For our dorm floor reunion, a friend and I visited the newseum and relived our childhood experience of watching the wall to wall coverage of the aftermath of those dark days of November almost 50 years ago. He memorably replied ot a question, “life is unfair.” Granted, he had a patrician sang froid about him, but his young life knew terrible loss and a year or so after this he would lose an infant child and himself be killed befor e combing grey hari, as the Irish say.It does not take a child long to say, it’s not fair. We run political campaigns on notions of fairness. we come to church, in part, to seek some fairness in life, to wonder why it is not fair. Two stories highlight the issue of justice this morning.
In all likelihood Zacchaeus is a cheat but weasels his way into the kingdom in the eyes of others. It is possible I suppose that he does fully repent. I would agree tha the is delighte dot to be noticed by Jesus and that he gets to invite him to be his guest when the other onlookers would spurn such a request. In our time we are focused on justice for the poor, and that is right and Biblical. here, jesus shows special solicitude for a rich man who is doing the work of the roman overlords.Perhaps Z is a role model for us all. Instead of the abject misery of the tax collector in the story at prayer, this guy may well respond well because he is notice and accepted by Jesus.Instead of contrition, that may be what possibly turns him to a new leaf.He promises to do more than the law requires, so he is shown now to be in the same thought world as the Pharisee who goes over and beyond the basic religious requirements.Jesus acting so to Zacchaeus both answers and creates some problems of perceived fairness. I love tha tthe little guy gets front and center. We still discriminate against the small in all sorts of ways, and one of the defense mechanisms would be to compensate socially. Still, it hurts the elder brother, the Pharisee, in us when we see someone who does not appear ot be ethically deserving get such attention from Jesus.
One of the reasons I am working on a collection of essays on the minor prophets/book of the 12 is its gems for contemporary questions in life. Few books look so boldly at the issue of the unfairness of life and God’s response to it.Habakkuk wonders why the people wait so long for deliverance while the evil prosper, indeed prosper over them. Its start is the very foundation of lament, how long. When we are at the end of our rope, we cry out how long, or maybe mumble it in the quiet recesses of the heart. One way we can perhaps avoid becoming chronic complainers to each other is to place those complaints in the envelope of prayer and send them to God.
Not long ago we spoke of making unanswered prayers part of our conversations with God. here habakkuk has a rare printed prayer dialogue with God. the words go out but god responds here.Habakuk cries out that the punishment with israel may well be deserved, but God has picked a poor instrument to deliver it. why would frail israel have to see pagan Babylon be used as God’s tool: it is not fair.” Part of me thinks that all will be made clearer when we get to heaven, and our perspective will be changed and broadened. I crave a justice and understanding that I realize I will fail to see here on earth. the image of a future of justice and peace gives a goal to strive for in this life. Emboldened by that vision of a future coming to life, we work toward it now, in the sense that we are on the right side of history, of god’s way for the world.
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