Zacchaeus
One Hit Wonder
Zacchaeus
“A Family Saved”
Luke 19
Who doesn’t hate paying taxes? To give a percentage of your earnings to a tax collector who is overcharging you is an insult. On top of that, what would you think if such a man was wealthy? Off your earnings? It’s enough to make you throw stones or bury him alive. That’s the way Jews felt toward their fellow brother, Zacchaeus, the tax collector.
To better understand what the Jews were up against, you need to know how tax collection was administered. The Romans contracted tax collections to the highest bidder in a public auction. Tax collectors, or publicans, kept any and all monies over the amount of their bids. At times, many tax collectors took these monies from fellow citizens by force and taking more than required. This imposed not only a financial hardship on Jews, but due to the ruthless tactics used to collect the monies, it also made them fearful for their safety and the safety of their families.
When Jesus met Zacchaeus as He traveled through Jericho, many of Jesus’ followers couldn’t understand why He would talk to Zacchaeus. And when He announced He would be a guest in Zacchaeus’ home, the Jews grumbled and complained. (Luke 19:7) They were insulted and angry beyond words.
But as we look at Jesus’ ministry, we begin to understand He came to save the lost. If anyone was in need of saving, it would have been Zacchaeus. We are called to be indiscriminate in our mission to preach the gospel. Sometimes we shy away from preaching the gospel to those of stature, or scum of the earth, depending on your point of view.
Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus excited him and resulted in his giving back to the people four fold. He also promised to right any other wrongs he had done. (Luke 19:8) Jesus saved his entire house, healing them from the pollution of their past sins. (Luke 19:9) That’s significant!
What’s keeping you from speaking the Word? Are you missing an opportunity to save an entire household? You’d be surprise who is listening and ready to obey. Think about it.
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Author, Poet
REMEMBER: To hear the sermon on Zacchaeus, go to PARKPLAZA.ORG, Click on “Ministries,” scroll to the bottom of the page and Click on “Listen to Sermons Online.” Choose whatever sermon you would like to hear, or choose this week’s lesson. Sunday’s sermons are posted online the following Thursday. This sermon is available for viewing Thursday, September 11, 2013. There is NO sign-in and NO registration.
Writer Tips – Clear Writing 1.1
Rid Your Writing of Redundant Words
No. 1.1
As further examples of redundant wording, I have included my personal blunders, along with suggested corrections.
After having the first chapter of my book critiqued, these are the mistakes I made. These sentences are good examples of redundant word usage as mentioned in Writing Tip – Clear Writing No. 1 (in my previous blog). I’ve included a better sentence structure below each example.
Read each sentence and find words that are repetitive in meaning, and words that add nothing to the sentence. Remember, your objective is to come up with a clean, clear, and concise sentence. And notice how much shorter my sentences become when I delete redundant and repetitive words. During rewrites, these redundancies become crucial. The biggest flaw with new writers is we use too many words when less words can say the same thing.
Example 1
With her mother’s words still lingering in her ear, she ignored the sealed, unmarked envelope and placed it in the trash pile.
Still doesn’t add anything to the sentence. If you take it out, has it changed the sentence? “…in her ear” is deleted because where else would words linger? The preposition is redundant. “…ignored…” should be deleted because “she” didn’t really ignore the envelope IF she placed it in the trash, did she? I restructured the sentence as follows:
Example 1 Corrected
With her mother’s words lingering, she placed the sealed, unmarked envelope in the trash.
Example 2
Curious, she cocked her head to the side then picked it up.
To cock your head means to lean it to the side. So, cocked and to the side mean the same thing and come off as redundant. Also, the way the sentence reads, it sounds as if “she” picked up her head.
Example 2 Corrected
Curious, she cocked her head then she picked up the envelope.
Example 3
She straightened the folds of the letter, as she walked toward the window, and peered down at the snow forming soft white mounds onto her 37 acres.
No need for “as she.” Deleting it and adding a comma cuts down on wording. “…peered down.” What you didn’t know about this scene is that the woman is in the attic.
Second, the English gurus tell us that directional terms should be avoided. Delete “down.” For example, do you really need to say “she looked up at the sky?” Of course not. Simply say “she looked at the sky.” Why? Because the sky is always UP, never down.
The next deletion was “soft.” Snow is always soft, maybe not as soft as cotton if it’s mixed with ice, but all of us think of snow as soft. It’s an automatic way of thinking. If you delete “soft” does it take away from what is being said? No. Then delete it.
Why delete “white?” Is snow another color? Snow is always white. It’s redundant to say it and deleting it cuts down on word count. You see how redundancy can get in the way of clarity?
Example 3 Corrected
She straightened the folds of the letter, walked toward the window, and peered at the snow forming mounds onto her 37 acres.
Example 4
She swiped at a tear and promised not to cry.
Though this sentence is short and you wouldn’t think it’s a problem, it has one word too many. In addition, the sentence as originally written sounds like she “missed” the tear when she swiped at it. I didn’t want the sentence to come off that way to the reader so I deleted “at.” Now it sounds like she “swiped a tear” and it comes across like she was irritated, agitated, or in a hurry when she did so.
Example 4 Corrected
She swiped a tear and promised not to cry.
