North Puget Sound Seattle 10/10/98
If We Live by the Spirit, We Are to Bear One Another’s Burdens
Galatians 5:24 & 6:2
Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus
Man in the Tree
As of today, I have only been a San Franciscan for 45 days. My previous ministry with Educational Ministries of over twenty years can be calculated to be over 7,500 days was quite different. Today I take the Muni bus to work. I walk through Chinatown with all the curio shops pandering their sales and restaurants that have their freshly roasted chickens, ducks, and pork hanging in the windows. SF Chinatown is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city; a port of entry into the new world that new Chinese Americans still call, Gold Mountain.
Last week when I was arriving at the church on the corner of Waverly Place and Sacramento Street, just one street up from the famous Grant Avenue, I noticed a man climbing on one of the three small trees in front of the church. At first my reactions were:
“This man is trespassing!”
“He will break the tree with his weight!”
“What is he doing up there?”
As I looked closer, he was storing his blanket and knapsack up in the tree. Safe from dogs, cats, street cleaners, and Baptist ministers, this homeless man was making his bed for the day to be able to return home later.
If we live by the Spirit, we are to walk by the Spirit by bearing one another’s burdens. I have yet to meet “the man in the tree.” When he saw me looking at him storing his blanket and knapsack, his eyes looked away. I hope that my eyes did not convey judgment and disgust. And even if I do have the opportunity of meeting him, I’m not sure what I would say. But one thing is clear now, every time I come to work, I look up in the tree and when I see his blanket and knapsack, my ministry of bearing one another’s burdens is not yet done.
Zacchaeus
There’s a children’s song about Zacchaeus that goes like this: Sing with me.
Zacchaeus was a wee little man
A wee little man was he.
He climbed up on a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
When the Lord came walking by
He looked up in the tree
And he said, Zacchaeus, you come down!
I’m going to your house today.
I’m coming to your house to pray.
Zacchaeus was up in a tree because he was short not only in size but also he felt insignificant and unimportant. In spite of his riches and position as a tax collector, people despised him. Because he was corrupt, he became rich from taking advantage of innocent people. They didn’t like him and didn’t want to hang out with him. People grumbled about why Jesus of all people would want to go to Zacchaeus’ house. As far as they are concern, they would be happy to just leave Zacchaeus up in the tree! That’s where he belongs!
But Zacchaeus probably longed for real acceptance and friendship. His accumulation of wealth at the expense of others has left him with a hallow gut feeling of being cut off from association with decent people. When Zacchaeus asked for forgiveness and promised to make reparations for the crimes he had made, Jesus forgave him. Jesus proclaimed salvation for Zacchaeus and gave him back his identity, “He too is a son of Abraham.”
My Call to the Local Church
When the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco called me to serve as their Senior Pastor this past May, I was touched and humbled by their trust in me. For some time, I have been pondering about what does God want me to do now for the rest of my life. Everything was still going well in Valley Forge. I felt I was still making a contribution and that Educational Ministries was valuing the gifts that I have been giving. Why make a move after 20 years? Why to San Francisco where housing is virtually impossible to buy or rent? And even more painful, why leave our two young adult children (and they will always be children in my eyes) back east?
Our decision to respond to this call to the local church is a step of faith. We believed that this is God’s plan for us to serve God’s church. As long as we trust in God, all that we possibly need will be provided. And sure enough, this has been so.
When we thought that we would surely not be able to find a place to live, less than a month before I flew to San Francisco to begin my ministry, a member of the church who owns an apartment building had a vacancy. Sensing the sacrifices that we are making to come, they laid out the welcoming mat by remodeling the kitchen, the bathroom, putting in new carpet, and charging us only what they were charging the previous tenants. We were so surprised and very grateful. They bore our burdens as their own.
When we live by the Spirit, we are also walking together bearing one another’s burdens. I was a student of Walter Rauschenbusch, the America Baptist theologian who preached that the Good News of Christ must make a difference in our society. I remembered Rauschenbusch was a pastor of a German-American church in New York City. The neighborhood around his church was so bad that it was called “Hell’s Kitchen.” As he labored tirelessly, he welcomed the poor, the immigrants, the factory workers, the shopkeepers, the outcasts, and the homeless into his church. Today, I see myself in such a place too.
Bearing One Another’s Burdens
Paul told the Galatians to stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. Don’t be deceived that you are too good to do this.
If we are living by the Spirit, how are we to bear one another’s burdens today?
With freedom in Christ, love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom.
Live creatively. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out.
Identify the “man in your tree.” This person may be rich or poor. He may be a tax collector or a homeless person. But what’s more significant is that he is a reminder that our ministry is not yet done. Only you can discern how in faithfulness to God’s call to you to Christian ministry, that you in the Spirit of God, bear one another’s burdens.
For me, the man in the tree in front of our church needs my ministry.
Please pray with me.
Merciful and mighty God, forgive me and us for the things that we have not done for your ministry of bearing one another’s burdens. Equip us and empower us to respond to the cries of your people. We are thankful for the love of Christ who changes lives bringing wholeness and reconciliation. As we live in the Spirit, also guide us to walk together in spirit and in truth. Amen.