Jump Start # 1749

Luke 19:2-3 “And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.”

  It’s just a few days until Christmas. It’s a busy time for families. Some will be traveling. Some will be wrapping presents. It’s a fun time for kids. The holidays are painful for those who have lost loved ones. On our website, (www.charlestownroadcoc.com) I recently presented a lesson, “When holidays hurt.” I’d encourage you to take a look at that video. It may offer some help for those that hurt.

The holiday season presents to us many classic shows that we grew up watching. Shows such as Frosty the Snowman are annual “must watch” shows. The other day I watched Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with one of my grandkids. It was a blast watching him watch the show. For us, the show is cute. In the eyes of a little child, especially when the Bumble makes his appearance, the show is very real.

Rudolph, his friend Hermie, the elf who doesn’t want to make toys but would rather be a dentist and those odd toys that were banned to the island of misfits, all of them were misfits. They simply didn’t fit in with everyone else. For Rudolph, it was his shinny nose. In the end, Rudolph saves Christmas day and is the hero of the show. They sing his song at the end. Cute. Funny. Nice to watch. But what about us adults who are “misfits.” We don’t seem to fit in with everyone else. It may not be a shinny nose, but we are “too tall,” or, “too short.” We are big, or small. We are a different color. We talk differently than everyone else.  It may be our nose, or our ears, or our feet that stand out. It may be a birthmark. It may be an accent. It may be our background. It may be that we did time in prison. It may be that we are divorced. It may be that we grew up atheistic. It may be that we were kicked out of school. It may be that we have been fired from a job. Not everyone is nice, neat and the same as those around them. Like those banned toys, we may be the train with square wheels in a world that has round wheels. We may be a bird that swims and can’t fly. Odd. Different. Misfits.

Zaccheus seems to the be poster person of New Testament misfits. He’s short. Imagine the jokes about what he wants to be when he “grows up.” He’s a tax collector among Jews. He is viewed as a traitor. He has risen to be a “chief tax collector.” Among tax collectors, he is at the top. And he is rich. He has done well, but to get rich, he has taken from his own countrymen. He doesn’t appear to be surrounded by a group of servants, supporters or staff, like the Ethiopian eunuch was. Zaccheus seems to be alone. He’s heard about Jesus and he wants to see for himself. He is not in the position or knows the right people to request a private meeting with Jesus. His only option is to climb up a tree to see Jesus. Some in the crowd probably thought that it would be a good idea to cut that tree down with Zaccheus in it. Zaccheus has heard about Jesus. He may have heard that Jesus went to the home of a tax collector and had even chosen one to be an apostle. A rabbi that was a friend to tax collectors? Odd. Unusual. He had to see for himself. Zaccheus is a misfit and Jesus doesn’t seem like the usual, normal type of rabbi.

The downside of the Rudolph show, which kids don’t get until they are grown up and witness it themselves, is that not all misfits save Christmas day. Some live their lives being shunned, ridiculed and banned to the island of misfits. They don’t have a show nor a song named after them. They are forgotten. In some congregations, people can feel like misfits. They are not invited. They are not included. They are not wanted. Often, other than a smile, they sit by themselves and walk through this life alone. Friendship, fellowship and closeness are only dreams, just like “Charlie in the box” experienced on Rudolph’s show. We are all bit odd, quirky and different in our own way. Some will do all that they can to be accepted. For young teens, that includes crossing some moral lines, just to fit in. Others will do all that they can so they seem like everyone else. They want to be “normal.” Normal doesn’t exist except as a town in Illinois or a setting on old dryers.

Look at that group of a dozen men that we know as apostles. They were not all the same. One was from Judea and the others from Galilee. There were brothers among them. There were fishermen and tax collectors. One was a zealot, who especially despised tax collectors. This wasn’t a former high school football team that knew each other for years and years. I expect most didn’t think much of all about Matthew, the tax collector. What an odd group. Most of us, if we were picking a team of a dozen, would at least try to get everyone who had a similar background. Not Jesus. Those men. Different. Unique. Even misfits.

Have you ever really looked at the list of people God chose? Moses was wanted for murder in Egypt. He was hiding in a foreign land. David was a nobody who was a teenage shepherd. Paul was a Jewish terrorist who was bent on stamping out Christianity. Solomon was a rich spoiled kid who grew up in the palace. John the baptist was certainly odd. He dressed weird and ate weird. He was Jesus’ cousin. The first person that Jesus allowed to tell others about Him, was a man who was naked and living in the cemetery who had been possessed by multiple demons. Odd. Strange.

We have it in our minds that we must be the class president, the most valuable player, the varsity team, to impress God and to be used by Him. Most of us never will be that way in life. We want to be the heroes of the day, but we come across as giant Bumbles. We tend to make preachers Rock Stars in our fellowship, but they are not. I know. I am one. I know many of them. We are Bumbles in our own way. We do what we can.

The interesting twist in the Zaccheus story is that Jesus stopped underneath that tree. He not only saw Zaccheus, but He knew his name and asked him to come down. They had a conversations. Jesus invited himself to the home of Zaccheus, one of the few times that Jesus ever invited Himself. The Perfect with the imperfect. The Pure with the impure. The Holy with the unholy. That’s Jesus and Zaccheus. That’s Jesus and us. He knows that we are misfits. Quit trying to pretend that you are not. Yet, even with that, He stops. He knows you by name. He invites Himself into your heart. He wants to be with you, misfit and all.

I have a collection of funny church signs. One of them says it so well, “God loves you and we are trying our best.” We can do better at helping folks fit in. Give some attention to those who seem alone. Divorced, single, widow—not a couple anymore. Be mindful of them. Consider those who are grieving, especially this time of year. Look out for those who spend holidays alone. No family. Distant family. Estranged family. It’s all there. Do what you can to help, not just because it’s the holidays, and not just at the holidays, but all the time. Make fellowship real and powerful.

Understand that God can use you as you are. Be yourself. Some of us are bright colored socks in a plain blue sock world. Don’t change. Be obedient to God and serve Him as you can. Don’t talk about others being different. Look in the mirror. We all are. Love. Be useful. Be helpful. You may never save Christmas day, but you can bring joy and hope in a dark, dark world that needs Jesus.

We all would like to stand side by side with Paul, but truth be known, we probably have more in common with little ole’ Zaccheus. Get out of your tree and open up your home to others.

Roger