A Sermon Preached October 31, 2010 (Proper 26 C) by the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector

How many of you know that expression, to “go out on a limb?” ‘Means to take a risk. And that’s just what Zacchaeus does in today’s Gospel.


He’s a chief tax collector…one who probably routinely gouges the people of the town. So they consider him an outcast and sinner, someone good people don’t associate with, and so he’s a loner. But somehow the Spirit has moved in him, and Zacchaeus is eager to see Jesus. He’s obviously heard about Jesus somehow, and he wants to see this One who heals the sick, proclaims good news to the poor, and breaks all the Jewish laws because he associates with women, foreigners, children, and sinners…even a tax collector like himself!

So Zacchaeus takes a risk. He goes out to see Jesus, and because he can’t see him through the crowd, he climbs a tree…goes out on a limb. He takes a physical risk in climbing the tree, and he risks the jeers of the townspeople (What’s he doing here?). But most importantly, he risks having his heart changed by what he sees and hears. Of course there’s always the chance Jesus won’t see him, and nothing will happen. But that’s not the case. Not only does Jesus see Zacchaeus, he invites himself to stay in his home! And Zacchaeus, the unpopular one, who usually keeps to himself, is actually excited for Jesus to be his guest. The one who’d probably spent his life gouging others has a change of heart. He becomes generous to the poor. To anyone he’s defrauded, he’s eager to make it up four times over.

Zacchaeus goes from being intrigued by this fellow Jesus to being repentant and converted. And because Zacchaeus changes, his relationship with the entire community changes. He no longer thinks of others as means to the end of making money, but he has a whole new idea of relationship that comes from the love he experiences in his encounter with Jesus.

Now I want us to think for a moment about those who may come to visit St. James. Somehow the Spirit has led them here. They’ve come perhaps through the invitation of a friend or neighbor, perhaps because they are feeling some deep spiritual longing, or perhaps because they found us on the web. However they get here, I believe our visitors are led here by God’s Spirit. So when they come, whether they are aware of it or not, they have come here to see Jesus, to have some real experience of God. They’ve gone to some trouble, perhaps it took them years just to work up the nerve to enter the door of a church. But in one way or another, they’ve “gone out on a limb” to get here. And they may very well feel as precarious and exposed as Zacchaeus probably did in that sycamore tree…‘Wondering if the limb might break, if others might question why they’re here (Maybe they think they’re not worthy to be here?). But they come hoping (or dreading) that they might somehow really see God and be changed. Think about it: When the Spirit leads someone to visit this Church, they may very well experience God. And wonder of wonders, they may experience God through the likes of us!

So I invite each of us to be very mindful of the strangers and guests in our midst. They are holy gifts the Spirit of God has led here, and we are the hands and feet and heart of Jesus, who have the opportunity to welcome these precious Children of God into the life of the Church, the Body of Christ. In experiencing God, they may very well be changed forever. And when one person is changed, it changes the entire community. The host and guest become indistinguishable because together they become a New Creation that God is making.

Imagine the difference in a person when they encounter God and start putting LOVE first. What a different boss, co-worker, or family member they will be. And what a different, more vital church we will because of their presence among us…if we welcome them in!

The chance to see Jesus…It happened with Zacchaeus. It happens here at St. James whenever someone visits. Now I suggest to you that not only our visitors, but all of us are a bit like Zacchaeus whenever we come to Church. The Spirit gets us here, and at some level, we are all here to see Jesus, to experience the living God. As I look at our Youth today, I am especially aware that they long to see Jesus. And that we big people are entrusted with helping them to do just that. No matter what our age, when we come to Church, we’ve all “gone out on a limb” and risked the possibility that we will never be the same. Being here in this place, Jesus may see us. He might even invite himself into our lives, into our homes...24/7. And so we may change: We may come to be more generous, more loving, more forgiving, less concerned with money, more accepting of everyone, and more concerned with justice. We may even become the instruments through which God brings others into God’s family.

It’s risky coming to this Church—for newcomers and old-timers alike. We’re “out on a limb.” We might see Jesus, and when we do, we’ll know Salvation has come to this house, and we will never be the same. Amen.

