Change is Possible

Our son, G, is growing. It seems that every time I turn around, he is taller. The way our stairway is built, there is ceiling at the bottom. Steve, who is 6'4", knows, habitually, to duck when he comes down the stairs. Every once and a while, he will hit his head, but not very often. This morning, G was running down the stairs behind me as we were getting ready to leave the house. I heard a groan, turned around, and found him sitting on the stairs, holding his head in his hands. Apparently, he hit his head on the ceiling as he came down the stairs. He's taller, and he's never had to duck before. Looks like he's going to have to change his habit.

Last night in class we talked about the passage in Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43 about the wheat and the weeds (or thistles, in the Message). It is a parable which compares the Kingdom of God to wheat seed that a farmer has planted. The wheat grows, but along with it, weeds or thistles sprout up. We talked about what that means, and how it defines the kingdom. One question arose which the parable doesn't really address -- can a thistle become wheat? Can there be a transformation of the very nature of the plant so that, even though it sprouted as a weed, it can, through grace, become wheat? Our conclusion was that, if we were talking about people and not plants, then, yes, transformation is possible.

A case in point.

The Lenten devotion that was sent out today from our church was about Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). In addition, the sermon at our Common Grounds service tonight will be a first person monologue from the tree-dweller, himself. It's a good story. Take just a few moments to read it again.

Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"

Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages."

Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."

Zacchaeus had been a thistle. He met Jesus, and was transformed into wheat. Change, even though it is not always comfortable, and at times is even hard to fathom, can happen. Transformation is possible. Even from thistles to wheat. Even from tax collectors to faithful disciple. Even from a small boy to a gangly teenager to eventually a man.

Even from who I am to who God created me to become.

Infinite Hope

G is starting 9th grade in the fall. One of his classes in honors English. Because of that, he has a summer reading list of three books, and assignments to match them. The first of the books is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I picked him up a copy of the book today. I actually picked up two copies -- I told him that I would read it along with him. I can't remember if I have read it before; if I have, I didn't understand it. I know I've seen the movie, so I do have an idea of the plot.

I've started on my copy, and immediately ran into this sentence:
Reserving judgement is a matter of infinite hope.

That sentence struck me, especially in the light of our Wednesday evening class a couple of days ago. It was based on the parable (Matthew 13:34-30, 36-43) of the farmer who plants clean seed. Overnight, the enemy sneaks in and plants weeds. The hired hands ask, "Should we weed out the thistles?" The farmer answers, "'No, if you weed the thistles, you'll pull up the wheat, too." It is a parable about not judging other people -- allowing God to be God.

I think this quote from the Great Gatsby applies to this parable, in two ways.

1. We looked at this parable during The Jesus I Never Knew. The class members wanted to know if weeds could ever become wheat. We decided that transformation is possible. That is a basis for hope and a reason to reserve judgement.
2. This time, in What's So Amazing About Grace, the class focused more on the idea that we are unable to tell the wheat from the weeds. We are not equipped. We can't see into someone's heart or search their souls, while God can. So in this case, perhaps we reserve judgement out of the hope that our own judgment is poor, while God's is not. God can see the good in someone; while we can only hope that it is there.

Images: Cover of the paperback and scene from the movie of the same name, 1974, Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.

Genesis and Joy

Read this from Genesis 3:17-18:

And to the man he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,

and have eaten of the tree

about which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

And now read this from Joy to the World:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to makes His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found, 

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

I know, I should have seen that before, but I never have. In class last night, we started an Advent study, and Terry compared these two quotes. She was pointing out how the coming of Christ is the salvation of the world, and how the hymn illustrates how the incarnation is the response to the fall.

As we move through Advent, I thought this would be a great thought to carry with us.