Guest Speaker: Nick Pickrell - "Reparations of Zacchaeus"

Redemption Church KC Sermon Podcast

1. Today, Nick Pickerell taught about Zacchaeus’s repentance and immediate commitment to making reparations as told in Luke 19. He paralleled some of Zacchaeus’ likely activities as a tax collector to some of the unjust practices of excluding and exploiting black people, native people, and other people of color that have long been codified in our country’s governmental and social structures.

How did you feel as you listened to Nick reciting the list of some of the unjust policies and practices that he shared as examples? What emotions came up for you?

If possible, try to recreate that moment in your memory & share about your experience of it as you listened. Were there thoughts or ideas that surfaced for you as well?

Reflecting back on the moment, what observations can you make about your own internal responses? Do you have any thoughts about how you responded and what your own experience of that moment was?

2. Nick pointed out that, in response to Zacchaeus repentance and commitment to enacting justice, Jesus declared that, on that day, salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s house.

What do you make of this apparent cause-and-effect moment? What is it about Zacchaeus’ actions that allowed salvation to come to the entire household?

What wisdom for your own life today can you find in this moment of both Zacchaeus’ commitments & Jesus’ pronouncement? How is this relevant for you today? What questions or ideas does this part of the story prompt in you?

3. Nick had us discuss a few questions together in smaller groups as he prepared to close his sermon. He first asked us to identify and name different systems of injustice which we’ve seen, participated in, or been made aware of. He then asked for us to identify different ways - big and small - in which we personally can impact or have impacted these and other unjust systems in our lives and communities.

Spend some time as a group responding to those two questions. You can share what your group discussed during church if you were there and also come up with new examples and ideas together.

Make a written list, as a group, of ways to engage. To whatever degree possible, generate a list of resources, organizations, or engagement opportunities you’re aware of so that you can work together as a group to help support and inform each other’s efforts to engage and enact justice in whatever capacity is possible for you as a way to remind yourselves that, as Nick said, every action matters and helps to bring wholeness to our communities.