Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.” -Luke 19:10 MSG
I like the way that Eugene Petersen renders this verse. I think that the salvation that Jesus speaks of is all about finding and restoring people who have lost hope. Folks that are sad, lonely, unhappy and unloved. To these he saves more than their souls. He restores their dignity and gives them purpose.
I want to say a few words about dignity. Humans can be so beat down. They can lose themselves as they struggle so hard to survive the day. They find themselves fighting to find love joy and hope And sadly, even the strongest lose faith and give up. These sometimes lose their dignity.
To these the Lord says, come to me with your burdens. I will help you bear them. I will give you peace and rest. I will restore your dignity. As he transforms our lives, he reconnects us with our heart. He restores dignity by revealing his unconditional love and acceptance to us.
Unconditional is an interesting word. We grow up in a world where everything seems to be conditional. Performance is everything. Our compensation at work is all about performance. Our acceptance at church is all about our religious speech and actions. Everything seems conditional.
Then Jesus comes along. His love and acceptance always seems to precede his actions. To the woman caught in adultery, he accepts her before he challenges her to get out of prostitution. He does not belittle her but restores her dignity before all those who judged her.
So why is it that some religions and religious folks focus so much on sin? Pointing out sins, like the wannabe rock hurlers who Jesus confronted did, seems to be the opposite sort of message than what Jesus delivered. I wonder if it is all about the need for blood atonement?
As I wrote here, many think that the reason that Jesus came was to die. These believe that his real ministry was not in life but in death. It was not really about what he did in his earthly ministry but the blood that he shed on the cross. These adherents are about a transaction rather than transformation.
Ever think about the idea of a Messiah? For some in the gospel books, a messianic figure would be a warrior. A powerful man (no one back then thought it would be a woman) that would, like King David, lead them in a revolt against the Roman government.
No one imagined a suffering servant. They all were expecting someone and something different than Jesus. And mostly, despite all of his miracles, he was rejected in the end. Only a few were able to see the divinity in him. Yet all but that few scattered when he was murdered.
No one imagined a suffering servant. They all were expecting someone and something different than Jesus. And mostly, despite all of his miracles, he was rejected in the end. Only a few were able to see the divinity in him. Yet all but that few scattered when he was murdered.
Before the resurrection, I think that most thought that their Messiah was a failure. They believed that Jesus came to defeat Rome and all they saw was Rome defeating him. These did not see the reason that Jesus came to earth. They could not get past the physical and enter the spiritual.
The resurrection changed everything. Jesus defeated death. He showed up in locked rooms and on sandy beaches. He ate breakfast with his followers. He restored their faith and their hope. To Peter, who still felt shame, he spoke of caring for the flock - giving him purpose and dignity.
The 40 days after the resurrection were filled with giving hope and dignity to all Jesus encountered. And on Pentecost the Holy Spirit came baptizing all who prayed with a new power and a new vision. The gospel is about such dignity and vision.
In the end, Jesus did not come to put a spiritual band-aid on. He came to bring real humility to us. The kind that breaks us of all of our religious pride and ego. And like the heartbroken disciples, he came to give us power and purpose. And these resulted in restoring our dignity.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to get comments and usually respond. So come back to see my reply.
You can click here to see my comment policy.