Barely disguised religious and political animosity have pushed the Beloved Son of God out to the local rubbish tip and have placed Him as a third in a trio of criminals.  Jesus illuminates the text of Isaiah 53:12 by allowing Himself to be put there.  Whatever they might think, He knows that He is there as a sign, as an intercessor, not just for the other two, but for those who are crucifying Him.  'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing'.  
 
The 'powerful' mock Him, and by doing so try to elicit a response different from the one He is giving. But Jesus can only live the Beatitudes he taught.  But this way of living is lost on those who do not yet understand that forgiving is the very heartbeat of the Beloved Son of God.  They meticulously follow the text of Wisdom 2:12-20. Surely the Messiah would leap from the cross.  If He cannot, or will not do this, He must be an imposter.  In reality it is they who haven't got a clue what is unfolding before their eyes.  Believing that have finally beaten Him, they divide the spoils by  gambling  for  his  clothing.   Unwittingly,  they  place  Jesus in  the middle of  Psalm 22,  forgetting  how it ends.  The secret purposes of God are unfolding.  Jesus will be vindicated in the resurrection and His suffering will become a force for faith throughout the world. 
 
Soldiers and criminals join their scheming.  They are as ignorant as the leaders they serve, and they play out their own lack of understanding in a unique way.  To the soldiers, Jesus is a kingly pretender.  They dress Jesus up in ill the fitting robes of royalty and slap His face.  There is no king but Caesar.  To a terrorist on one side of Him, He is a possible means of escape.  'Save yourself AND US', he shouts.  Jesus is right.  There isn't one of them who know what they are doing. 
 
Meanwhile, the people stand watching.  They are not like the rulers, elders, soldiers and one criminal.  The evil 
which  motivates  them  cannot  be  found  in  those  who  watch  and  who  wait.   And  their  waiting  will  bring  them revelation.  They will return to their homes beating their breasts.  They are transformed by what they have seen and heard; as Jesus forgave His enemies, offered Paradise to the repentant criminal, handed His Spirit back to His Father and was confirmed by the centurion as the Son of God.  They knew a terrible wrong had been done, but they did not know how God would put it right.  Only Jesus knew. Well, Jesus and one of the criminals, who ditches the titles His enemies dress him up in.  Only this one has the wisdom to say the Name and to ask for what only Jesus can give. 
 
If the last three years of Brexit and the election campaign have taught  me  anything  it  is  that  having  Integrity  is  a  supreme value.  People who talk a noble game may not have a noble game in  their  heart.   In  any  good  drama,  the   best  way  to  unmask hypocrisy in life is to bring death into the story.  Take the case of Secundus the Silent.  The emperor Hadrian decided to test him and demanded he speak.  Secundus refused.  Hadrian sent him off  with  the  executioner  with  this  instruction.   If  he  talks  in  an attempt  to  save  his  life,  kill  him.   If  he  does  not,  spare  his life.  Secundus did not speak.  He did not abandon his way of life in order to live.  What He said and what he did was of one piece. 
 
A  woman  in  her  thirties  shared with  Rachel  Remen  to  story  of  the  death  of  her  husband.   After  he  had  been diagnosed with terminal cancer and each treatment failed, he became bitter and angry, lashing out at everyone and pushing away anyone who tried to comfort him.  When he looked back on his life, all he had was regret for the choices he made.  He died angry and withdrawn.  His wife said, "I do not want to die that way."   Remen asked her, "So how do you need to live?"   The woman looked puzzled so Remen asked her a second time.  " How do you need to live to make sure you do not die that way?  This time she got it.  She gazed into the distance for a long time, turned and left.  A few months later she wrote to Rachel and said she had been revising her life in the light of her death.  This process had changed her profoundly and she wanted to thank Rachel for the gift she had given her. (My Grandfathers Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge and Belonging [New York: Rivermead Books, 2000] 300-302) 
 
Two examples of how death can teach us how to live.  Death does this by weaning us away from the illusion of 
timelessness.  It encourages us to consider what really matters and gives us a strange freedom to reaffirm our 
ability  to  lead  a  life  of  integrity.   We  are  awakened  to  the  danger  of  putting  off  decisions  we  have  to  make today.  Death tells us to get out of our chair and fix the relationships that need reconciling and thank the people who need to be thanked.  Finally, it opens us up to the possibility of cherishing today.  For even though none of us know when we will die, using our death, as a guiding light  can teach us how to live so that when death comes our lives will be fulfilled. And they will be fulfilled because we have practiced integrity as disciples of Jesus.

We like to think that God takes up residence in the houses that we build for this purpose.  We think we can
squeeze the Eternal into these little boxes.  It doesn't matter what we call them - Temples, Synagogues,
Mosques,  Churches,  Centres  -  they  are  all  subject  to  wear  and  tear  and  human  plunder.   Even  so,  we
imagine that some of that Divine Eternity will rub off on what our hands have made.  Jesus, the Beloved Son
of God, calmly states that this is not the case.
 
The Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem will be total.  There will be no ruin or empty shell for tourists to
visit.  Every stone will sit at ground level.  If this building is a symbol of a connection to Heaven, that connection
has been broken.  All arrangements and rituals no longer in play.
 
