Reference

Luke 19:1-10

We are called to be Saints Alive. We often have a very short vision of that call in 2019. Often Christians make the Bible and especially the Gospels as an object of Worship. We are called to not worship the teaching but live the teachings in our daily lives. We must look into Jesus' reaching out in different ways to the outsiders in His society and include them as equal saints to everybody else. We must see that the outsiders are included in God's love and we must reach beyond our comfort zones.

Richard Rohr has developed a list for the application of the Beatitudes to our everyday lives. The Beatitudes are the commandments of Jesus which for Christians takes the place of the 10 Commandments of Moses. With permission, here are Dr. Rohr's challenge to us a modern Christians: 1.    Jesus is a model for living more than an object of worship.   2.   Affirming people’s potential is more important than reminding them of their brokenness.   3.   The work of reconciliation should be valued over making judgments.   4.   Gracious behavior is more important than right belief.   5.    Inviting questions is more valuable than supplying answers.   6.   Encouraging the personal search is more important than group uniformity.   7.   Meeting actual needs is more important than maintaining institutions.   8.   Peacemaking is more important than power.   9.   We should care more about love and less about sex.   10. Life in this world is more important than the afterlife (Eternity is God’s work anyway). 

In today's gospel, Jesus included Zacchaeus into his loving relationship. Zacchaeus was a hated outsider who turned toward following God's loving way. The locals objected because they wanted to think of themselves as special and blessed but Jesus was undeterred by their desires and criticism. We are today called do the same with all the outsiders of our own society. The list is long who we tend to judge and leave out. We are to live the questions that are listed finding Christian responses and solution in our response to be Saints Alive today.