Dan!
Your sermons got me thinking, and
from my point of pew….
September 2 and 9, 2012
http://www.fraserviewchurch.com/multimedia/sermons/
Did Jesus suggest we work and think like a mob boss??????
http://www.fraserviewchurch.com/multimedia/sermons/
Did Jesus suggest we work and think like a mob boss??????
There was Caesar (think of him as the Boss) who needed
money to run an empire, which he raised through taxes:
- the 1% annual tax,
- poll taxes,
- the import and export taxes,
- the property taxes, and
- slave and sales taxes,
- the emergency taxes, and
- during wartimes the 3% tax annual tax.[1]
Regional tax collectors, who bid for the rights to collect the entire tax bill for a region (like Zacchaeus of Jericho), paid the annual tax up front from their own treasuries and then used local tax collectors (like Matthew of Capernaum) to collect taxes (and often a little extra somethin'-somethin') to repay himself, with both levels of collectors keeping any “extra” cash from extorting more than the required tax,
And then, if you could not pay your taxes, you could borrow money from the guys [2] with interest that sometimes added up to 4% per month[3] (That’s 48% per year! Yikes! I remember paying 21% interest on a mortgage in 1989, and THAT was brutish enough!)
- the 1% annual tax,
- poll taxes,
- the import and export taxes,
- the property taxes, and
- slave and sales taxes,
- the emergency taxes, and
- during wartimes the 3% tax annual tax.[1]
Regional tax collectors, who bid for the rights to collect the entire tax bill for a region (like Zacchaeus of Jericho), paid the annual tax up front from their own treasuries and then used local tax collectors (like Matthew of Capernaum) to collect taxes (and often a little extra somethin'-somethin') to repay himself, with both levels of collectors keeping any “extra” cash from extorting more than the required tax,
And then, if you could not pay your taxes, you could borrow money from the guys [2] with interest that sometimes added up to 4% per month[3] (That’s 48% per year! Yikes! I remember paying 21% interest on a mortgage in 1989, and THAT was brutish enough!)
Given the predictability of human nature, where individuals
tend to save, hoard, invest, bank, and stash their hard-earned cash and not
give it away or just let others take it, we can guess that tax collectors, to
some degree, must have extorted, embezzled, over-charged, demanded, and conspired
to collect the wide variety of taxes (and any over-and-above monies).
Just like Tony and Carlo.
So, to think Zacchaeus ran a clean operation collecting taxes and that he was a nice guy running a non-profit organization is a bit of a stretch. Given the nature of his profession, he was most likely far from “kosher.”
In fact, he admitted to wrong doing.
Just like Tony and Carlo.
So, to think Zacchaeus ran a clean operation collecting taxes and that he was a nice guy running a non-profit organization is a bit of a stretch. Given the nature of his profession, he was most likely far from “kosher.”
In fact, he admitted to wrong doing.
Sooooooo, everyone hated tax collectors, so "efficient" were they.
The
rich hated the tax collectors because it was their pockets from which the
collectors dug the deepest.
The religious hated them because the collectors were unclean, breaking Jewish law in collaborating with gentiles and charging interest on loans.
The poor and the widows, the maimed and the blind hated the collectors, who trampled them even deeper into the dirt’.
And the “average Joe(seph)” hated them simply because it was tough to hand over hard earned savings, even then.
The
rich hated the tax collectors because it was their pockets from which the
collectors dug the deepest.The religious hated them because the collectors were unclean, breaking Jewish law in collaborating with gentiles and charging interest on loans.
The poor and the widows, the maimed and the blind hated the collectors, who trampled them even deeper into the dirt’.
And the “average Joe(seph)” hated them simply because it was tough to hand over hard earned savings, even then.
My late husband worked for Revenue Canada
Jewish tax collectors, living amongst those who endured
their heavy tax burden, must have felt the same way, I imagine. So, did they feel they needed to hide in trees to escape their fellow Jews’ scowls,
stares, curses, raised fists, stones, and rage?