A Sermon Preached October 17, 2010 by the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector

So here we are…A wonderful, strong congregation who has just sold our building. We’re homeless! We’re beginning a new chapter in our long, colorful history, and we need God’s guidance.

I think a common theme in today’s scripture readings can give us some real lessons in something we’re going to need a lot of in the days ahead, and that theme is PERSISTENCE IN FAITH.

In the reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, Jeremiah tells the exiled Jews (In spite of their recent, difficult history, their unfaithfulness to God’s law, the devastation of their temple and city and subsequent exile into Babylon… In spite of these things, Jeremiah tells them to have FAITH because God is full of tenderness towards them, and because God is going to make a new covenant with them. It will be a covenant that’s not written on sacred tablets in holy temples but on their very hearts, so that they will be PERSISTENT IN THEIR FAITH. And they’ll be able to persist because they have a close relationship with God.

Then in the next reading from Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, he writes, “I solemnly urge you; proclaim the message; BE PERSISTENT, whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.” Paul writes this to his protégé Timothy when Paul is dying. Paul wants to pass on to Timothy and to all the churches he’s founded, his best advice: Be persistent. Proclaim the message. Be faithful. Carry out your ministry fully, no matter what your circumstances: Whether the time is favorable or not or whether or not your listeners save “itching ears” to hear false doctrine. BE PERSISTENT IN YOUR FAITH. 

And finally the story from the Gospel of Luke is about this PERSISTENT widow, who nags the unjust judge until he does what is right. After telling that story, Jesus reminds us of how important our PERSISTENCE is to a faithful relationship with God. Someone in the Bible Study Tuesday observed, “We are never a bother to God”.

So it’s PERSISTENCE IN FAITH I want us to reflect on today. It seems to me that over the past 248 years, PERSISTENCE IN FAITH has been a hallmark of this parish—in good times, in bad times, in times of transition, and in times when we cannot see ahead very far. Just think of the prayers that have been said, by so many generations of persistent St. James parishioners and clergy. And think of the lives that have been changed: the gifts called forth, the vocations begun, the relationships developed, the mission and ministry done. All this because of persistent, faithful gifts of time, talent and treasure, because the people of St. James have historically persisted in their FAITH.

At this time of transition for us, I feel a little like St. Paul in his letter to Timothy, And I urge us to PERSIST IN OUR FAITH…To reach deep into our prayer lives, deep into Holy Scripture to find that covenant with God that’s indelibly written in our hearts. We are all the ministers of this church, and at this point in time, we’ve got to live it, embody it in all that we do…Walk the walk and not just talk the talk. 

Renowned Episcopal priest and preacher Barbara Brown Taylor (Leaving Church) speaks to the urgency of persisting in our faith and embodying it in our lives: “I know the Bible is a special kind of book, but I find it as seductive as any other. If I am not careful, I can begin to mistake the words on the page for the realities they describe. I can begin to love the dried ink marks on the page more than I love the encounters that gave rise to them. If I am not careful, I can decide that I am really much happier reading my Bible than I am entering into what is doing in my own time and place, since shutting the book to go outside will involve the very great risk of taking part in stories that are still taking shape. Neither I nor anyone else knows how these stories will turn out, since at this point they involve more blood than ink. The whole purpose of the Bible, it seems to me, is to convince people to set the written word down in order to become living words in the world for God’s sake. For me, this willing conversion of ink back to blood is the full substance of faith.” 

Let’s embrace this full substance. Persist in our prayers. Persist in our ministries. Starting next week, we’ll have the opportunity to pledge an intentional proportion of our incomes—Not only to sustain but to enhance the mission and ministry of this parish. You of St. James know only too well: You are not about “loving the dried ink,” but about getting involved, risking, and taking part in the stories that are still taking shape.

We’re doing this right now in our worship “on the road”, in the quality of our community life, in our support of Jake in Honduras, and in our ever-expanding mission through Gideon’s Garden. We embody this in our faithfulness by staying together, really listening to each other, and staying open to the future God is calling us to embrace.

We at St. James are called to be more and more PERSISTENT IN FAITH and not to be
afraid to get off the page and involved in the blood of real life.  Amen.