The Transforming Encounter with God

3 November 2019 –– Proper 26 Lectionary 31

Luke 19:1-10

For Zacchaeus the encounter with Jesus is transforming. He is shaken up as he hears Jesus speak, for he has received an invitation to be a part of the reign of God as it unfolds. He also recognizes that radical changes are necessary. There is a cost to discipleship.

Sometimes that cost is being shunned or ridiculed. Sometimes there is a loss of business or unemployment because one is singled out. Sometimes there are charges of hypocrisy as people strive to make changes in their lives, but others question their motives. And then think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Romero and the countless unnamed people of the last century who were killed for speaking courageously against the injustices taking place. . . .

Yes, there is a cost to discipleship. It is a cost to change one’s life in order to follow the teachings of the Gospel. There is a price to pay to buck conformity and popular wisdom and comfortable values and ethics. There is a price we pay when we seek to change our lives to conform ourselves Christ. There is a cost when we seek to overcome the power of evil at work in our midst. . . .

Every time we receive the Eucharist. . . it emboldens us with God’s strength and courage to do what needs to be done, and not to hold back and allow evil to prevail. –– Kenneth Schmidt

Isaiah 1:10-18

Isaiah preached at a crucial time in the history of Judah. Assyria was on the rise; the new superpower would soon destroy the northern kingdom of Israel and threaten Jerusalem itself. . . .

The prophet denounces a shallow religion that knows all the proper forms and rituals but is lacking sincerity of heart and purity of life. We can actually hear the disgust the LORD feels: “I have had enough of burnt offerings. . .” Offering “many prayers” (v 15) will not gain the LORD’s attention when the hands of those who pray are full of blood.

Rather, the Lord requires both the cessation of sin—"Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good”— and the living of virtuous lives—"Seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” –– Joseph McHugh

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians. . . begins with thanksgiving for the quality of life in the Thessalonian church. . . . If we jump from verse 4 straight on to verse 11, we find that this praise is incomplete: without prayer this encouragement is mere flattery. The compliments need to be overshadowed by a plea that the church’s faithfulness (always a tender growth) will be preserved and increased by the power of God. The Revised Common Lectionary makes this jump.

Include verses 5–10, and the preacher’s self-examination gets more troublesome. What do we honestly say about the fate of unbelievers? And who are they? –– David Tripp

Joseph McHugh, a freelance writer on scripture and other religious topics, published Getting to Know the Bible: An Introduction to Sacred Scripture for Catholics (ACTA Publications, 2003).

Kenneth Schmidt, a Roman Catholic priest, served as pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Student Parish of Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College and co-founded the diocesan Trauma Recovery Program assisting adult survivors of childhood trauma.

David Tripp, a United Methodist minister, served Salem United Methodist Church in Indiana and the British Methodist ministry for twenty-eight years and wrote in liturgics and related subjects.

Homily Service 40, no. 12 (2007): 21-33.