief, but still held firm. After a "horrible" event of my own, I changed.

I realized that the dwelling place was not lack of trouble, but a zone smack dab in the middle of it. Sitting outside in the cardiac care waiting room as my husband struggled for his life day in and day out, I realized it was a form of spiritual shock. A protection not from the pain, but my companion through the pain. As I spent a year nursing him day and night, He was my mind's filter. Not allowing me to think one thought beyond what He had given me strength to deal with.

I long to feel that again, but I do not long for the situation that made it imperative. As Christians, the "zone" is our dwelling place. If we will just step inside and rest within the wings, the arms that are greater than ours. My prayer for you and I is that we will take advantage of a gift so precious, so available, ours! Please Father, help me to see it, feel it, and live within it day by day.
Amen

More Tim

Testify!!

Don't hear that much anymore. Don't know why. I remember traveling on lay witness missions as a youth. I would give my testimony, all the time secretly hoping I had a little juicier one. Like a Hells Angel who saw their wicked way and came to Jesus! Much more dramatic.

In this verse from Timothy, Paul is doing just that. He is literally testifying to the love of God in his life.

However, I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in my unbelief.


Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. How powerful is that statement. How exciting. That is what the world is waiting to hear. You are a prostitute - I can make you white as snow. You are a murderer - let me wash your hands. You are disfigured - you are beautiful in my sight.

Everyone you know wants to hear that. Daily we struggle under the secular messages of this world. You are too young. You are too old. You are too inexperienced. You are over-qualified. You are too fat. You are too thin.

So why is it so hard for us to say?

Trust

Trust is something hard to come by and almost impossible to regain. It is taking a flying leap into someone's arms. Hoping that their honesty and integrity are solid enough to catch your trust in them. When they let you fall, it is hard to try again. You remember the pain too well.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord that he has trusted me and has appointed me to do his work with the strength he has given me. 1Timothy 1:12


Paul's persecution of the Jews in his earlier life was something many folks could not get over. I think I would personally have had trouble meeting with him, much less accepting him into my group. I think "trust" was the one thing he was ever grateful to Christ Jesus for extending to him. If anyone deserved "not" to be given a chance, it was Paul. If there was anyone less likely to trust, it was Paul. Yet Christ Jesus put not only His trust but the lives of early Christians and the church in his bloodstained hands. Wow!

But the second part of the statement is what blows me away. "He has appointed me to do his work with the strength he has given me". I think it would be better said, "And I have finally realized that the job He has given me can be only done in his strength"

In our lives, it is not always that we are too weak to do the task. I think sometimes we are too strong. We take the fragile balance of life and we tip it over. We take the delicacy of human relationships and we stomp them. We take the china parlor of His love and like a bull charge through destroying all in our way. Sometimes the things we do are more a stumbling block "in the way" of what He means for us to do.

In the name of God? I wonder.