Exponential Tax Returns ...

Paying taxes sucks.  Nobody enjoys it.  Yes, we all understand that our taxes go to fund public infrastructure we all rely on.  It goes to fund our common defense.  These days, it is going to try to combat this covid-19 virus in a great many ways.  So even with the waste, we know we need to pay it.  Because if we just abandoned our infrastructure, gave away our common defense, and did nothing about covid – we would fast be overtaken by another country, or perhaps die from what we lack even before that could happen.  But when the tax man comes each of us truly believes we always pay too much.  The very rich have the money to hire accountants, and apply every law, and every loophole to avoid paying any penny they try to keep.  The middle class can afford no special tax accountants, the poor have even less for such luxuries.  So the brunt of our taxes are paid by us.  And each time we see waste, or fraud, or abuse; it makes us mad.  Each time the government chooses to spend money on projects like a bridge to nowhere, or offer subsidies to energy companies that already make billions in profits while paying nearly nothing in taxes – we feel cheated.  It doesn’t really matter who is President, because the tax bill never stops coming, and the silliness in how government spends it, never seems to go away.

But imagine the unthinkable for a minute.  Imagine if the US Treasury stated: … you know what, we have more than enough this year.  In fact, we plan to return everything you paid this year back to you.  Not just what you paid in, but we are going to send you 4 times that amount.  And because we have so much, we are going to take one half of all this money and give it to the poor, who do not have money to put in, but so desperately need our help ...  This is a pipedream right?  It could not happen?  The most powerful and wealthy nation on earth could never be so generous and survive such a thing.  But it has happened before.  The most powerful and wealthy nation had a chief within its tax division who had become more than wealthy from his position, and did everything I described above.  And here is the kicker, he may still have still had wealth beyond measure even after providing these kinds of exponential tax returns and amends to the citizenry in one of the biggest cities in the kingdom.  In our day it would be like this happening for every citizen in Los Angeles.  In his day it was to happen to every citizen of Jericho, under the government of Rome, in the time of and because of Christ.

Luke tells this story in the 19^th chapter of his gospel letter to his friend about what we believe and why.  This particular story was about a giant deed, inspired in the heart, of a not so giant man.  He picks up in verse 1 saying … “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. [verse 2] And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. [verse 3] And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.”  Let’s face it, you did not get to become “very rich” under Rome’s thumb, unless you served that kingdom so well, it was in their financial interests to leave you alone.  Otherwise, it is easier for Rome to just steal your riches, kill you and be done with it.  But if you were a wealth machine, they were much less inclined to do anything that would disrupt that flow of money.  So Rome was not the one who was cheated in this scenario.  But to serve Rome, was to cheat Israel.  If there was wealth involved, it was made off the back of your fellow citizens, not taken from the coffers of Rome.

Yet wealth, no matter how much of it you have, cannot buy you one inch more height in how your body develops.  You can wear sandals that are padded and provide a little more lift.  You might even wear some kind of boots that provide even more lift.  But that does not do much, if you just wind up growing up small.  And since Jesus could not be bought by any wealth, there was no way to buy an audience with Him.  You would have to find Him, to seek Him out of your own initiative.  That meant putting aside the needs of your maintaining your wealth and making time to go travel to wherever Jesus was.  And if you were very wealthy, you just never seemed to find time to go find Jesus.  Has it changed at all in our own day?  How many of us are so consumed with the events of our lives, that we just cannot find the time to go find Jesus?  After all, it takes time and dedication to try to maintain the money and lives we have made for ourselves today.  Jesus is secondary to that.  Jesus can come later.  And so often later just never comes. 

Luke continues in verse 4 saying … “And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.”  What Zacchaeus did have was an extensive knowledge of the city.  He knew the routes through it.  He knew the geography.  He knew where a large tree had grown to overhang the road that passed underneath it.  And he knew if he ran ahead of the crowd, Jesus was sure to pass that way and offer Zacchaeus an unobstructed view of the Savior of all mankind as He walked underneath.  Jesus however, had bigger ideas in mind than just a view.  Luke picks back up in verse 5 saying … “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. [verse 6] And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.”  Jesus gave Zacchaeus not only a good look, He invited Himself to the home of Zacchaeus to be hosted there.

