Seeking the Lost

During afternoon prayer yesterday I was reminded of the Zacchaeus story in St. Luke's Gospel, chapter 19. You know the account. It's the story of a tax collector behaving badly, running amok with such a deep avarice that it finally led to all-out theft.

At the end of the account, St. Luke tells us that when Jesus decides to offer himself to the un-antiseptic risk, that of going into the home of the sinner and eating with him, "the crowds were displeased." But, Jesus here as in other places did not care for the crowd's opinion. That is, popularity and a following were not the goal.

OK, then, so what was the goal? The Evangelist tells us: "Jesus responded...I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."

The roles are fairly straightforward here -- the Savior, the sinner and the crowd, but what might not be so clear is our place in the story. Rarely, would we place ourselves on the side of the crowd, but that is exactly where we are when with our mind if not with our mouth we assign someone or some group a place outside the circle of grace.

No doubt, most often we probably feel more aligned with the Savior, as those who are called to do his work, but we must be very careful here, as well. Our motive in any ministry endeavor is critical. So much so that things done to build our kingdom and not God's are certainly suspect.

Perhaps the least used role and the most appropriate is that of the sought for sinner. What comfort there is in the hope that the Savior still seeks those who are lost in avarice and theft. And how comforting to hope that the Savior is still hunting us out of trees and terraces, from backyard barbecues and designer boutiques, and (tell in not in Gath) even our churches.

While I understand the historic doctrine of justification, I also understand, personally, the on-going pursuit of the Savior for the lost man. Said another way, I do not presume with levity on the grace of God. Instead, I am grateful for the relentless truth that God can somehow hunt me down in spite of my stony heart, one that is hard from possessions and privilege. This means I probably need the Savior to seek me out everyday.