WEBVTT

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

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of the Holy Spirit. Amen. When we hear about

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Jericho, and when we hear about this man, Zacchaeus,

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we know that Lent, the great fast, is approaching.

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We know that next week, we're going to start

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singing from this book. This is called the Lenten

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Triodion. There's a little blurb in your announcement

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sheet about that, but what's important about

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that is we're getting ready for the Lenten season.

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Zacchaeus Sunday is kind of a clarion, a bell,

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telling us to prepare ourselves. It's about this

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time of the year that many, I hear many people,

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and sometimes in myself when I think about it,

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get a little worried about the fast. Sometimes

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the word dread is used. Great Lent's coming.

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Not ready. Well, that's when we're ready. And

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let me leave you with this thought about the

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coming of Great Lent. After Lent 2020, could

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Lent 2021 be very hard? No. We didn't have the

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liturgical structure. We didn't have all the

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services. We didn't have the fellowship. We didn't

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meet inside the church. Lent 2021 is going to

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be a very different and more intense experience

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for us, a blessing. We will sense the doors of

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repentance opening up for us. We're going to

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sing that hymn next Saturday at Matins, the doors

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of repentance. So it starts with Zacchaeus. As

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the deacon said, when he came in and looked at

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the gospel, he knew what it was going to be.

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He says, here we go. We're getting ready now.

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Zacchaeus, chapter 19 of the gospel of Luke.

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What's next to that fresco up there of Zacchaeus

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and the tree? What's the next fresco? That's

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the next thing that's going to happen with Jesus

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after he tells a couple of parables and some

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teachings. So you see, Zacchaeus Sunday is Christ's

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entry, starting his way up to Jerusalem, and

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the next thing is going to be Palm Sunday. Between

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Zacchaeus and Palm Sunday, we've got a little

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time. Thank God. to work on our spiritual life.

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So Zacchaeus, this man, he was a tax collector.

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You heard that? Chief of the tax collectors,

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which means in the Roman tax collecting system,

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he was appointed to collect the taxes. And if

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the Romans said, get 30 shekels and bring them

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in, he would take 60, keep 30 for himself. and

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he would send out his junior tax collectors,

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and they would do the same, and then he would

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skim off the top of them. He was a rich man.

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Probably a lot richer than that rich young man

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that came to Jesus and couldn't give anything

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up. And Zacchaeus was a petty thug. No one liked

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him because of his extortion, his racketeering,

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his protection, and all of that. He probably

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heard that Jesus was coming to Jericho, this

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city, ancient city. There's a sign as you drive

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in to Jericho. Big banner over the main drag.

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The world's oldest city. You think they get some

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stuff right. Apparently, it's still kind of a

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dysfunctional place. He heard that Christ was

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coming. There were crowds all over the place

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as this miracle worker, this man who people say,

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this is going to be, this is the Messiah. And

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have you heard about this miracle worker? This

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supposed Messiah? Zacchaeus probably thought,

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I really have to see this man for the Romans

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get him and crucify yet. another supposed Messiah.

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I'd like to see what this is all about. I don't

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know what was in his mind, but the scriptures

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are very clear. He wanted to see Jesus. But the

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motivating force behind wanting to see Jesus

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was that he wanted to see who he was. That statement

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is the reason we have this reading as we get

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ready for Lent. Because the Lent is not about

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how good I can fast, how many church services

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I can come to, the various meals I'm going to

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prepare, and how much I give to the poor. Those

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things all are going to happen. It's about seeing

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who Jesus, who he is. Probably seeing kids up

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in the tree. I remember we had our Palm Sunday

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procession a couple years ago, and there were

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children who had seen that fresco. They looked

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up there, and there were children in our olive

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trees as we walked by. It's a beautiful memory,

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and we have some pictures of that. Well, Zacchaeus

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probably seen kids in a tree, thought he would

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climb that sycamore fig tree that's still there

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in Jericho. By the way, there's like a quickie

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mart across the street from it. So it's got a

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fence around it, and the claim is that it's this

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Jericho tree that Zacchaeus climbed up. He wanted

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to see Jesus, and nothing was going to stand

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in the way of that desire. Lent is about what

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we desire. Christ? to know Christ, who he was.

