Proper 26

Intro

' Hear the word of the Lord , you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord ; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more! Bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and calling of convocation— I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove your evil deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow. Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord : If your sins are like scarlet, will they become like snow? If they are red like crimson, will they become like wool? '

Isaiah 1:10-18

Now let’s remember who Isaiah was speaking to. Isaiah was a prophet during the reign of King Uzziah. Off in the distance was this powerful empire rising — the Assyrians. They were growing stronger every year. And Isaiah looked at Judah, God’s own people, and saw a nation that had rebelled and sinned against the Lord.

Here, Isaiah is being used by God to declare that truth. He speaks on behalf of God, saying essentially:

“I don’t need your rams. I don’t need your sacrifices — your fat beasts, your offerings, your incense. What I want is a changed heart.”

We see two things in this passage:

What we offer, and

What God really wants.

The people were offering bulls’ blood, burnt offerings, fat from beasts, incense, new moon celebrations, appointed festivals. But all these had become a burden to God. Why? Because their hearts weren’t in it. Their hands were full of blood.

Instead, God says, “Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove your evil deeds. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Rescue the oppressed. Defend the orphan. Plead for the widow.”

Those are His words, brothers and sisters — not mine.

From the very beginning, there’s been this disconnect — this misalignment between what we think God wants and what He actually desires.

God doesn’t want our money, or our outward piety. God wants you — your heart.

He’s looking at your feet, at your hands — asking:

What are you doing? And does it reflect Me?

For some of us, that might look different. We’re not out doing the things we did when we were younger. We’re not worried about staying out late or doing drugs — we’ve grown, we know better. But how do we see others? How do we treat those who disagree with us? How do we speak about those we don’t like so much?

Because the same God who said, “Bring no more meaningless offerings,” is still saying, “Come now, let us reason together… though your sins are scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”

That’s His invitation — not to perform, but to be transformed.

Not religious practices but repented hearts, and we see God offer just that, he didnt promsie to anniahlate them but gave them to opportunity to repent and turn away from sin.

All through scripture we see God, provide these opportunity for rementence, to return to him regardless of our behaviour.

And in this next story we see the same idea, the same opportunity. We see in the book of Luke, chapter 19:1-10 the word of the lord say.

Gospel story tie-in

' He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” '

Luke 19:1-10

I think we’re all pretty familiar with tax collectors. Shoot — one of the gospel writers was one himself. But here in Luke 19, we see a chief tax collector — a short little man named Zacchaeus.

He hears this commotion because a healer, a teacher, this man named Jesus, is coming into town. So what does he do? He runs ahead, finds a sycamore tree, and climbs up just to get a glimpse of Him.

And it’s almost as if Jesus was waiting for this very moment — because as soon as He gets to that spot, He looks up and says,

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

Now, that raised some eyebrows. Because Zacchaeus wasn’t just a tax collector — he was a chief tax collector. He was rich, not because he worked hard, but because he extorted his own people. He worked for the very government that invaded Israel and made them a subject nation.

So the people following Jesus start grumbling:

“Why Zacchaeus? He’s a sinner!”

And yes — he was. But if you remember the last story we looked at — in Isaiah — God gave His people an opportunity: repent or face judgment. And now here, we see the Son of God offering that same opportunity.

But this time, something changes. Zacchaeus doesn’t make excuses, he doesn’t hide behind religion — he responds with repentance. He says,

“Half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I’ve defrauded anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”

Now that’s powerful. Because in those times, one-fifth was considered extremely generous. But Zacchaeus doesn’t stop at one-fifth — he offers half his wealth, and restitution at four times the amount.

Leviticus 6:4–5 says,

“When you have sinned and recognize your guilt… you shall repay the principal amount and add one-fifth to it.”

So by law, a twenty percent payback was enough. But Zacchaeus gives four times that. That’s what repentance looks like — it’s not about doing the bare minimum, it’s about radical transformation.

This man was saved because he repented and believed. It didn’t matter that he was a tax collector, a sinner, or a social outcast. As Galatians 3:7 says,

“Those who have faith are sons of Abraham.”

Faith — not background, not performance — is what brings us into the family of God.

But that kind of faith always comes with something else: a changed heart, a new direction, a transformation that affects your hands, your feet, your actions.

And when faith begins to change your life, it produces one key characteristic — love.

So let’s make this practical. How do we love others? How do we treat them, talk about them, think about them? Do we pray for them, or do we gossip about them?

3/4th of the way!

In 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul writes to the church and praises them for growing in faith despite persecution. He says,

“The love of every one of you for one another is increasing.”

Love, brothers and sisters — love is the answer. Faith that doesn’t show itself in love isn’t faith at all — it’s just talk.This faith we claim to have should be visible. It should flow outward in how we love — not just those who agree with us, but also those who don’t. Those who are lost, those who are suffering, those who are hurting and broken.

Because a heart that has truly been transformed by Christ can’t help but reflect His love.

Closing

“Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered… I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:1–7

That’s the heart of it all — confession, repentance, and forgiveness. God’s mercy is not for the proud performer, but for the humble confessor. He doesn’t despise a broken spirit — He meets it with grace.

So today, hear His words again:

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18)

This is more than an invitation to turn from sin — it’s an invitation to receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

And if you’ve already received that gift, then the next call is just as important: Love one another.

Not only here, within these four walls, but outside of them. Love the people who don’t look like you, who don’t think like you, who don’t agree with you. Love the broken, the overlooked, the difficult.

Because the mark of a heart that’s been forgiven — is a heart that loves.