-- You know, we start out pretty good - a little noisy at first, but pretty good. But then along the way we get wrecked, by a lot of different things. For starters we get wrecked by our own sin. That`s what is going on in the story we just read about Zacheus. He`s a tax collector. Tax collectors made their living by collaborating with the occupying Roman army and price gouging their fellow Jews. They were traitors and cheats, and nobody liked them. It would be like saying he was a drug dealer. His decision to take advantage of people had shrunk his soul to the point where the only thing he cared about was money and possessions, and he was miserable. Our sin wrecks us " addictions, anger, lust, obsessions, pride " all in one way or another wreck us.

-- Sometimes it`s other people that wreck us. Zacheus made sinful choices, but other people probably had a hand in wrecking him too. The story points out that he was short, which in that culture would have been taken as a sign of weakness. So for all of his life Zacheus was probably getting called names, getting bullied, getting shoved into lockers ''or whatever the first century equivalent was''. Junior High was probably miserable for him. Parents who criticize too much, peers who humiliate us, spouses who use us or don`t pay enough attention to us, all of that leaves us lonely, insecure, and afraid. Sometimes it`s other people that wreck us.

-- Finally, sometimes the circumstances of life wreck us. In the other story we read there is a man possessed by a demon. We don`t know exactly what was going on there. Maybe there was a demon, or maybe he was mentally ill. Whatever it was, he probably didn`t choose it. Sometimes our circumstances such as disease, disabilities, unemployment, or all kinds of things can happen to us that we don`t choose. We get beat up by life. We get wrecked. As a result, we are not the people that God intended us to be.

The first way that Jesus builds his kingdom in us is:

1'' Jesus seeks us, he is looking for us. Ever feel unnoticed? Like no matter what you do no one`s paying attention? No matter your skills, your talents, people just pass you by? I`m sure Zacheus felt that way. Every time he oiled his tax-collecting, price gouging, money grubbing, Roman collaborating self down the street, people would just turn the other way. He was a non-person. But not to Jesus. In this story Zacheus climbs a tree because he`s looking for Jesus, and what he finds is that all along Jesus has been looking for him. That changes him. Having been noticed he begins to notice others and to care about them. Jesus is always looking for us. That heals us of the wounds that have been inflicted by other people, because having been noticed and cared for by Jesus we can notice and care for others. Jesus seeks us.

The second way that Jesus brings his kingdom to us is:

2'' He forgives and accepts us no matter what we`ve done. In spite of all of Zacheus` sins Jesus forgives him. But not only that, he wants to go have dinner with him, wants to socialize with him. Zacheus has been a social leper for years, and now finally someone wants to be with him. God wants to be with you. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God likes you? He doesn`t just love you because he`s God and theologically he has no choice. He likes you. He wants to be with you. When we experience his acceptance we can become a lot more accepting people ourselves because we feel secure that we are loved.

The third way that Jesus brings his kingdom to us is:

3'' He puts us in community. Jesus said that Zacheus is also a son of Abraham. What he is saying there is that he belongs in this community just like you. He`s putting Zacheus back into community, and that`s what he does with us, that`s how he builds his kingdom. He puts people around us, to encourage us and challenge us and hold us accountable so that we can grow into the people he created us to be. He seeks us, he forgives and accepts us, he puts others around us.

Finally, the fourth way Jesus restores us is:

4'' He invites us to build his kingdom with him. As soon as Zacheus meets Jesus he starts building the kingdom. He brings reconciliation by paying back everything he has taken from other people. He starts being part of restoration by saying, "I`m going to give some of my money to the poor." And the scene ends with him and Jesus going off to rejoice together at his house. Zacheus starts to build the kingdom. One of the best ways I know of to get over some problem I have is to get my eyes off myself and put them on someone else and begin to help. And I think that`s why God in order to restore us and heal us calls us to build his kingdom with him, so we can get our eyes off our own problems and put them on to someone else and on to God. Jesus brings his kingdom in us by seeking us, forgiving and accepting us, putting us around other people, and asking us to build his kingdom with him. All of that changes us. Our part in all of this is simply to say that we need Jesus. The old fashioned word for this is `repent.` All we need to do is say, "Lord Jesus, I need you; I need you to forgive my sins, I need you to make my life whole, I cannot do this on my own." Say that, and then follow him with our head, heart, hands, and habits so that he can transform us. It`s not always easy, it can take a lot of time, and it involves some hard work on our part, but the promise of Jesus is that he will bring his kingdom in us; he will restore us to who he created us to be.
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