Please pray with me:  Dear God.  You have taught us how to forgive and be forgiven.  You have shown us the power of grace in our lives, but sometimes, it’s still hard to believe in our hearts what we’ve heard with our ears and know in our heads.  Open our hearts today help us to hear your words in a new way so that we can experience your grace over and over again.  And now I humbly ask that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, o Lord my strength and my redeemer.  Amen.

So today is week 3 of a sermon series on forgiveness.  With Pastor Deb, we’ve been reminded of God’s word for us about how and why to forgive others.  We’ve dealt with forgiveness as it relates to justice.  And today we’re going to talk a little about how to deal with our own shame and guilt and accept the grace that we are offered.

Now before we begin, I want to caution us.  First, dealing with forgiveness is complicated.  It’s easy to separate out these issues of forgiveness for the purposes of writing a sermon, but when it comes down to actually being out there in the world, I recognize that they are all interrelated.  We have trouble separating out these ideas of forgiving and being forgiven.  We don’t always know what it is that we did or even when we’ve done something to wrong another person.  We can’t help but measure which wrongs are worse than others.

But the truth is we all sin – we have all wronged another person whether unintentionally or intentionally.  We have all put ourselves above another at some time or another and there are imperfections in all of us that cause us to feel shame.  Whether persistent or periodic, whether we make it obvious or keep it hidden deep within ourselves, having the ability to feel shame or guilt is part of what makes us human.

It reminds me of something I saw while in Detroit on our mission trip last month.  Some of us spent a few days working in a place called mom’s house 2.  This house consisted of various apartments for transitional housing for women who are chronically homeless.  Many of them are in treatment programs for addictions of one kind or another and on their walls we found various inspirational poems and guidelines to try to help them on their path back to wholeness.  Ask one of the youth or adults from the trip to tell you more about the work we did, and the people we met, but I want to share something I saw on one of their walls.  It was called “10 Rules for being human”… I don’t remember all of them, but in the age of the internet, I was able to find it.  And I discovered that a woman by the name of Cherie Carter-Scott wrote it.

1. You will receive a body.  You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons.  You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.  Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation.  The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned.  A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it.  When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end.  There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons.  If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you.  You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you.  You have all the tools and resources you need.  What you do with them is up to you.  The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you.  The answers to life's questions lie within you.  All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.

Now if I were to try to right my own rules for being human I might use different words, I’d probably add some language about spirituality but for the most part, this is a pretty good list.  When I first read these rules I found myself saying boy, that’s a good one for this person to hear and I sure wish that so & so knew that.  But then I was reminded that these are rules for being human and they all applied to everyone, even me.

So I’d like you to take that to heart as we explore the story of Zacchaeus.  I’d like for you to put yourself in the role of Zacchaeus.  This isn’t the time for you to think of someone else who has wronged you.  This isn’t the time to focus on all the people who need to hear this.  Today we’re going to try to put aside what we think about other people and what they need and we’re going to look at ourselves and how we can accept the grace that God has given us.

I’m making an assumption here.  I’m assuming that you all have something about which you feel some amount of guilt or shame.  And as long as we’re all honest with ourselves, even if we don’t admit it to others, that is probably a safe assumption.  We tend to associate the word guilt with some sort of negative feeling after having done or said something wrong.  When we use the word shame, however, we’re talking about an actual state of being or condition of disgrace.  To some of you, there’s a big difference between these concepts and to others, there isn’t, but the important thing to realize is that both contribute to our need and desire for forgiveness.

In today’s lesson about Zacchaeus we find a pretty good example of how we can move through the process of receiving God’s grace.  First, we must remember that grace is offered to us before we even know it.  At the end of today’s passage, we are reminded that Jesus’ purpose is to seek and to save us- and that means all of us.  Zacchaeus didn’t have to do anything to be sought just as we don’t have to do anything.

And though Jesus was there to seek Zacchaeus just as all are offered grace, there’s a little more to the story.  You see, Zacchaeus had to be ready to receive it.  He had to open his eyes and look for something himself.  He had a curiosity about who this Jesus guy was and he sought to find out more.  He was able to step out of his comfort zone – the security of his home and those like him – and went to where he knew he was not exactly welcome.  In fact, as chief tax collector, simply going in to mingle with a crowd was courageous for him.  Many would have taken the opportunity to nudge, kick or push this much hated man.  He was rich and had become rich through greed.  People didn’t like him… but Zacchaeus went anyway.  He put himself out there- even though it was hard.

