Isaiah 1:10-17
2nd Thessalonians 1:1-4, 5-6
Luke 19:1-10

One of the things that I try really hard to do as a preacher is to not use churchy words a lot. That’s because the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is not about knowing the right words to say. Instead, the Christian good news is about a person, it’s a message about and from Jesus the Christ, and what he has and is doing to make our lives and the world right again. Our faith is something that is living. If we were just another community organization, we’d probably cancel until we got heat back. Instead, we’re here huddled around space heaters because we believe  God has something to say to us and we need God to speak to us. One of the churchy words that is really important to our readings this morning is the word ‘salvation’.

What does the word ‘salvation’ mean? It can mean to save, to rescue, to deliver to safety, and to make well. It’s the experience of being safe and loved and well as in “It is Well with my Soul”. The time that was best and the most lovely and the most comfortable and confident that you’ve felt in yourself – that is a glimpse of salvation.

We hear it directly in our gospel reading from Luke. Jesus announces “Salvation has come to this house today, because this man also belongs to the family of Abraham. The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.” Jesus is speaking to a wee little man named Zacchaeus.  

You may remember Zacchaeus from children’s Sunday School (have a speaker in case no one knows it). If I say:

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, (anyone know the next line?)
And a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see.

And as the Savior passed that way
He looked up in the tree,
And he said, “Zacchaeus you come down, For I’m going to your house today!” (cup hands around mouth)
For I’m going to your house today! (clap to the beat)

The story of Zacchaeus is fun. It’s also ridiculous. Think about what happens in the story – a grown, wealthy man climbs a tree because he can’t see the Lord Jesus as he’s traveling through his town. But it is also a story full of surprises. 

The first surprise is that the Lord Jesus asks to stay with Zacchaeus at his home. Think about the social norms and customs and courtesies that Jesus is breaking. He’s asking for and receiving lodging from a tax-collector, a man despised for his profession and who also likely kept some of the tax revenue for himself. He was a crook.

The second surprise is how Zacchaeus’ neighbors and Jesus’ fellow Jews react to Jesus’ request to stay with Zacchaeus. They ridicule and complain, “All the people saw this and began to complain, “Jesus is staying with a sinner!” Here’s what is surprising about the people’s complaints: they are the people of God and they should know that God’s modus operandi is seeking and saving the lost. The God of the Bible is all about changing people’s hearts and minds. And yet, they don’t get it and so they complain.

The third surprise in the story is Zacchaeus’ response to the Lord. He promises to give away half of his wealth and to make anyone he has cheated whole four times over. He voluntarily promises to make restitution, to pay reparations for what he’s done wrong. It’s an astonishing change of heart.

The story ends with Jesus’ announcement that we started with: “Salvation has come to this house today, because this man also belongs to the family of Abraham. The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”

The story of Zacchaeus is what salvation looks like. Salvation looks like the Lord Jesus coming to each of us and meeting us where we are at. Salvation looks like outsiders becoming a part of a community. Salvation looks like the power that greed and wealth can have over people being transformed into generosity and restitution.

Our second reading is from the prophet Isaiah. It is a reminder that our faith is not just about going through the motions saying the right words, observing the right holidays in the right way, and holding the right beliefs about what is right and wrong. In fact, Isaiah seems to suggest focusing on those things only will lead us down a dangerous path. 

Here’s the Lord’s words to his people. They are like strong medicine, a reminder that the Lord God isn’t interested in our faith and worship going through the motions.

I can’t stand your New Moons, Sabbaths, and other feast days;

    I can’t stand the evil you do in your holy meetings.

I hate your New Moon feasts

    and your other yearly feasts.

They have become a heavy weight on me,

    and I am tired of carrying it.

When you raise your arms to me in prayer,

    I will refuse to look at you.

Even if you say many prayers,

    I will not listen to you,

because your hands are full of blood.

Why would the Lord have such harsh judgments for the people of Israel? Because the people leading Israel did not do what was right before God – they hurt the poor, they rigged the economy to benefit themselves, and they didn’t uphold the law and instead had a “do as I say, not as I do attitude.” The Lord, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, calls them to account for it.

But an invitation, you could also read it as a warning, to change is issued. This is the biblical word ‘repentance’, which really just means to change. 

Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean.

    Stop doing the evil things I see you do.

Stop doing wrong.

Learn to do good.

Seek justice.

    Punish those who hurt others.

Help the orphans.

    Stand up for the rights of widows.”

Instead, our faith comes from what is inside of us, in our hearts. Salvation is about personal transformation. Your heart, mind, and soul are all changed and renewed by the power of God. But it’s not just about what goes on in your heart and mind. It’s what you start doing too – stop doing wrong, learn to do good, seek justice, help the orphans, stand up for the rights of the widows – those who are vulnerable.

Our New Testament reading from the apostle Paul in second Thessalonians is about the joy of salvation. In it, Paul speaks about their faith growing and their love for one another increasing. 

How do we know when we are on the right track as Christians? How do we know we are on the right track as the church? According to Paul, our faith is increasing, our love for one another is growing, and our ability to withstand hardships is resilient.

This means that salvation isn’t just a once and done thing. It’s like in more evangelical church traditions where someone goes up to the altar convicted and sorry for the mess they made of their lives, turns away from that and gives their lives to God, and then returns to their seat. That’s all well and good. But what about the next day and the day after that and the day after that? We need the grace of God each and every day.

That’s salvation too and the church is the place where we should experience it in powerful ways. That’s why I think local churches are so important. If we are honest, there is nothing outwardly special about our congregation. We’re like thousands of other small churches that exists in small towns and rural counties. Like a lot of other churches, we’re not impressive in numbers or budgets or anything like what the world would measure a business or a non-profit by.

But those things aren’t really the point. Our role as a congregation is to worship God and live in the way of Jesus. We experience salvation from God. As the apostle Paul writes about in our reading this morning, our faith deepens when we worship God, study Scriptures, pray, and serve others. Those are the ways we learn the things of God. But also, if that salvation experience is growing inside of us, our love for one another deepens. It doesn’t mean we have to like each other all of the time or agree or do the same things the same way. Being a Christian does not mean we’re spiritual robots. Love is a verb, it’s an action thing, it’s how you are and what you do for someone else. It’s showing up when someone is in need. It’s praying for them. It’s putting yourself in their shoes to try to understand them.

The church is the place where we should experience salvation because it’s where we most deeply come to know God and know ourselves and know others. There is also another strange thing that happens when we find ourselves in Christ. We are able to withstand hardships and afflictions on a firmer foot. It doesn’t mean that the trials we experience in life become easier or are less difficult. It’s that our resilience, our ability to stand firm in the midst of difficulty increases. How is that so? Because as Christians, at the end of the day, we trust with all of our heart that God loves the world, has a plan for the world and for our lives and for the lives of those we love and the lives of our enemies, and that God is good and just and righteous and gracious. That doesn’t make anything about life easier, but one of the things about human nature is that when we have hope, when we can see look forward to another day, we can persevere through a lot. People perish, though, without a vision.

The Christian message is that Christ saves sinners. He rescues us, often from our own worst selves. He is where we can find our ultimate safety and security. He makes us well in heart, mind, and spirit. He heals our souls. Let us say, it is well with my soul.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.