The famous children’s song betrays the scandal behind the story of Zacchaeus. He was not just a “wee little man …” He was a corrupt businessman working on behalf of the Roman Empire. He exploited the poor, and furthered the oppression of Rome. And then Jesus, a “friend of sinners” and a “companion to the poor” wants to hang with him?

Imagine what the poor may have thought. We are quick to point out how Jesus hung out with the “down-and-outers”, but what do we make of Jesus who hangs out with the “up-and-outers”. Too often the “other” are those who are different from us. But what if we are, in fact, the other? What if we have become so blind to who we are we are unable to see that Jesus crossed lines to hang out with people like us too – not just those who are not like us?

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In this teaching, Lead Pastor Michael Hidalgo considers how Luke plays with the idea of sight- what it means to see Jesus for who he is, and how Jesus seeks to bring healing to everyone. In a moment of almost comic relief, Luke tells a story in which a blind fellow knows who Jesus is. He cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Several people responded by rebuking him and telling him to be quiet. Though they could see, they apparently were blind. No matter what they said, he would not keep quiet. So he kept shouting.

It is then that Jesus stops the traffic and approaches the man who tells Jesus he wants to see. Of course, in some ways he already does. Jesus, having compassion, heals the man but he also heals the crowd to. As Luke writes with a 1st Century wink and a nod, “When all the people saw it, they also praised God.” Apparently, in the end, everyone truly sees.

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The disciples still seem so dull. Jesus tells them about his impending death and all they can dwell upon is what places of power they will have in the kingdom of heaven. They want to be sure that their name will be remembered.

Jesus tells them that it is in his death that he will be exalted. Jesus teaches them that the pursuit of the Kingdom is not about getting ahead, but about dying. In his case, the cup that has been given to him is one of suffering and death. Clearly his kingdom is from another world – where as citizens we are those who serve.

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There is nothing wrong with being rich; it is what can happen to those who acquire wealth that is Jesus’ focus in Luke 18:18-30: that we can become slaves to it. Instead of owning it – it can own us. This is the reminder that God gives to his people in Deuteronomy 8 when he warns them never to think that they have created their wealth, but to remember that God is the one who has given it to them.

In this story we meet a young, wealthy, influential person who lacks one thing – the ability to walk away from his money. In his exchange with Jesus, we see that Jesus loves him. He is not mad, he does not roll his eyes, he does not condemn, rather he loves. He tells the man to give it all away – why? Because you can’t enter the kingdom with all sorts of attachments, which asks the question, “How many times do we walk away from the loving gaze of Jesus?”

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Jesus says that "anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And yet we make our faith journey about maturity, collection of knowledge, mental assent, moving through the stages of faith. We are unable to live our faith with the wonder, awe, and imagination of a child. We are unable to view and approach God with this perspective and with this posture. But, what does it mean to live in this way?

Does it mean not learning and growing in our understanding of God...staying simple, naive, and immature? No, it is all about understanding our relationship to and with God. Understanding we are first and foremost His children and that we are in a relationship, not a fact gathering, learn all you can, knowledge-based interaction. What does our faith journey look like if we do this? And how can we continue to approach God in relationship with a child's lens while living constantly wooed by the kingdoms of this world? We'll explore these ideas.

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We live in a culture that has placed “being right” on the top of the list of important things for us. Being right about politics, about religion, about cultural issues … we are so intense about this we can even lose sight of the true conversation at hand. And so we have Jesus speaking to those who are “confident in their own rightness.” He tells them a story …

The trick with this story is the one who says, “I am wrong” is actually the one who is right. And this is the difficulty for the hearer. All of us are wrong, in some way, shape or form. Whether it’s the way we live our lives, the things we think, say or do … we all must cry out for mercy. To do this takes humility and a faith strong enough to say “I may be wrong.”

How would our world look if we were those who held “our own rightness” loosely? What would it be like if we were those who fell to the ground, beat our breast and spoke boldly of our failure and need for mercy? Perhaps this kind of action would be transformational, not just for us, but for those who experienced this kind of person.

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Guest teacher Kent Dobson leads us in exploring the parable of the sower.

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Guest teacher Paula Williams leads us in exploring the parable of the prodigal son.

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