Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Tuesday, 1 July 2014 "Jesus' clear mission"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Tuesday, 1 July 2014 "Jesus' clear mission"
Daily Scripture: Luke 4:16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the broken hearted,[Luke 4:18 NU omits “to heal the broken hearted”]
    to proclaim release to the captives,
    recovering of sight to the blind,
    to deliver those who are crushed,
19     and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”[Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1-2]
20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
19:1 He entered and was passing through Jericho. 2 There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn’t because of the crowd, because he was short. 4 He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully. 7 When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Reflection Questions:
At the end of Jesus' three years of public ministry, the outcome might have seemed like a real letdown to human eyes. He had only 120 or so followers, and determined hostility from the religious leaders of his nation. Yet from our vantage point, we can see that those three years of ministry changed the world forever. And a key to Jesus' ability to do that was his crystal-clear, resolute sense of what his mission was, what he was here to do.
Jesus quoted from (and adapted) Isaiah 61:1-3 in the synagogue in Nazareth to define his mission. "To preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" has a nice poetic ring. What can you do each day to live into the meaning of those words in the gritty, unpoetic, day-to-day realities of life?
Zacchaeus, "a ruler among tax collectors, was rich." His wealth didn't come from hard, honest work. Tax collectors paid Rome a secret, fixed amount—everything else they collected was theirs. In other words, they got rich by cheating people. What did it say about Jesus' mission that he would go out of his way to reach out to an unlovely man like Zacchaeus? How did verse 10 express Jesus' unshakeable sense of his mission?
Today's Prayer:
Lord, thank you that even as I seek you, you have been seeking me, as you did Zacchaeus. Help me respond as Zacchaeus did, setting aside anything that might get in the way of loving and serving you. Amen.
Insight from Sam Johnson
Sam Johnson is serving as a summer intern in Congregational Care at The Church of the Resurrection (and helping out Rev. Glen Shoup by writing today’s Insights blog).
One of the first Bible stories I can remember learning as a kid was the story of a “wee little man” named Zacchaeus. My Sunday school class taught us a song that goes something like this:
“Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in the sycamore tree, the Savior for to see.
And when the Savior passed that way, He looked up in the tree,
And he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down from there;
For I’m going to your house today, for I’m going to your house today.”
As an elementary school student, I remember thinking how cool it was that we were singing a song about some guy who climbed a tree (obviously my priorities were a bit different than now). I would’ve never imagined that the song about “some guy who climbed a tree” would become one of the most defining stories of my journey as a follower of Christ.
Zacchaeus was unloved by society. Those around Zacchaeus disregarded him because he was a chief tax collector and became lavishly wealthy by cheating people out of their money. (I guess they forgot to mention that part in the song…)
As told in Luke 19, when Zacchaeus heard that Jesus would be passing through town, he decided he wanted to take a look for himself. Because he was short in stature, or a “wee little man” as the song beautifully states, he had to climb a tree in order to see Jesus coming down the road.
I’ve had numerous tough moments in my life when I felt as if I couldn’t see Jesus passing through my town. I’ve felt unloved, knocked down, defeated, and filled with the overwhelming sense of uncertainty. Many times climbing the tree wasn’t enough – I still couldn’t see Jesus in my life.
Verse five states that Jesus saw Zacchaeus in his desperate attempt to see the Son of God and said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” In the darkest moments of my life, I have to remind myself that Jesus is always telling me, “Sam, come down immediately.” He desires to see me during my weakest days. He wants to take care of me when I’m hurting and He hopes I want to see Him as well.
Though the entire story of Zacchaeus is special to me, the most valuable piece is verse 10– “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The Son of Man came to find Zacchaeus, just as He comes to find me every day. Some days I forget what it’s like to be pursued by the Savior of the world, the King of kings.
Even during my deepest valleys, I know I’m not lost. The word “seek” lends itself to being a continual action – a word that has no notable end. The way Jesus seeks us is never ending.
Jesus came to seek you in your lowest of lows.
Jesus came to seek you in your deepest of valleys.
Jesus came to seek you in your darkest of days.
Jesus came to seek you because Jesus never fails, and He certainly never gives up.
If you feel lost today, know that God is looking for you. Just as the “wee little man” was told to come down from the tree to meet Jesus, the Lord is saying to you, “Come down immediately. You won’t be lost today.”
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