Waiting for Jesus to Show Up

This was my sermon for last Sunday. I arrived early and sat in a lawn chair up in front, with a newspaper and a pew Bible that I picked up on the way in. During the service, I moved my chair from the floor to the platform (to get a better view).

WELCOME: I’ve already been waiting here for quite a while. My name is Zach, by the way. I’ve got some time, so I can wait a little longer. I see you’re all waiting, too. We’ll just have to see how it goes. I got this list of things you’re going to do in the next little while. Some singing, I think. Not sure why you do that, but I suppose it will sound nice. Sounds awful pretty when she plays that piano. And an offering. That’s good. It will help keep the lights on and pay the Pastor, who apparently isn’t here. And it says “Sermon” down here. I don’t know how that’s going to happen when the preacher doesn’t show up. But I expect all of this will happen just fine. Most of you have probably been here and done this before. If you don’t mind I’m just going to wait and you’re welcome to hang around and wait, too, or do whatever it is you do when you’re here. I found some things to read to pass the time. I heard Jesus was going to be here, and I’m going to wait to see if he shows up.

INTRODUCTION: Okay, I’ve been here about an hour and I still haven’t seen him. I’m beginning to think I got bad information. I know this is a church but maybe I went to the wrong one, but I was sure I would see Jesus here.
I came here because something needs to be different in my life. I’ve been looking for something for a long time but I’m not even sure what it is. The days just click by. I get up, go to work, come home and eat dinner, watch TV and go to bed. I sometimes wonder what the purpose of my life is, where I’m headed (right now, and after I die). I know there should be a spiritual dimension to my life so I’ve read some of the Bible. I think a deeper connection to God might be what I’m missing. That’s why I’ve been waiting here.

I read a story while I was waiting this morning. It’s about this man named Zacchaeus. Here, I’ll read it to you. [READ: Luke 19.1-10 (NIV).] When I read this I thought, “That’s me!” I think Zacchaeus knew he needed something in his life, too. He collected taxes. In fact, it sounds like he had a staff of collectors who worked under him. But folks didn’t like him much. The tax collectors abused the people. They over-collected and kept too much for themselves. I don’t know why Zacchaeus wanted so badly to see Jesus. But apparently he had heard about Jesus and wanted to at least see him walk by.

There are a few things that struck me when I read this story about Zacchaeus.

WAITING: Zacchaeus waited where Jesus would be.

First, there’s this whole business of waiting. Zacchaeus ran ahead, and climbed up into a tree to wait. That doesn’t sound like a very dignified thing for a man in his position to do, but I guess when you want something bad enough you do what you have to do. So he was in the tree, and he waited.

Nothing wrong with waiting, I suppose. I think it’s good to be still now and then. It can kind of make us uncomfortable sometimes…to be still. Maybe being still makes us feel guilty because we don’t feel like we’re being productive. Maybe we don’t like the places our minds take us when we’re not being entertained by something.

But I’ve read Bible verses that tell us to be still. When the Israelites had left Egypt they were up against the Red Sea with the Egyptians pursuing them. There was nowhere to run. But Moses told them, “The Lord will fight for you, you only need to be still.” In the Psalms it says, “Be still and know that I am God,” and “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” It’s hard to be still and wait, but sometimes it’s the right thing to do. If we’re willing to wait for God, that shows that we trust him.

True story -- Twenty years ago this summer I waited for someone famous. I happened to be driving through Minneapolis and heard that Mikhail Gorbachev’s plane would be landing at the Minneapolis airport and his motorcade would be taking him to the governor’s mansion. Somehow I figured out where they would be driving out of the airport and I joined a small group of people on the corner, waiting for him to drive by. After a few minutes the motorcade came by and as they turned toward the onramp to the interstate they stopped. His car window came down and he put his arm out to wave at all of us. I didn’t care that much about politics, and I cared less about his politics, but he was famous and I was curious so I went and waited. So I’ve seen the former president of the Soviet Union, from his fingertips to his elbow.

I don’t know if Zacchaeus just wanted to see someone famous, or if there was something else going on in his mind. But I think it’s interesting that he didn’t wait just anywhere. He waited where he knew Jesus would be. It wouldn’t have made sense to go and wait in a different town or on a different street. So if I want to see Jesus, I should probably go where he would be.

I know the Bible says God is everywhere, but I wonder where Jesus would be if he came here to Pittsfield. Something makes me think he’d be at Third Thursday on North Street. That might not be a bad place to look for him. It seems like he’d be wanting to meet some of those folks who visit there, and who live there and work there. I wonder if Jesus would be at the Christian Center there on the corner of Linden Street and Robbins Avenue. He’d probably want to help get some food to the folks who stop in there looking for help. And I think maybe he’d stop by the Redfield House to encourage those moms and kids. And maybe he’d be at my neighbor’s house.

It might not be a bad idea to go to some of those places to look for him and we probably could do something helpful while we were there. Waiting for Jesus to show up is one thing. But going to where he would be seems to make a lot of sense.

I think we can be waiting while in our service to others, waiting in prayer, waiting in worship, waiting in relationships, waiting in the Bible, maybe even waiting in a lawn chair. In each place we are saying, “Jesus, this is where I think you would be. I am here. Come, Lord Jesus.”