As Jesus speaks, His hearers are keen to know times and dates.  Will there be a warning that is it about to
happen? The more they know, the better they can prepare for the end.  But the answer that Jesus gives is
unnerving.  Things with God have become strained.  A community created to be passionately dedicated to
Love and Justice have sold out and have violated the Covenant.  They give lip service to Gods commands but
their hearts are elsewhere.  They have locked God up safely in the 'Holiest' part of the Temple and have
isolated  themselves  from  each  other.   God,  who  is  mercy  and  forgiveness,  has  sent  Prophets  to  restore
faithfulness. But these have been rejected and killed.  Against their lack of Compassion, how long will Gods
patience last?
 
As Disciples of the Kingdom, we position the life, death and resurrection of Jesus within this tension.  In a last
attempt at reconciliation, God sends the Beloved.  But the killers continue to push their own agenda.  And
even though God vindicated the message (the Gospel) and the messenger (Jesus) in the Resurrection, His
death  really  does  signal  the  end  of  Gods  patience.   The  social  orders  that  destroyed  the  Beloved  will
themselves be destroyed.
 
Out of this destruction, a new community will arise.  A community who will
follow Jesus and take to their hearts the patterns of his living and dying
and rising again.  As they move across the earth bringing transformation,
Jesus will always be with them.  And so He advises His faithful disciples
not to over react to circumstance; not to get hung up on signs or sucked
into panic.  Why?  Because the end, when it comes, it will be unmistakable.
They will see social and cosmic upheaval as the heavens mirror the events
on the earth. This will happen because people did not seize the chance
when it was offered on a plate.  The worlds efforts to destroy God and
those  created  in  Gods  image,  will  bring  about  the  end  of  the  world.
Disciples must continue the pattern of the life, death and resurrection of
Jesus.  If they did it to Him, you can be sure they will arrest, put on trial,
betray and execute His disciples.  This will be their opportunity to witness
to the greatness of God,  because God will give them the Gift of Wisdom which the enemies of the Kingdom
will not be able to contradict.  The Passion of Jesus is never over; it continues in those who walk with Him.  
 
They choose to walk with Jesus because Wisdom has taught teach them that Resurrection is the deeper and
more abiding truth.  Not one hair of their heads will be lost.  In the face of persecution, disciples must pray for
the courage to endure; that this courage will take up residency in their hearts and souls.   To these disciples
Jesus speaks. "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame
you on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in
heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the Prophets". (Lk 6:22-23)
 
I sometimes wonder about these apocalyptic sayings of the Jesus in Luke's Gospel. I sense that Jesus is
preparing  us  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  suffering  we  face  for  the  sake  of  the  coming  of  Gods
Kingdom.  As we move to save and transform the world, to enfold it in life instead of death, we often enter the
violent night of a way of living that is coming to an end.  As we labour towards a new dawn, as we work
together to bring a new and better world to birth, we must cling to the love that does not fail and which holds
us in safety.  The demands and the rewards of being a disciple are crystal clear and there is no one more
experienced or better qualified to teach us this than the Beloved Son of the Most High

As a community we have just celebrated a period known in the church as All Hallowtide, a period lasting three days when we remember those who have died. The word hallow means “to honour as holy” so for us it is a period when we remember all those who have died whom we have the highest respect for, and we hold them in great esteem.  
 
The All Hallowtide triduum commences on the 31 st  October All Hallows Eve, continues into All Saints Day and concludes on All Souls Day. This is a three-day period of remembrance and reflection on those who have impacted our Christian lives. We then move into the month of November and continue a period of remembrance. So may their souls and the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace Amen.  
 
In the Gospel today we have the story of Jesus meeting Zacchaeus.

In Jesus' day, tax collectors were not popular people. They were collaborators with the Romans and were despised by many Jewish people. The tax system allowed them to charge more than what was required so that they could make a profit for themselves. Thus, they were considered sinners by their countrymen. Observers in the crowd that day grumble because Jesus dines with a sinner. Throughout Scripture, Jesus' choice of dinner companions set him apart from other observant Jews of his time. In first century Jewish culture, to dine together was to show a bond of fellowship and peace among those at the table. Observant Jews did not generally dine with foreigners and sinners. Yet, Jesus chooses to do the opposite of what is expected and stays in the home of Zacchaeus and shares a meal at his table.  

Even before Jesus comes to his home, Zacchaeus shows himself to be someone in search of salvation. Zacchaeus, described as short in stature, climbs a tree in order  to  see  Jesus.  We  know  from  Luke's  description  that  Zacchaeus  was  no ordinary tax collector; he was, in fact, the chief tax collector and a person of some wealth. In his search for salvation, he humbled himself by making a spectacle of himself by climbing a tree.

Jesus recognizes the faith of this tax collector exhibited in his search for salvation and calls him down from the tree. In the hospitality he extends to Jesus and in his conversion of heart, Zacchaeus is raised up by Jesus as a model of salvation. In  doing  what he did Jesus exposed himself to  ridicule and questioning  of his faith and lifestyle. However, we all know Jesus came into the world to show us how we should live our lives and how we should look to mould society to what God wishes rather than what man wishes.  

In baptism each of us was marked with Holy Oils as a sign we are consecrated to God and anointed by the Holy Spirit. Our anointing was also a sign that we are joined to Jesus and share in his three-fold ministry of prophet, priest and king. We recognise a prophet as a messenger sent by God, a person who speaks for God; a Priest is a mediator, or bridge between God and human beings; a king is a person who has supreme authority over a territory.  
In the coming weeks we are going to be bombarded with what various people think and the result of our decisions will shape our lives for the coming period. Before each of us decides. We should all pray that we are discerning in our choices and that we look to those who will bring Jesus alive in our world, just as Jesus brought Zacchaeus to feel alive in faith.