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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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1
Rev. Bill Anderson
Colunnist
Zacchaeus and the
gift ol grace
Of all the Gospel stories
demonstrating Christ’s love for
all people, the one that really
sets the framework for
Christian belief is that of
Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).
The story is a very simple and
beautiful. I always think about
the song, “Zacchaeus was a wee
little man...” with Jesus telling
Zacchaeus that he was coming
to his house that day. It really is
a great story for children
because they can relate to the
small stature of Zacchaeus.
For us adults, Zacchaeus does
in fact become everyman.. We
can identify with him because
he has achieved success. He is a
self-made man like many of us.
The fact that he is a tax collec
tor and a sinner gives us even
more reason to connect with
him. He is more like us than the
blind beggar, the lepers or the
rich ruler in other Gospel sto
ries.
However, tax collecting dur
ing the time of Christ was not
an honorable profession. Taxes
levied on the Jews were used in
part for the worship of Roman
gods. Also, tax collectors were
commissioned to collect a specif
ic amount; any excess they were
able to extract was theirs to
keep.
Once I attended church serv
ices with my brother-in-law, an
IRS agent. His pastor main
tained that tax collectors today
are not despised like those in
Jesus’ time. After the service
my brother-in-law told me times
had really not changed much.
Most people in his church were
reluctant to socialize with him
because they feared letting
questionable financial informa
tion slip into the conversation
during an unguarded moment.
Most of his friends, therefore,
were other IRS agents.
And so, as Jesus is walking he
sees that the unpopular “little
man” has climbed a tree so he
could see Our Lord as he passed.
Jesus calls out to Zacchaeus,
asks him to come down and
informs him that he will be
going to his house. When Jesus
tells Zacchaeus that he will
accept the hospitality of this tax
collector, this sinner, this lost
soul, Jesus demonstrates gen
erosity, grace and mercy. He
offers this grace freely, showing
that there is no limit to how low
someone can sink and still
receive salvation.
Then Zacchaeus offers to give
half of his possessions to help
the poor. He also offers to make
restitution to all whom he has
defrauded. This seems at first
to be an enormous amount but
in reality it is not, considering
what Zacchaeus has received
without even asking.
It is the same for us. Jesus’
march to Jerusalem and cruci
fixion was so that He could offer
us the gift of his unending
grace, unearned and unde
served. When we confess our
sins against God and our neigh
bors, we will receive absolution
for them. We know that our
Lord has already paved the way
for us—before we were even
born— through his death, his
resurrection, and our reconcilia
tion to him. His is the greatest
act of love that the world has
ever known. His love and for
giveness are available to all of
us, from murderers to those
guilty of the smallest sins, if we
but ask. We can respond to his
love freely and abundantly. All
we have to do is accept it.
Zacchaeus becomes for us the
icon of what can happen when
we are invited by God, through
Christ, to repentance.
Zacchaeus was saved by grace
and invited into faith, and so
are we.
Father Anderson is the Rector
of St. Christopher’s Episcopal
Church in Perry, and can be
reached at (4778) 737-9993.
Relationship with dad sets tone for son's life
Question: Why is early
supervision and disci
pline of a son by his
father so important?
Dr. Dobson: Let me illus
trate this principle with a
recent finding from the
world of nature. Other
than dogs, which I have
always loved, the animals
that fascinate me the most
are elephants. These mag
nificent creatures are high
ly emotional and surpris
ingly intelligent. I suppose
that’s why it is disturbing
to see them suffering the
encroachment of civiliza
tion.
That is happening in the
Pilanesberg National Park
in northwestern South
Africa. Rangers there have
reported that young bull
elephants in that region
have become increasingly
violent in recent years
especially to nearby white
rhinos. Without provoca
tion, an elephant will
knock a rhinoceros over
and then kneel and gore it
to death. This is not typical
elephant behavior, and it’s
been very difficult to
explain.
But now, game wardens
think they’ve cracked the
POWELL
From page 6A
(mayor, city manager, pub
lic works, planning and
zoning, utilities, purchas
ing, and tax administra
tion) into the vacated BOE
building. Further, the
police and fire departments
would remain collocated in
the public safety building.
In effect, the city would
acquire the former BOE
office, and the BOE would
use the $900,000 to reno
vate the old school. There
was one catch, however.
The city’s offer was
$300,000 less than what
the BOE had requested.
To work out a compro
mise regarding the
$300,000 shortfall, a meet
ing was held with
Superintendent Tony
Hinnant and BOE mem
bers, the mayor and City
'Ladies Day Apart at Andrew UMC
Andrew United
Methodist Church, 2430
Ga. 127, Kathleen, will
host “Ladies Day Apart”
on Saturday, July 23, from
9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The Rev. Joyce Payne
will be the keynote speak
er. The theme is “The
Lord is my Shepherd,”
and the event will include
Bible teaching, music,
fun, fellowship and food.