SEEKING: Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus, but Jesus was looking for him (a divine appointment)

In this story about Zacchaeus there is a curious twist to the idea of seeking Jesus. Jesus came down the street, I suppose with at least some of the disciples around him and probably a crowd following along. He stopped by Zacchaeus’ tree. And instead of Zacchaeus calling out, Hey, Jesus,” Jesus says, “Hey, Zacchaeus!” The big surprise was that Jesus came to see him! Zacchaeus wasn’t in that tree because he wanted to see Jesus. He was there because Jesus wanted to see him.

This changes things, doesn’t it? There is something going on here besides a short guy climbing a tree to see a celebrity. Jesus said, “I must go to your house today.” I must go? Zacchaeus thought he had come up with this idea to catch a glimpse of Jesus, but this is really a divine appointment planned by Jesus. There is a verse in John that says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him (John 6.44).”

That’s God’s grace. Even though he didn’t know it Zacchaeus went out there and climbed that tree in response to a tug at his heart. This whole situation was God’s plan, God’s grace moving in the life of Zacchaeus. I wonder how many other people in Jericho that day had noticed a tug at their hearts but ignored it. “I hear Jesus is going to be coming through the city today. Maybe I should go out and see. No, I’ve got other things to do.”

I’m beginning to see that maybe this isn’t as much about me looking for Jesus, as that Jesus is looking for me. Luke 19:10: The Son of Man came to SEEK and to save what was lost. Jesus seeks us even more than we seek him. Better not to ignore it when grace tugs at our hearts.

BEING TRANSFORMED: Zacchaeus was transformed by his encounter with Jesus

Seeing Mr. Gorbachev’s forearm twenty years ago was interesting, but it didn’t change my life. On the other hand, meeting Jesus transformed Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus, as a tax collector and as a leader of tax collectors no less, was not well-liked. We can tell by the crowd’s disgust when they realize Jesus wants to go to the house of this dirty sinner. The truth, of course, is that Jesus would not be dirtied by the sinner, rather the sinner would be purified by Jesus.

When Jesus called to him, Zacchaeus had a choice to make. He was being offered an amazing gift. Not only did he get to see Jesus, now Jesus was inviting himself over. There are any number of reasons Zacchaeus could have declined. Perhaps this was getting in a little deeper than he was hoping for. Maybe he wanted a glimpse of Jesus, not a relationship with him. He knew that if Jesus came into his house (and into his life) he would have to let go of something else in order to have empty hands to receive the gift Jesus was about to give him.

Here was that tug of grace again. Responding to the tug is what got him into the tree in the first place. Now here’s a bolder tug. A yank of grace, if you will. He responded well. Zacchaeus gladly accepted what Jesus was offering. He let go of something that had no eternal value in order to gain everything. You know what Jonah said at the end of his prayer while he was in the belly of that big fish? He said, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” What am I clinging to that will cause me to forfeit the grace that could be mine?

Jesus came into Zacchaeus’ home, and Zacchaeus was transformed. That’s the way it works, I think. Jesus comes in, and he changes us. Zacchaeus had been a taker. Now he was a giver. He had been an observer of Jesus. Now he was a worshipper.

While I’ve been waiting here this morning, it’s beginning to become clear to me that I really only wanted a glimpse of Jesus. I was an observer of worship, not a worshipper. Maybe I’m not the only person in the room who has been an observer of worship and not a worshipper. I think someone could even sing the songs, sit and stand and the right times, and still be an observer and not a worshipper. Judging by what happened to Zacchaeus, when Jesus comes in he transforms.

Zacchaeus was a rich man. Look at this. On this other page Jesus is talking with another rich guy who wanted to follow him. I’ll read it for you. [READ Luke 18.18-27] Jesus asked that man to sell everything, but he didn’t. He went just went away feeling sad. Jesus said it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. That means it’s basically impossible.

So if Zacchaeus was a rich man how can Jesus say salvation came to Zacchaeus’ house? Zacchaeus goes looking for Jesus, and Jesus says it’s impossible for a rich man to be part of God’s kingdom? Right here (Luke 18.27) Jesus says, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” So in Zacchaeus’ case, the camel has gotten through the eye of the needle, because God can do things like that.

Maybe at times I’ve felt like I’m a hard case, like I’ll never feel close to God. Like I’ll always been an observer, just trying to catch a glimpse. But God can do this. When Jesus comes in, he transforms.

CONCLUSION:
I said at the beginning that something needed to change in my life. I came here to wait for Jesus. From reading and thinking through this story about Zacchaeus I’ve learned that waiting is okay, but it makes sense to wait where Jesus would be. I found out that Jesus is actually seeking me far more earnestly than I could ever seek him. I’ve seen that when someone responds to the tug of God’s grace, they will be transformed.

There are some verses in Romans 8 that seem to be talking directly to me about all of this. They are printed in the bulletin. I’ll read them for you.

[READ: Romans 8.26-39]

Romans 8.26-39 (The Message)
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

29-30God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

31-39So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

If you are seeking a connection with God, Jesus wants to provide that for you. Even when we don’t know the words to use, even when we’re not sure where to find him, he is looking for us, the Spirit is taking our wordless groans and turning them into eloquent prayers to the Father. God wants that relationship with us even more than we want it. He wants it so bad he gave Jesus up to pay a huge price, in our place. He is offering me an unimaginable gift of grace, and he is offering it to you. I’m going to take it. You should, too.