This was unheard of.  Not because any good Jewish citizen would not have died, to have a respected man of faith, or holy man, or prophet, or Rabbi, come to their home for any occasion under the sun.  No, because any such man like that was bound to hate the sin of betraying their own nation to Rome, and so would have nothing to with a person like Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus was a sinner.  It was public sin.  Everyone knew it.  Everyone had lost money to him, to build that empire of wealth of his.  He had cheated pretty much all of them.  So it is not like he was making any attempt to hide who he was.  He was a cheater who worked directly for the Romans.  In this he was committing spiritual adultery with pagans who worshipped all manner of graven images of war, and lust, and death.  Zacchaeus was funding all that.  Zacchaeus had their blessing because he took Israelite money out of the Temple sacrifices at Jerusalem, and placed it into the arena at Rome.  And in the process had become personally very rich.  That kind of man was evil, and he knew it.  No self-respecting prophet would ever go near his home, for any reason under the sun.  But Jesus was.  And Zacchaeus was over-joyed at the prospect and then the reality of it all.

The people, not so much.  Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.”  This was meant first to be a slight against the prophetic abilities of Jesus.  What kind of decent prophet could not have foreseen what kind of man Zacchaeus was?  And what kind of decent Rabbi would associate himself with the worst dregs of the city?  This one act of mercy and love by Jesus, was enough to offend the citizens of Jericho so much, they might actually abandon Jesus entirely.  But morbid curiosity kept them watching.  It was like watching a train wreck.  You don’t want to watch it.  You know it is going to be horrible.  But you just cant help yourself as you want to know how this grave mistake is going to work out.  Perhaps Jesus has gone to Zacchaeus’ home to sternly condemn and rebuke him like any other self-respecting Pharisee would have done.  Perhaps Jesus went there to see if He could catch Zacchaeus with some Roman Statue of some demi-god put up in his home so as not to offend any visiting Roman Dignitary that may stop by.  Maybe Jesus was going to burn down that home with Zacchaeus inside, and all his family with him, like back in the days of Moses.   Those Old Testament remedies for infidelity and adultery were no joke, and this whore Zacchaeus had earned every one of them.

Luke continues in verse 8 saying … “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”  The people were gathered at a safe distance outside his home.  Surely it was about to get all fire and brimstone in here at any minute.  Zacchaeus comes up to the door of his home so both Jesus inside and all the people outside can hear him speak.  Here it comes.  Wait for it.  The lightning from heaven is sure to drop.  Keep watching.  And then … the unthinkable.  Zacchaeus announces he is giving half of everything he owns to the poor.  WHAT!?!  That is the farthest outcome anyone could have imagined.  And beyond that, for anyone he has cheated, which lets be real is nearly everyone who lives in Jericho – he plans to give back everything he took, and then 4 times that amount more.  What did he say?  If we were going strictly according to Old Testament remedies, all he would have to give back is what he took, plus 20% not plus 400%.  Again that was unheard of.  What did Jesus say to him in that house?  Did Jesus threaten him or something?  Well if He did, it sure worked.  No-one is this generous.  Not any of us anyway.  Especially not a tax collector.  Especially not the head tax collector of the whole region.  How could this be?

Luke continues in verse 9 saying … “And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. [verse 10] For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  It was the change in the heart of Zacchaeus that Jesus took note of, as He had inspired and enabled it.  One encounter with Jesus and His unfailing love, and Zacchaeus was ready to turn around his entire model for wealth.  He was giving it away, and giving it back.  The people were about to receive a never expected windfall from a single source.  Salvation had come to that house, not because Zacchaeus had suddenly become poor.  There is no evidence in fact that he was poor after the return of all this wealth.  He may have had so much, that this barely put a dent in him.  Or he may have spent every penny doing this.  But he did way more than anyone could have expected, least of all, himself.  From stingy to sharing in the course of one dinner with Jesus.  A prophet had visited his home, not just any prophet, but the long awaited Messiah who told him He loved him.  And it was love that moved the heart of Zacchaeus.  It was love that melted that stone, and turned it back to a heart of flesh.  No threats.  No worry of drinking bitter waters and having a thigh rot as in back in the days of Moses for the spiritual infidelity he had been associated with.  Instead just a full restoration with Jesus Christ, and salvation coming to his heart and home this very day.

