Interplay (Proper C26)

I drove by Wisner UMC this afternoon, Pastor Chuck had his sermon titled already: "amazing Grace." As I drove I thought about it, and grace is a pretty good word to sum up all this week's readings. Again the first thing that jumps out at me is two separate threads of interplay.

If you start with the Habakkuk text and Psalm 119:137-144 you wind up at 2 Thessalonians along a thread of Righteousness coming by faith. If you have the other reading starting in Isaiah you wind up at the gospel text looking at sin and forgiveness.

Faith and righteousness do intersect the gospel slightly, here's how: Zacchaeus makes amends, doing right, he shows righteousness. Jesus then declares that salvation has come to this house. How? Not by the tax collector's works but because he was a child of Abraham too. We can understand that he is a child because of his faith.

As usual with the ordinary time, this connection is a little weak for me to be comfortable as an expository preacher, but since the themes of the two threads, salvation and faith are so intertwined (their braiding creates the cord of grace) I don't think it is an improper hermeneutic. There is also woven into this cord a thread dyed red-persecution, and faithfulness through trial.

Grace, grace, and more grace! Grant it to us O Lord.

The story of Zacchaeus is so familiar. (Zacchaeus was a we little man... la la la...) Can we find something fresh and exciting to our souls this week?