Serving Houston County
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Perry, GA
987-1112
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Dr. James Dobson
Focus on the Family
www.family.org
code. Apparently, the
aggressiveness is a byprod
uct of government pro
grams to reduce elephant
populations by killing the
older animals. Almost all of
the young rogues were
orphaned when they were
calves, depriving them of
adult contact. Under nor
mal circumstances, domi
nant older males keep the
young bulls in line and
serve as role models for
them. In the absence of
that influence, “juvenile
delinquents” grow up to
terrorize their neighbors.
I know it’s risky to apply
animal behavior too liber-
Council, and members of
the state legislative delega
tion in attendance. At this
meeting, Rep. Larry
Walker of Perry brokered a
deal between the city and
the BOE. He suggested
that the BOE accept the
city’s $900,000 offer and
that the city and BOE
work together to raise the
additional $300,000. The
$900,000 paid the BOE
came not from ad valorem
taxes, but from a funding
reserve the city had accu
mulated through the sale
of natural gas. To reduce
construction costs, Walker
obtained free prison labor
from the state to help with
the school renovation.
This resulted in a cost
avoidance of over SIOO,OOO.
Prison labor was provided
by the local correctional
Luncheon will be catered
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The cost is sls.
Registration should be
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City Executive
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ally to human beings, but
the parallel here is too
striking to miss. Let me
say it one more time: The
absence of early supervi
sion and discipline is often
catastrophic - for
teenagers and for ele
phants.
Prisons are populated
primarily by men who were
abandoned or rejected by
their fathers. Motivational
speaker and writer Zig
Ziglar quotes his friend Bill
Glass, a dedicated evangel
ist who counseled almost
every weekend for 25 years
with men who were incar
cerated, as saying that
among the thousands of
prisoners he had met, not
one of them genuinely
loved his dad. Ninety-five
percent of those on death
row hated their fathers.
In 1998, there were
1,202,107 people in federal
or state prisons. Of that
number, 94 percent were
males. Of the 3,452 prison
ers awaiting execution,
only 48 were women. That
amounts to 98.6 percent
males. Clearly, as author
Barbara Jackson said, “it is
far easier to build strong
children than to repair bro
facility and included gut
ting the interior of the
building and replacing its
roof.
Architectural plans were
drawn to completely
rework the 28,000-square
foot building inside and
out. The renovation effort
was begun in the fall of
1993 and was supervised
by Bill Loudermilk,
Houston County BOE facil
ities department director.
Loudermilk did a truly out
standing job in transform
ing the old school to new
specifications, yet preserv
ing the building’s facade,
retaining its prized audito
rium, and installing hard
wood that simulated the
old flooring. He also allo
cated space for the Sam
Nunn Museum and the
1927 vintage classroom:
made by Monday. Call
Shelby Arnold at (478)
987-1397 for further
information.
Ashley Nahikian
ken men.”
Some years ago, execu
tives of a greeting-card
company decided to do
something special for
Mother’s Day. They set up
a table in a federal prison,
inviting any inmate who so
desired to send a free card
to his mom. The lines were
so long, they had to make
another trip to the factory
to get more cards. Due to
the success of the event,
they decided to do the
same thing on Father’s
Day, but this time no one
came. Not one prisoner felt
the need to send a card to
his dad. Many had no idea
who their fathers even
were. What a sobering
illustration of a dad’s
importance to his children.
Contrast that story with
a conversation I once had
with a man named Bill
Houghton, who was presi
dent of a large construc
tion firm. Through the
years, he had hired and
managed thousands of
employees. I asked him:
“When you are thinking of
hiring an employee - espe
cially a man - what do you
look for?”
Bobbe Nelson spearheaded
the design and placement
of exhibits in the vintage
classroom.
Work was completed in
1996, and the BOE moved
into the renovated building
during the summer of
1996. The building and the
Sam Nunn Museum were
officially dedicated on Sept.
8, 1996.
Jim Worrall, a confidant
of legendary basketball
coach Eric Staples and one
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His answer surprised
me. He said: “I look prima
rily at the relationship
between the man and his
father. If he felt loved by
his dad and respected his
authority, he’s likely to be
a good employee.” Then he
added: “I won’t hire a
young man who has been
in rebellion against his
dad. He will have difficulty
with me, too.” I have also
observed that the relation
ship between a boy and his
father sets the tone for so
much of what is to come.
He is that important at
home.
• • •
Dr. Dobson is founder
and chairman of the board
of the nonprofit organiza
tion Focus on the Family,
PO. Box 444, Colorado
Springs, CO. 80903; or
www.family.org..
Dr. Dobson is brought to
you by WQSA 99.9 FM.
You can hear Dr. Dobson
weekdays at 10 p.m., Sat.
9-10 p.m.
99.9 FM
steeped in Perry Panther
tradition, was the catalyst
who brought this project to
fruition. The saving of this
historic landmark was a
dream come true for all
Perry High graduates and
local citizens. It represents
a worthy accomplishment
for which the entire com
munity can take great
pride.
rjK THE BANK
l|y OF PERRY
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987-2552
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