And I wonder if our hearts are still capable of the lessons of this story?  For we too have wealth, no matter how financially small it may be.  There are still and always will be others who are worse off than we are, and have needs greater than our own.  Do we give ours away to meet the needs of another, or do we like the tax man protect every penny and only look to add to the total every single minute?  Have we grown comfortable taking from any source no matter how poor?  Have we even grown comfortable compromising with the idea of taking what does not strictly belong to us?  Whether it is stolen moments on a time card when no work is actually performed, or taking pens and office supplies home from work that were never intended for that purpose – we rationalize that because our employers are “rich” they can afford these losses, that they expect them.  But this is untrue.  And it is still wrong, still theft, just still all too common.

But with one encounter with the massive love of Jesus, can we join with Zacchaeus and give away what binds us?  Even if we have so much we do not lose it all; can we give away what Jesus moves our hearts to give away, and in the process find that salvation has come to our homes and hearts.  Our time, our skills, there are many things our neighbors could benefit from even when we do not have money.  Can we give of ourselves?  Let us not be the taxman, but rather be the reformed man Zacchaeus experienced.  Unfaithful no more.  And understanding what salvation looks like as it enters our hearts and our homes.

 

Simple Change in Vision ...

 

What do you see when you look at the top of the eye chart in the optometrist’s office?  If you answered the letter “E” then you were correct.  They all start with a giant letter “E”.  And what is more, we all know that is how they begin.  The letters underneath that “E” however get smaller and more random until you reach the very small copyright notice in the bottom right side of the chart (not meant for you to read or decipher).  It would seem only Bugs Bunny can read the copyright notice.  But if you cannot see the giant “E” your problems with your vision are fairly significant.  For me, without my contacts, or glasses, my mind knows it is an “E”, but I cannot see it.  My vision is natively somewhere north of 20:4000, past legally blind, but since it can be corrected, I am not considered blind.  At least not blind in what my eyes can see.  In fact perhaps it is all about perception, because somehow mechanically my eyesight is more like looking through a microscope.  Uncorrected, and up extremely close, I can see things most folks will never see without the aid of a microscope.  But this is not a very helpful skill in normal day to day life.  After all what do you really need to see up close that way in a day.

But then vision may be more about what we notice than what we see.  What registers and stays with us is not just about how clearly we see it, but about how important it becomes to us.  For instance, the gentle laugh lines at the edge of my wife’s eyes are nothing special for others to see.  But for me they are more precious than gold.  My wife is not one of an especially great sense of humor, so her smiles are more rare and more meaningful.  And when she bursts into laughter about some random thing, the sound of the laughter is as angels singing, and those lines around her eyes the tangible evidence of happiness even if only for a moment.  But it would be just as easy to miss them, to blend them in to her face overall, and pass right by them.  So what we see may not always be what we notice.  And what we treasure may begin in the eyes, and end in the soul.  To see, to notice, and to treasure what truly has meaning, is to begin to know what it means to live and have life as He has given it to us.

