Get Out of God’s Chair

November 2, 2025

Last week, I said that we Christians have a softer kinder perspective of first century, Jewish tax collectors, than those who were living back then and listening to Jesus’s stories. The story that we heard today is one of those that has made the difference. Now I was talking about this with Rev. Gaylyn and my desire to talk about humility as an essential part of seeking a vision to come out of the amalgamation workshops and discussion. She said it reminded her of a sermon that deeply touched her son Jacob. That sermon was by the late Rev. Timothy Keller. In that sermon, he uses one of his favorite metaphors, which emphasizes the dangers of you and me thinking that we know better than God, which he calls, ‘sitting in God’s chair.’ The chair represents the seat of ultimate authority and control which belongs to God. So, if we truly want to have a faithful life, we have to, ‘get out of God’s chair’.

I think this is brilliant and if we take that metaphor and apply it to the Zaccheaus story, not only can our hearts be softened toward him, but also to that person who daily confronts us when we look in the mirror. Which is ironic as we use mirrors traditionally to help us look our best, whereas God uses mirrors to help us see ourselves at our worst. Anyway, the truth of the mirror, and the truth of the Zaccheaus story is that no matter how bad you think someone is, and believe me Zaccheaus was the worst, that even he is not beyond the grace of God. Think about it. Zaccheaus isn’t just a tax collector; he is a chief tax collector. So, this guy really knows how to put the screws to his own people, and by his own admission has cheated people. How is it possible that God can give him grace at all?

The answer is, first we have to, ‘get out of God’s chair’. Every time we judge someone else as being less than us. Less moral. Less disciplined. Less faithful or honest or pretty than us, than we are sitting in God’s chair It is God who is judge and not us. Rev. Keller brings up the powerful story of Joseph at the end of the book of Genesis. You may remember that Joseph is betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery. Then as a slave wrongfully accused of rape. Then he helps out some others who are in jail on the promise that they will help him, and they don’t. Finally, by the grace of God, he is put in a position of power in Egypt. Joseph forgives his brothers and in a time of drought invites the whole family to come to Egypt where he can care for them. While they’re there in Egypt, their father Jacob dies, and the brothers are now afraid that with their father out of the way that Joseph will enact revenge upon them for what they did many years ago. So, they go to Joseph and say, “before our father died, he asked us, to ask you, not to harm us for what we have done to you in the past.” The first thing that Joseph says to them is, “who am I, God, that I would seek revenge on you?” Even Joseph, who has every reason to sit in God’s chair, to act as judge, jury and executioner refuses to sit where he doesn’t belong. 

If I were to guess at what is troubling so many nations, including our own and the United States today. It is this terrible temptation to sit in God’s chair. Let me give you a very personal example of that. I’m the president of our condo board and recently we were talking about not having enough storage for the water hoses, rakes, shovels and tools that belong to the condo. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a storage shed to store those things. Which lead to the idea that perhaps those owners who own bikes would be happy to buy a shed that could accommodate the common lawn tools and have storage for bikes that were clogging up the individual storage locker. As someone whose bikes does indeed clog up my storage locker, I was very interested. About two days after that discussion, I was driving home and imagining such a storage shed. Then I imagined someone breaking into that shed and taking all the stuff in it. I was so furious that someone would break into the shed and steal the bikes and the tools. I was incensed at the brazenness. How dare they break into our shed which would’ve been in the very shadow of the building that we lived in. I got angrier and angrier until I realized, wait a minute. We don’t even have a shed. The bikes aren’t being stolen from a shed because it doesn’t exist. I had spent so much time sitting in God’s chair, judging some imaginary person for breaking into some imaginary shed. We see a tragedy on TV about a robbery or God forbid murder and it feels like it’s in our backyard. And then without knowing anything about the perpetrator, we make assumptions, after assumptions, after assumptions about who they are and what their situation is and what has driven them to this dastardly deed. All the while sitting in God’s chair. Zacchaeus knows himself too well and he know the community knows him too well to sit in God’s chair. 

The second thing that Zaccheaus teaches us is about perspective. He climbs a tree because wants to see Jesus, but he too was short. The gift if being up there is that Zaccheaus is forced to have a different perspective. You know when you are in the valley you really can’t see much. It is easy to get lost. The best thing to do is to get to higher ground where you can see where you have come from and see where you are going and maybe discern a path that connects the two. This is what the workshop following worship today is about. We know where we are coming from, and it would be a terrible waste to think that we don’t need a fresh vision of where we are going. Our ancestors knew that God created us to be a people on the move. Moving toward the promised land. Moving toward exile, and then home again. But always moved by God. To proclaim that we are fine just the way we are, is to be sitting in God chair. A fresh perspective changes us.   

Now there is no commentary or scripture witness to what I think happens for Zaccheaus up in that tree but here’s what I think. He looks down at the crowd and he sees the people around Jesus. They include the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, the Pharisee and tax collectors just like him. The crowd might not be happy with those who are following Jesus but Jesus respects them all, cares for them all, loves them all and no one is rejected. This is a vision of spirituality that Zaccheaus has never seen before. That perhaps God could love him, forgive him and see the good hidden beneath all the bad.    

The Pharisees on the other hand, do not change their perspective at all. They are still in the valley. They still believe that no one can see their sins. Just like we foolishly believe that no one can see ours, even those who are closest to us and mean the most to us. But seeing that other tax collectors are being treated with equal respect, dignity, and love, meant that Zaccheaus could begin to grasp with his heart, something of the unmerited grace of God. He is humbled and assured of God’s love, which frees him up to love those who absolutely despise him. This is astounding, but there is one more thing even more astounding. We often let ourselves off the hook from even trying to live a more faithful life and have a more intimate relationship with God. We reason, well we’re not Moses; we’re not Joseph; we’re not Mary or Paul or Peter so we can never have that kind of relationship with God. But here is a scoundrel who knows his greatest flaws are on full display to everyone yet still believes that God can love him. In other words, this passage sets a pretty low bar for those who can love God, and be loved by God. To say that we’re not good enough, faithful enough, deserving enough, means that we are trying to sit in God’s chair. By extension you might think why should I go to the workshop right after worship? Who am I, that anyone would care if I wasn’t there? Stop doing that to yourself. Stop sitting in God’s chair. There are 68 chairs downstairs that you can sit in. There is food prepared for you. There is an engaging program ready for you. Who are you to say you don’t belong or your voice doesn’t matter. Stop sitting in God’s chair.

Lastly, and this relates to what I just said, Zaccheaus shows us how to respond. “Look Lord I’ll give half of my wealth to the poor and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back 4 times that amount.” He makes this offer or response, even as he hears the people grumble against him. He can literally feel the hate radiating from them, but he is not deterred. He goes beyond the eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. He says no not one for one but 4 for one. Once again if even a scoundrel knows how to be humble and generous, then how much more, humble, and generous with our time, our visions, our hopes and our perspectives can we be? God sets a low bar for who God will love and Zaccheaus sets a high bar for how to respond to that love. God has offering you 60 minutes this morning of prayer and song and scripture. What God asks in return is 90 minutes of your time and your voice. All God ask is for us to get out of God’s chair and humbly respond to the gift. Amen