OK, back to the point. So they collected taxes. Zacchaeus was wealthy, so what made him good
at his job? Modern tax collectors would
be no different, and so looking at what my late husband did – and did well – I
would think Zacchaeus had to
- inform himself of all the taxes out there, then
- set up the necessary recording system / paper work to track who owes what and when. There needed to be
- basic math and clerical skills, and
- management skills to manage the people who worked for him.
- Active listening,
- interpersonal communications,
- critical thinking and
- complex problem solving skills were a given.
I mean, you can’t break everyone’s kneecaps just to get your way! You GOTTA have skills, man!
- inform himself of all the taxes out there, then
- set up the necessary recording system / paper work to track who owes what and when. There needed to be
- basic math and clerical skills, and
- management skills to manage the people who worked for him.
- Active listening,
- interpersonal communications,
- critical thinking and
- complex problem solving skills were a given.
I mean, you can’t break everyone’s kneecaps just to get your way! You GOTTA have skills, man!
From my point of pew after all these years, I have admittedly
thought Zacchaeus to be more of a lost and frightened kitten, meowing from some
outstretched limb looking for eventual rescue,
and not quite a looting, overbearing Mafiosi type squeezing money out of widows and rich Wall Street-types. (As an aside, why did he want to see Jesus? Perhaps Jesus was behind on his taxes? Or was it Judas who caught Zacchaeus’s eye and had his palms itching? )
and not quite a looting, overbearing Mafiosi type squeezing money out of widows and rich Wall Street-types. (As an aside, why did he want to see Jesus? Perhaps Jesus was behind on his taxes? Or was it Judas who caught Zacchaeus’s eye and had his palms itching? )
“Hey,
Guido. He owes me fifty large. Muscle
in, or keep ‘im on ice, you hear?”
Or
maybe, which is the Sunday school version, he just felt badly about what he did to
people and just wanted “out.”
So,
Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’s house for supper, further cause for ordering
his cross-and-cattails demise. Pharisees were aghast, for how dare this Teacher associate himself with
the Romans and their cohorts, who greedily rob from the Jews, especially from themselves and their friends), and then - sin-upon-sin!
- sit and eat with an unclean family?! And
then, to make matters more confounding, Jesus restores honor to Zacchaeus and
his household, removing the decree of excommunication[5] and
bringing them back into the Jewish fold!
Typically, the sermon stops
here: Zacchaeus seeks Jesus, Jesus finds him and pricks his conscience somehow,
so Zacchaeus repents and makes restitution, the Kingdom of God
Moral #1: No matter how bad we can be, Jesus gets to us because we are loved by God.
Moral #1: No matter how bad we can be, Jesus gets to us because we are loved by God.
It’s the following verses and
connected ideas that fascinated me, from my point of pew. While the crowds were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable,
because he was near Jerusalem and the people
thought that the kingdom
of God
(We're all ears!")
Right there, right below that tree, while
the crowds were listening, Jesus told a parable explaining how
it really is in the Kingdom of God, how
the laws of the Kingdom of God work, and how we are to conduct ourselves in
order to live well and rightly in that kingdom.
In an age of heavy taxation, domination, slavery, politicking, less-than’s and more-than’s, people were to do as He did, offering help (salvation) to the destitute, blind, poor, widowed, orphaned, imprisoned, financially burdened, demon possessed, oppressed, marginalized, lost, confused, and thirsty.
They could be lepers.
Or Samaritans.
Or corpses.
Or outcasts.
Or newcomers to a church.
No matter, there was to be no hiding or shirking, no abusing nor looking the other way.
I didn't hear this in
In an age of heavy taxation, domination, slavery, politicking, less-than’s and more-than’s, people were to do as He did, offering help (salvation) to the destitute, blind, poor, widowed, orphaned, imprisoned, financially burdened, demon possessed, oppressed, marginalized, lost, confused, and thirsty.
They could be lepers.
Or Samaritans.
Or corpses.
Or outcasts.
Or newcomers to a church.
No matter, there was to be no hiding or shirking, no abusing nor looking the other way.
I didn't hear this in
And here is the fascinating part
of this Zacchaeus story that they didn’t teach me in Sunday school and where
your sermon got me thinking these past weeks: Just
like Caesar needed smart, dedicated, trained workers exactly like those tax collectors to
build His empire, and just like these workers did all that collecting, investing, increasing, and
reinvesting, so too must those who work for the Kingdom of God.