So what then is truly important to you?  And I realize your answer will be colored by where you are now, what you want now, what you believe you need now.  As your life evolves, sometimes those answers evolve as well.  In the gospel of Luke, Peter thinks out loud about what he and the other disciples have given up, to be followers of Jesus Christ.  It picks up in chapter 18 beginning in verse 28 saying … “Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.”  From Peter’s point of view, they had left everything, they had set aside everything, perhaps even the laugh lines in his own wife’s eyes, in order to be with Jesus every day and all the time.  What more could he offer.  Jesus responds in verse 29 saying … “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, [verse 30] Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”

Wow that is some kind of promise.  What we leave behind for the sake of the Kingdom of God, we reap manifold more not only in life everlasting, but in this world as well.  This is not about sacrificing one family for Christ and finding another one.  This is about not allowing any family to keep you from Christ, but by placing Christ first in your own heart, becoming someone new, and learning how to love them in such a way as to lure then to join you in His Kingdom.  You may not even see it.  You may decidedly not even notice it.  But as you become someone new, the impacts of love will radiate out from you as they never have before.  You may become more patient than you have ever been, more tender, more prone to smile or find humor where you have not sought it before.  The transformation in who you are may not be something you see, but it may be something your family cannot help but see.  Your vision is trained upon Him.  But what your family sees is something of a reflection of the very love of God.  If your mission to the ones you love the most succeeds, you become instrumental in leading them to the feet of Jesus.  It is there they will begin their own journey of transformation, reaping manifold results in both this world and the world to come.  That is a mission that is never done, only better, and more important than any other.  For what greater treasure could there be, than the hearts of those we love the most?

But sometimes we fail to see what right in front of us.  Luke continues in verse 31 saying … “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. [verse 32] For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: [verse 33] And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. [verse 34] And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”  Jesus tells those closest to Him, what is about to happen, what they are about to see.  But the thought of the long awaited Messiah meeting His end from the religious leadership, was more than their minds were able to comprehend.  The giant “E” was right there at the top of the eye chart, Jesus had to die to save us.  But like me, they could not see it, or perhaps would not see it.  Their vision was clouded because what they wanted conflicted with what God needed, and in truth what we really needed.

But the reality of death was not how this message ended, it ended in the reality of a life after death.  Because of Jesus and what He did for us, this same truth is no less true for us.  But are we any more able to see it than were our disciple forefather’s.  If our blindness prevents it, then consider what Jesus can do for our blindness.  Luke continues in verse 35 saying … “And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: [verse 36] And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. [verse 37] And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. [verse 38] And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. [verse 39] And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”  This was a blind man, he was physically blind, perhaps all his life, perhaps not.  But what he could not see, he had heard about.  He saw what others did not.  He saw Jesus as more than just a prophet but instead as the living embodiment of the long awaited Messiah.  And so the blind man knew what others may not have.  Jesus could fix him entirely.  Jesus could open his eyes and make him see.  Even if perhaps he already saw more than most of us do.

Jesus responds picking up in verse 40 saying … “And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, [verse 41] Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. [verse 42] And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. [verse 43] And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.”  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye the blind man had his eyesight restored.  He was recreated in a second, able to see as if sight had never been lost.  But it was the vision of the blind man that led to the restoration of his sight.  The blind man already saw the Messiah, the Son of God, before his eyes had caught up.  But Jesus does not leave us how we are.  He recreates us back into the image He had in mind.  He restores what is broken in us.  He opens our eyes, even when we think they are working just fine.  And can you imagine how wonderful it was for this blind man to open his eyes and see the Savior of all mankind, and of himself.  All those who were there praised God, probably none more loud than he who was formerly blind.

So if the salvation and restoration of your life is as big as the giant “E” at the top of the eye chart, are you able to see it?  Or perhaps like me you know it is there, but require correction to actually be able to see it.  Or perhaps like this blind man of so great faith, you knew it was there without any ability to do so.  But our salvation remains a truth, as certain as Jesus is our Truth.  Perhaps because my wife has seen it, the laugh lines near her eyes are something that has caught the vision of my eyes and my heart.  Perhaps because Jesus is so close to her heart, there is laughter now, where once there was not – and so I hear angels singing, and find treasure in a reflection of His love that warms the core of who I am.  Her mission to me will never be done.  But because of it, I see the tangible presence of God’s own love for me.  Could anything be more important than that?  A manifold reward in this life, well ahead of the next one.  A lure to draw the entire family to the foot of the cross.  The gift of a submitted heart now multiplied in a field of mission.  And I do see it, it is noticed, and is now the treasure of my soul.