Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C. 30th October 2022
Lectionary Readings:
Isaiah1 v10-18; Psalm 32 v1-7; 2 Thessalonians 1 v1-4, 11-12; Luke 19 v1-10.
Hypocrisy and Honesty.
Isaiah speaks for God in challenging the hypocrisy of the Temple worshippers of his day. God says, “No matter how much you pray, I won’t listen. You are too violent. Wash yourself clean! I am disgusted with your filthy deeds. Stop doing wrong and learn to live right. See that justice is done. Defend widows and orphans and help those in need.” (Isaiah 1 v15-17).
The Psalmist gives us a clue about how to put things right with God.
Our God, you bless everyone whose sins you forgive and wipe away. You bless them by saying, “You told me your sins without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you.” (Psalm 32 v1,2).
Luke tells another ‘lost and found story’, this time about the encounter between Jesus and a tax collector named Zacchaeus. Later in the day after Jesus had dined with Zacchaeus, we are given to assume that Zacchaeus confessed his sins to Jesus and voluntarily promised to pay back, four fold, (the amount required by Jewish and Roman law) the victims of his dishonest actions. (see v8).
Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “Today you and your family have been saved, because you are a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost.” (Luke 19 v9,10).
My CEV Bible footnotes say,
‘saved’ ‘Zacchaeus was Jewish, but it is only now that he is rescued from sin and placed under God’s care.’
‘son of Abraham’ As used in this verse, the words mean that Zacchaeus is truly one of God’s special people.
Zacchaeus, like King David before him, experienced the joy of forgiveness, only after they were honest with God. Jesus, and Luke, want us to understand that being honest with God by confessing our sins, leads to our reconciliation with God. God is willing to forgive our sins and to bless us.
The questions remain, are we willing to be honest with God? Willing to seek his forgiveness? Willing to accept God’s forgiveness and the gift of his Holy Spirit?
Hymn writer Christopher Ellis invites us to make our confession and to seek God’s forgiveness;
(Singing the Faith No 419).
Almighty God, we come to make confession, for we have sinned in thought and word and deed.
We now repent in honesty and sorrow; forgive us, Lord, and meet us in our need.
Forgiving God, I come to make confession of all the harm and hurt that I have done;
of bitter words and many selfish actions, forgive me, Lord, and make me like your Son.
Forgiving God, I come to make confession of all that I failed to do this day;
of help withheld, concern and love restricted, forgive me, Lord, and lead me in your way.
Redeeming God, we come to seek forgiveness, for Jesus Christ has died to set us free.
Forgive the past and fill us with your Spirit that we may live to serve you joyfully.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English version.