Work as hard and as gifted as a
greedy, self-interested, smart tax collector – without the greed, cruelty and
dishonesty, though.
Work this diligently.
Work this methodically.
Work this wisely.
Know for Whom you work, and know that a lot is expected.
A tax collector who hides his currency, with no effort to make more of it, is useless.
Work this diligently.
Work this methodically.
Work this wisely.
Know for Whom you work, and know that a lot is expected.
A tax collector who hides his currency, with no effort to make more of it, is useless.
Jesus saw there was so much to do for
God’s kingdom, more than he and his twelve could do on their own: feeding, clothing, offering, watering, protecting, inviting, leading, visiting, caring, defending, raising, and on and on. So much to do, so little time - and help.
"If
anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on
him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words
or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18
How interesting that the larger story
of Zacchaeus is one where Jesus declares we use our resources in caring for
others with the same determination to see results that the tax collectors used.
Don't stop reading the text after the the wee little man scrambles down from the tree and "gives his heart" to Jesus.
Go bigger! Go further! Go smarter.
If I have ten skills, invest the ten in a good day's work and see a 1000% return.
If I have
five skills, invest with the kind of wisdom, expertise, knack, cunning, and flair to expect
a 500% return.
Do what I can to proficiently and expertly record,
calculate, listen, communicate, think, and solve problems – and perhaps even
shove-a-bit-if-that's-what-it-takes to make good God’s kingdom.
So, now I have moved here, away from
all my familiar touchstones, and I have to look around in a calculated, smart,
diligent, and efficient way to do my Kingdom work.
I have to think like an (honest) tax collector, a loan shark, a chief, a
go-getter, a boss. No excuses. No hiding in a handkerchief.
No simpering.
No ducking under the radar. That would not be any more or less right than extorting, hoarding, demanding, or
gouging. Or breaking knee caps....
Want to know more about how YOU can use your back and brains to invest in God's kingdom with the same eagle eye and diligence as a "Jewish mobster"?
1. Identify your strengths. And then systematically, intelligently, intentionally, and diligently use them!
Complete the VIA Survey of Character Strengths (under "Questionnaires") at http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Entry.aspx?rurl=http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Tests/SameAnswers_t.aspx?id=310
2. Don't be shy.
That's so selfish and unnecessary. There are people who need you to talk to them more than you need to withdraw.
3. Treat this idea of being profitable as seriously as you do looking for loose change in the couch cushions - at least.
4. There is a call to increase community and numbers at our church. So how about we...
- Smile at everyone in church.
- Compliment at least 5 people at church.
- Invite a newcomer-to-you for supper.
- Sit in a different pew, and say "Hello."
- Bring a "Thinking of You" card for someone.
- Bring an empty card and wait for the Holy Spirit to show you who to give the card to and what to say.
- Introduce yourself to 3 different people.
- Smile so someone WANTS to introduce themselves to you, or give you a card, or say "Hello."
- Look for the Overlooked Ones. You'll see it in their eyes...
- Buy someone a coffee at the coffee bar, and tell them you are delighted to do so.
- Introduce someone to friends of yours.
If you want to make $1,000,000,000, do you invest in penny stocks? Then why do we settle for penny-type investments of time, effort, smiles, acceptance, invitations, and out-stretching gestures when it comes to people, especially those in the church?
Let's make SMART investments, OK?
I know someone who has been attending this church for 20 years, well-known, no criminal record, salt of the earth, fully involved, no third nose or cauliflower ear or B.O., reasonable sense of humor, great kids, no rust on the car, mortgage paid off, and can match his socks to his belt. So why has his family received not more than 10 dinner invitations? Why the warning that getting to know people outside of the Sunday service is nigh impossible?
We have GOT to be better, 'cause at the end of the day, you want to meet the Master of All Bosses and have him say to you, "YOU'RE HIRED! Good job! Well done!"
At least, that’s what I learned these past weeks from Pastor Dan's sermon, from my point of pew…
