Thursday 18 November 2010

Reaching Out To The Invisible


The Bible reading on Tuesday (Saint Luke 19:1-10) tells us a very familiar story, a story that makes us feel like we are looking into a mirror or a page from our own life. Zaccheaus a wealthy man and a sinner avoids the large crowds and climbs a sycamore tree to get a view of the worlds savior. Jesus notices this and reaches out back to him with the words; "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." This is a story of hope and a symbol of our personal spiritual yearning.

Now the collage above is a connection of two images that I thought reflect our personal yearning for something bigger then life: left, Jack English's photo of a surfer tackling a wave and touching the waters flesh and right, Michelangelo's painting of the creation of man located in the Sistine Chapel. Michealangelo's photo brings the creation of man to life with Adam reaching out to his Father and the almighty Creator. Jack English's photo shows a man touching the water----as if reaching out in search for something greater than life. Like the two images representing going beyond the extreme Zacchaeus climbed his tree in order to be notices despite the shame of his crooked soul...in return he was saved. Let us reach out to the invisible and climb heights in order for him to be welcomed into the house of our heavy hearts.

The singer/songwriter Jon Foreman writes: "Let us acknowledge our neediness, our beautiful desperation . Yes, our unanswerable, aching, longing poverty i a prerequisite for the balm of salvation." We, the people---the failures, the losers, the outsiders---we must climb our tree of life and find our King. And let us love! Let us celebrate the reckless love of the one who risked all that we might be loved. Let us follow the path of God who loves us and reach out to the Invisible.