Now remember, this isn’t about anyone but you.  We’re not going to focus on how greedy or awful Zacchaeus was or how rotten someone else has been.  We’re going to concentrate on how you and I are willing to put ourselves out there to find out who Jesus is – to face our greatest enemies in order to experience love more fully.  You see Zacchaeus did something really hard – he showed up.  And each of you here today – for whatever reason have done the same thing.  You have shown up.  Hopefully you haven’t found as hostile of a crowd as Zacchaeus found and hopefully you did not have to confront your greatest enemies when you came in.  But there are times in our lives when just getting out of bed and showing up somewhere means facing something or someone we’d rather not.

It also means being persistent in our search.  Being able to let go of guilt or shame and accept Christ’s forgiveness will not always be easy and might not happen our first time.  There will be distractions – grumblers who try to pull you down, other people who might not be so quick to forgive, disappointment over what we find, but we need to keep trying.  Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see over the crowd when no one seemed to want to let him in.  What is your tree that you need to climb on your search?  Perhaps there is some addiction that you can’t seem to break, a strained relationship that just won’t heal, a sense of meaningless in your life.  Whatever your pain, feeling of inadequacy or guilt, the disappointment of it not just going away when we step out and try to do something about it can knock us back down – or we could follow Zacchaeus’ example and try something new.

Sure enough, before long Jesus came around to that tree sought out Zacchaeus.  This time Jesus called Zacchaeus by name and offered grace directly to him.  If we’re observant enough, if we’re persistent enough, we too will hear our name called.  We too will hear the invitation to be freed from that which separates us from God- our sins.

Notice something here for a moment.  This is about Jesus offering grace to Zacchaeus.  This is about Christ’s invitation to us.  This isn’t about those in the crowd – by human standards, justified in their resentment.  They were cheated by this man – who was now rich on their money.  Jesus pays them no mind.  His grace is being offered to one who has sinned and is now searching to know Jesus.

It isn’t until after Jesus’ invitation that Zacchaeus seems to acknowledge and repent of what he has done and who he has become.  It is Christ’s invitation and offer of grace that drives Zacchaeus to repent and want to repay those he has wronged.

In other words, Jesus doesn’t wait for us to act – Christ’s grace is offered to us freely and without consequence.  However, the result of accepting that grace means understanding what it means to be changed as a result.  It often means understanding that there are consequences to our behaviors.  For Zacchaeus he knew right away what he needed to do – he took steps to show the community that he was a changed man.  He knew that he may have wronged people and was willing to make up for it – not the value plus 1/5 as was custom when someone voluntarily confessed, but 4 times the amount.  He wanted to be sure that he more than made up for his wrongs.  Further, not only did he want to repent of his sins and pay the consequence of his actions, but he wanted to now help the poor.  Wow.  What a change.

I don’t know about you, but to me that’s the hard part of this whole process – repenting and changing.  It’s important to learn how to say “I’m sorry” but it’s also important to do something different so that you don’t need to say “I’m sorry” again.  Sometimes repenting means saying “I’m sorry” even if you didn’t mean harm.  I’ve found in working with kids that that is one of the most difficult lessons to teach.  We have this tendency to only think that we need to apologize if we did something on purpose.  But we must remember that some of the things we say and do have totally unpredictable and sometimes even irrational consequences, but that doesn’t release us from the consequences.  Hear those words again, our intentionality is NOT directly related to our need to live with the consequences of our actions.

Now that doesn’t mean that we need to live with the guilt – remember we are all, always invited to receive God’s grace.  Sometimes the consequence might mean a broken human relationship- sometimes other human beings, Christian or not, might not be able to let go of the pain that you caused.  And while that can undoubtedly be difficult, it doesn’t change God’s grace, freely offered to each of us.  It’s offered to us because that is why the Son of God was sent- to seek and to save that which is lost.

And the good news is, even when we do what humans do- when we forget one of the steps, when we back track, when we don’t learn the lesson the first time, God is still with us, calling us by name and offering grace again and again and again.