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Like the blind man shouting out, Jesus, son of

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David, have mercy on me. Or the Canaanite woman

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shouting out, Jesus, son of David, my daughter

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is possessed. Or like the lepers. All three,

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notice. marginalized, outside the community of

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Israel. Jesus is coming to Zacchaeus too. And

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he says to him, Jesus says to him, we have it

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in the scripture, Zacchaeus sees him in the tree

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and he knows his name. Make haste. We hear the

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word make haste. It sounds wonderful, but it

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just means hurry up. Hurry up. Come down. I must

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be at your house today to be in your house, to

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abide with you. Hurry up. Why would he say hurry

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up? Why did he just say, Zacchaeus, I'll meet

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you at your place later. No. Christ wants to

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be with us. And he says to us one word. Dilly

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dally. procrastinating, putting something else

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in front of him. My beloved one, make haste.

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Your time is short. Come. I want to be with you.

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That clarion call that Lent is approaching. The

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bell is ringing. We have to be We have to recognize

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that God in his mercy, his compassion, is calling

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us. The people around had no compassion for Zacchaeus.

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Why would they? The people around the blind man

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who yelled, Jesus, son of David, said, be quiet.

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The disciples told Jesus to send that obnoxious

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woman, that Canaanite woman away. In Zacchaeus'

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case, the crowd was pressing on. And he, in his

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desire, and nothing could deter him, took a radical

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and strange path to see Jesus. And Zacchaeus

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did what the rich young man that we heard about

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recently could not do. Remember that? Jesus says,

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keep it away. Come and follow me. The man couldn't

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part with one shekel of his riches because his

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heart, his desire was captivated by something

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on this earth and not God. Zacchaeus in his repentance

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says, I will restore whoever I cheated fourfold.

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You see, this is not just a sentimental story

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about... a man who decided to repent and became

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then a bishop in Caesarea, a disciple of Christ,

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one of the 70 disciples, in fact, and ordained,

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consecrated by St. Peter. No, this is not just

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a change. This is a radical message for us about

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our desire, the desire of our heart. Yes, almsgiving

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and all of that, but the desire of our heart.

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Our Commendate Zechariah of Essex said this.

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He said, the great tragedy of our times lies

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in the fact that we live, we speak, and we think,

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and even pray to God outside of our heart. As

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it were, outside of the house in which Christ

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wants to abide with us. And truly, Our Father's

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house is in our heart. The place where the Spirit

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and the glory of God would find rest, that Christ

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may be formed in us. But as long as we are held

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captive by our passions and all the things that

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crowd into that heart, our anger, our resentments,

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our judging, Our fears that somehow God is going

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to change us into something bizarre. All the

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distractions outside that take us away from the

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Lord and distract our mind from our heart and

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lure it into the ever -changing and vain world

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of natural and created things, thus depriving

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us all of our spiritual strength. We will not,

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he says. when those things are there, we will

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not know the new birth from on high that makes

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us children of God and gods by grace. This is

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the message of Zacchaeus Sunday. Absorb it. Take

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it upon yourself. You heard what St. Paul wrote

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to St. Timothy. We trust in the living God who

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is the Savior of all men, especially those who

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believe. Make your faith manifest, he says. Make

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it real. Zacchaeus did it. Yeah, he had to live

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the next day and deal with whatever was coming

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down that pike on Monday morning or whatever

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day the next day after he met Christ. He had

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to apply himself. Let us also follow this inspiration

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of the great Zacchaeus. the Father among the

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saints, the Apostle among the 70s, Zacchaeus,

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Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. Amen.