“sometimes I Get Caught Cheating!”

) November 3, 2013 [White or Red] Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 Psalm 119:137-144 (UMH 840) 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Sermon St John Luke 19:1-10 “Sometimes I get Caught Cheating!”

Well this couple came in for concealing you could tell by the way the came inn this might not make it and the brother looked at me and he was like Rev, she will not let me be a man, I can't go no we're with out her running me down and asking me all kinda questions and stuff. There is no trust! Why do you think that is, what seems to be the problem. He said something that kinda thru me all off my concealing Game. He Said sometimes she Catches me cheating. He had no reservations by his voice you could tell he had no problem cheating in his mind it was the getting caught that was the issues.

We all have known folks like that, if you turn on the news you see a community of crooked politicians, cooked bankers and investors. During the government shut down and the days leading up to it we have seen time and time again the what the old testament calls cheaters what this text calls sinners.

Zacchaeus is called a sinner, he was also described as being very rich, and yet he celebrated with Jesus 3 things

Zacchaeus stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.” (Luke 19:8 MSG)

The crowed knew him as a sinner but he did let that stop him, what people say about you should never let you run from Jesus.

Don't let what other people think, become who you are. There are a lot of folk that have their minds made up as to what kind of person you are.

As a matter of fact when the crowd starts to talk bad about you, you need to do like Zack and climb higher. I no the tradition says the more they talk about me the more I go down on my knees but there is nobody or crowds that can make me go down, look down and hold my head down.

So the more they talk about me the higher I will climb and some of y'all might better watch out because, while I am getting to my tree I might just step on your back I don't know about you but Rev don't play the crab in the barrel game.

Zacchaeus stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.” (Luke 19:8 MSG)

Move 2) I celebrate that he understood that the poor matter to Jesus. Yea that's correct the poor matter to The Lord. Jesus cares about the folks without enough food to eat, yes Jesus is concerned with children in our schools that can not read and write in the 11th grade. You better believe that Jesus cares about the folks in SC who because of the tea party politics are missing out on the safety net for health care under the ACA.

I also believe that there are going to be some folks in this country that are going to have to reconcile their commitment to cutting SAPP (food stamps), and the faith they clam on Sunday morning , I can not understand how you say you love my Jesus and don't love the folks he has been taking care for.

Zacchaeus says and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.” (Luke 19:8 MSG)

Move 3) You have to fix what you mess up. I'll let y'all go home when you come to understand that I also left up the fact that Zacchaeus also recognized the face that he was responsible for the damage he caused.

I don't know what happened to this type of teaching, when I was going up if you borrowed something from somebody and it broke why you had it you were responsible for it.

Lots of folks are confused about reparations for Slavery. If I took you from your home in Africa and also most destroyed your culture and your people the then the 40 acres and a mule or $300,000 per descendent just makes sense.

If I told you that farming was the only way to make a living and yet when you went to the bank to get government loans to buy equipment and the land to farm because of racism I denied you loans then I need to pay for that now in the Black Farmers class action suit.

If I have taken all the young men out of the community and locked them up for using and sailing drugs that I brought into the community in the first place, and now young black folks don't even have a model for being a family. If I have created a new Jim Crow by restricting voting rights of the community then I need to do something. If I have made it so Family and communities don't have a base for economic empowerment because the worker are locked in prison or are in prison because of their prison record. We have the response ability to fix the damage we have created.