You know, when I realized I would be preaching on forgiveness today, I didn’t really think that I would have the chance to share with you about our mission trip.  But as I prepared today’s sermon, I kept going back to a man that I met on our trip to Detroit.  His name is Michael and his life is sort of like a modern day Zacchaeus story.  Those of us who met Michael had the chance to work with this man doing landscaping at the church and activity center that were connected with Cass Community Services.  Michael was one of the caretakers of all of the property – a total of 8 buildings I believe.  He had set up projects for us to do, gathered supplies, offered us cold water throughout the morning, and worked along side us – all while trying to manage projects and staff at other facilities.

Michael also owns 2 homes – one that he lives in and one that he rents.  He had to leave a little early that day to get ready for an important fundraiser that evening that cost $250/plate and involved this guy you might have heard of – named Magic Johnson.  But before Michael left he told me his story.

He told me how not too long ago his life was a mess.  He was addicted to so many drugs, alcohol and women that he didn’t even know that he had a problem.  He couldn’t keep a job and didn’t really care.  He had his fun for awhile but he took advantage of a lot of people along the way.  He didn’t know how to speak without swearing and eventually he ended up on the street.  When he finally hit bottom he ended up in a treatment program and eventually at Cass Community Services.  It was there, where grace was offered to him.  The staff, volunteers and others shared God’s love with him – by feeding him, supporting him and holding him accountable.  They helped him out of the darkness and helped him get back on his feet.  Baby steps at first, but eventually Michael got a job.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t too long before he got knocked back down – he was laid off.  But you know what, he got back up and tried again.  He received support once again from Cass.  He was reminded of the love and grace that they had shown him before and he decided to begin volunteering there.  Sure he would have loved to get a job there, but they expected real changes before that could happen.  So they helped him.  They asked him to take classes, so he did.  They taught him more appropriate ways to talk in the workplace.  They taught him job skills through his work as a volunteer.  They taught him how to manage money.  They shared Christ’s love in every way they knew how and now Michael, after all he’s been through, can say he’s blessed – both for those negative experiences and for where he is today.  The invitation was free, offered by Christ and on behalf of Christ through the love of those around him.  But the change happened when he was ready to deal with all that had happened and make a new life.

There were both short term and long term consequences to the choices Michael made earlier in life.  He has a child that he doesn’t get to see much.  He has to live with the knowledge of hurting people and taking advantage of people that he’ll never have a chance to apologize to.  He has some health issues at least partially because of his behaviors before this change.  But, he is a new man.  He knows God’s grace and knows why he needs to share it with others – all others.  There are no exceptions in his mind as to who can and should be offered God’s grace.

As Michael spoke, and I looked around at the youth and adults working in the church yard.  As I went inside the activity center later on and watched youth from North Broadway United Methodist Church have a dance party with developmentally disabled adults in Detroit, Michigan, as I watched the dedication that the group showed in doing as much as they could to help the community, as I witnessed the youth caring for each other through tough times and as I heard laughter sustaining the group at the most tired moments, I saw God’s grace offered in so many ways.

The invitation is always there.  The process to accepting it might be hard.  Admitting our faults can take a lot of courage.  We might not always like the consequences and we may have to learn the same lesson over and over again before it finally sinks in.  But, the invitation is always there.  Accepting the invitation is up to us, but when we do, if we really accept it in our hearts, no one can take it away.

When I went through my divorce and was struggling with various issues.  A dear friend said to me, “do you want to be right, or do you want to be free?”  That’s when I really realized what it means to accept and to give forgiveness.  Earlier I said to forget about all those who have wronged you and make today’s sermon about you.  The reason we need to do that is because we can’t take responsibility for what others do.  I don’t doubt that you have been wronged.  I don’t doubt that there is someone holding a grudge against you or hurt you in a very real way.  But we can’t change other people.  Nor do we get to decide what needs God’s grace.  All we can do is accept God’s grace in our own lives and be an instrument of that same grace to others.  When we do that, it no longer matters who’s more right and who’s more wrong – what matters is that we’re free from that which has been weighing on us and able to move forward as God’s beloved children.

I invite you now to take a few moments to name to God the guilt, shame, pain, anger or whatever else is weighing you down.  You can right it, say it to yourself or whatever you need to do to give it to God.  God as aken your burdens and invites you to accept the grace of Christ.  Knowing that whatever consequences may come from those burdens that have been caused by us, God will be with each and every one of us.  Amen.