Week of Feb 17, 2019
Food for thought
#1
Define the gospel in your own words. How does the description of the gospel being both personal and public challenge your own definition?
#2
Earlier in Luke, Jesus interacted with Levi, a tax collector (5:27–32) — where he was invited to follow Jesus and had a banquet together. Also, right before meeting Zacchaeus, Jesus interacted with a rich man (18:18–30); where he was told that he needed to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor so that he could follow Jesus.
Zacchaeus is different — he is both a tax collector and wealthy. Jesus said it was nearly impossible for a rich person to enter the kingdom. Yet, Zacchaeus is saved. Why?
Please read both stories (5:27–32; 18:18–30) and discuss the possible implication behind Zacchaeus’s mixed presentation.
#3
Read and reflect on the following paragraph from Richard Rohr’s The Universal Christ.
The point of the Christian life is not to distinguish oneself from the ungodly, but to stand in radical solidarity with everyone and everything else. This is the intended effect of the Incarnation — symbolized by the cross, God’s great act of solidarity instead of judgment. Without a doubt, Jesus perfectly exemplified this seeing and thus passed it on to the rest of history. This is how we are to imitate Jesus, the good Jewish man who saw and called forth the divine in Gentiles like the Syro-Phoenician woman and the Roman centurions; in Jewish tax collectors who collaborated with the Empire; in zealots who opposed it; in sinners of all stripes; in eunuchs, astrologers, and all those “outside the law.” Jesus had no trouble whatsoever with otherness. In fact, these “lost sheep” found out they were not lost to him at all and tended to become his best followers.
#4
Do you see yourselves as Zacchaeus? Are you able to stomach the idea that you are lost and are in need of salvation? Why or why not? If this church plant is indeed your sycamore tree, what is it that you are trying to see clearly?
#5
Who are the Zacchaeus in your midst? What do they want to see? How are you going to share the gospel with them?
