TODAY SALVATION... James S. Currie. Luke doesnʼt tell us. After all, it seems pretty critical to the story. Zaccheus sees Jesus,

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1 Psalm 119: !!!!!! First Presbyterian, Pasadena Luke 19:1-10!!!!!! October 30, 2016 (Reformation Sunday) TODAY SALVATION... James S. Currie! I wish I knew what went on over lunch in Zaccheusʼ house and am surprised Luke doesnʼt tell us. After all, it seems pretty critical to the story. Zaccheus sees Jesus, Jesus sees Zaccheus, Jesus tells Zaccheus that he wants to have lunch with Zaccheus, Zaccheus comes down from the tree to welcome Jesus, the people begin to grumble about Jesus going to eat with a tax collector. Then the next thing we learn is that Zaccheus declares that he is going to give away half of his possessions to the poor and return fourfold to anyone he has defrauded. Jesus responds to this announcement by Zaccheus by saying, Today salvation has come to this house because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek out and save the lost. Now, exactly what happened in that lunch conversation between Jesus and Zaccheus? That would seem to be a pretty important piece of the puzzle, donʼt you think? And yet, not only are we not told, but Jesusʼ words indicate that, whatever it was, it was significant. Today salvation has come to this house....! What might Jesus have meant by that statement? Does it refer to something Zaccheus did -- the giving away of half his possessions? returning fourfold whatever he has defrauded others of? And if Zaccheus did repent of his cheating others as a tax collector, what did Jesus say or do to prompt that response? And does salvation mean that, whatever Zaccheus did, he has now earned Godʼs favor and a place in heaven? 1

2 And what does this mean for how he will live from now on? How is Zaccheusʼ life changed in the here and now? What does salvation mean for Zaccheus?! Today is Reformation Sunday. It is the Sunday closest to October 31, the day on which in 1517 the Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, posted on the Castle Church door 95 matters he proposed for debate and discussion, one of which had to do with his objection to the churchʼs selling of indulgences for the forgiveness of the sins of oneʼs ancestors who, according to Roman Catholic belief at the time, may be spending an indefinite time in purgatory, that place of suffering of souls where sinners had to atone for the sins before being able to ascend to heaven. One of the priests whom Luther witnessed engaging in this practice of selling indulgences was Johannes Tetzel to whom is attributed this saying, As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs. His reading of the Scriptures led Luther to a different understanding of Godʼs grace and forgiveness than what the church had taught and practiced. He challenged the authority of the pope as well as many of the churchʼs doctrines. A person was justified by faith through Godʼs grace, not by any works or paying the church any particular amount of money.! As you know, Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church on January 3, He went on to translate the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek into German so that those of his fellow citizens who could read could do so in their own language without having to depend on priests and others for translation and interpretation. He married, had children, and watched as this movement spread throughout Europe -- most notably in France and Switzerland under the guidance of such persons as John Calvin and in Scotland under the work of John Knox. 2

3 ! But the roots of the Reformation go back at least two centuries before Luther. In England John Wycliffe ( ) became the first person to translate the Bible into English. He objected to the churchʼs teaching on the selling of indulgences, he repudiated the confessional saying that private confession was not ordered by Christ, and he emphasized that forgiveness was based on Godʼs grace and not on anything any person could do.! A few years after Wycliffe, John Hus (ca, ), a native of Bohemia or what is today Prague in the Czech Republic, also attacked the corruption of the church, including the pope as well as the churchʼs teachings on the Lordʼs Supper and the selling of indulgences. Hus endorsed many of Wycliffeʼs teachings. Eventually, he was burned at the stake for his beliefs and teachings.! Wycliffe and Hus paved the way for Luther and Calvin, Zwingli and Bucer, Bullinger and Knox. The Reformation was not simply a movement against the Roman Catholic Church; rather, it was a movement to return to Scripture and its authority over against that of the pope and the church. It was a movement that understood Godʼs grace as being a paramount part of the gospel of Godʼs love. And that love was not anything we could earn or that we deserved.! Martin Luther struggled with the same question the rich young ruler asked, What must I do to be saved? But when he saw Johannes Tetzel selling indulgences, assuring the buyers that their dead relatives could now be promoted to heaven, he knew that something was wrong and that that was not what Scripture taught. He knew that if salvation had to do with Godʼs love and grace, they could not be bought and sold. What he discovered was the freedom that came with the reality of Godʼs love and grace. 3

4 When we realize that the gospel does not depend on anything we do, thereʼs a freedom that allows us simply to rejoice and give thanks. Luther wrote: A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all ( A Treatise on Christian Liberty ).! I think thatʼs something of what Zaccheus experienced in his lunch with Jesus. He did not give away half of all he possessed and pay fourfold to all he may have cheated out of some sense of guilt or as repentance for the wrong he had done. No, he did what he did out of a sense of freedom and joy with discovering Godʼs undeserved grace and love. He had a change of heart. Whatever happened over lunch, it was a transforming experience. Maybe it started long before lunch. Maybe he had known of Jesus or even knew Jesus before Jesus came to Jericho. Who knows, but that day salvation came to his house, that day Zaccheus not only welcomed Jesus into his home, but welcomed him into his life, his heart, his whole being.! Zaccheus, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Hus, Luther, Calvin, and all the rest of the Reformers re-focused the churchʼs attention on the gospel in such a way that Godʼs transforming and unmerited grace revealed the freedom of the Christian to live with joy and service. No more fear. No more worry about what we have to do to earn Godʼs favor. No more wondering whether or not God loves us. God loves us. Period. So, go out and live knowing that, with that love, we are called to point others to him who changes lives, we are called to serve others, seeing in them the face of Jesus Christ.! The church is not what it was in the 16th century when Luther and Calvin lived. The church is not what it was years ago. But one of the identifying markers of the Reformed church as it came out of Switzerland and France was, reformed, and always 4

5 being reformed according to the Word of God. What that means is that we are always open -- not only to the community, but, more importantly, to the Spirit of Jesus Christ and the grace and freedom he offers all people. I would say that salvation has come to this congregation in the same way it came to Zaccheus in that we have discovered and experienced the joy and the freedom that come with knowing Godʼs love that is freely given. May we give ourselves as freely to each other and to the work of the church as Zaccheus gave of himself.! Today salvation has come.... Itʼs a present reality -- for you, for me, for the church.! Thanks be to God! 5