Example 5
Melba stood in the doorway of the bathroom and stared at the box with contempt.
Remember the list of words I said needed to be deleted in Writing Tips – Clarity No. 1? Go through your writing and delete every of, and, but, to, then, was, been, am, is, being, were, and that wherever possible. (Okay, I added to the list.) You will see how smooth your writing sounds and flows when you rid yourself of these pesty articles and “to be” verbs.
Example 5 Corrected
Melba stood in the bathroom doorway and stared at the box with contempt.
Example 6
As Lucille Jeffries’ only child, Melba could somewhat sympathize with her mother’s concern to take care of her.
The general rule here is to avoid qualifiers such as rather, very, little, pretty, etc. And if you delete “could” and add a “d” to sympathize, that would shorten the sentence even more.
Example 6 Corrected
As Lucille Jeffries’ only child, Melba sympathized with her mother’s concern to take care of her.
Example 7
She dug her nails into another seam and ripped again and again until her elbows and shoulders burned with pain.
Repeating a word or phrase doesn’t always come across as we would like intended. We do it for emphasis. I kind of like it, but it is redundant. (See how I deleted redundancy from this comment.)
Example 7 Corrected
She dug her nails into another seam and ripped again until her elbows and shoulders burned with pain.
Or if you want to convey that the “ripping” went on and on continued, you could might rewrite it as:
She dug her nails into another seam and continued to rip the wallpaper until her elbows and shoulders burned with pain.
I hope these tips work for you and I’ve provided insight to better writing. I’m learning as I go and hoping to take you with me for the ride.
Happy Writing!
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Author, Poet
Writing Tips – Clear Writing
Rid Your Writing of Redundant Words
No. 1
Writing Tips will not be filled with a lot of fluff about writing. Instead, I will offer you precise ways to better your writing. These tips are taken from Style – Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams(1). In other words, these are not my ideas. I will be learning these tips with you. Matter of fact, writing this blog will help me remember them. With that said, here goes.
If you’re anything like me, you have a tendency to create too many long sentences that are filled with needless words and pairing of words that mean the same thing.
To write clearly, you must do the following:
1. Delete words that mean little or nothing(1);
2. Delete words that repeat the meaning of other words;
3. Delete words implied by other words;
4. Replace a phrase with a word;
5. Change negatives to affirmatives; and
6. Delete every that, of, for, and, but, and the that won’t change the meaning of the sentence.
Below are examples of redundant sentences and a better way of drafting them.
• Despite the fact that the data were checked, errors occurred.
Even though the data were checked, errors occurred.
• There is a need for more careful inspection of all welds.
You must inspect all welds more carefully.
To implement this method in your writing, choose a wordy sentence you have written. Cut and paste it on a blank sheet of paper so you are free to play around with it without the fear of ruining your manuscript. Look for words that mean the same thing; look for phrases that can be replaced with one word.
Writing clear and concise gets rid of all the fluff newbies are guilty of creating. It also makes for a faster read, and a less boring one.
I hope these tips work for you. I will post “my personal blunders” in a post with the same title, but numbered 1.1. Keep watch for it.
Happy Writing!
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Author, Poet
[1] Style – Lessons in Clarity and Grace – Ninth Edition by Joseph M. Williams, Pearson Education, Inc., 2007 (p.112).
Diana Nyad – Her Bucket List Fulfilled
It has been Diana Nyad’s passion(1) to swim from Cuba to Florida for quite some time. While many baby boomers(2) were preparing for their retirement, Diana decided not to waste any more time to reach her lifelong goal. At 64, you would think she might prefer to sit back and relish in her years of accomplishments. But Diana didn’t believe for one second there was anything to keep her from trying to swim across the ocean again. Without hesitation she put on a swim cap and bathing suit, clamped on a nose-clip, and spent grueling hours strategizing and training.
This was Diana’s fifth attempt(3) to swim approximately 110 miles from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida. Her first was in 1978, then three attempts between 2011 and 2012. She’s had one setback after another—boat problems, storms, strong currents, sharks, and jellyfish, among others. In 2012, she was less sure if she’d ever reach her goal, but even in the throes of defeat Diana didn’t fully relent under the pressures of failure. That’s evident by her bravery to get up and try again.
We can learn a lot from such a determined woman. She’s not only a long-distance swimmer, she’s also written three books(4), is a motivational speaker, and a commentator for NPR. Diana has taught us training, focus, and determination, despite her critics, pays off. However, it is important to mention she didn’t do it alone. She had a 35-member team with her—a cheering squad, doctors, a boat guiding her, and people waiting ashore in full confidence she’d walk upon the Florida sands and greet them in a victorious triumph.
Diana Nyad is inspiration in its truest form. No matter how many excuses we come up with to explain away our failures, absolutely nothing should stand in our way and keep us from trying again–not age, gender, race, or outside pressures. I’m sure Diana had a moment when she thought she was done. I wouldn’t be surprised if she went to her closet and packed every swimming suit she owned and headed toward the dumpster. If that happened, it is evident today that somewhere along the line, she had a change in heart. I don’t know what she did to mentally prepare for such a challenge for the fifth time, but I assure you whatever she did, this time she got it right.
This Labor Day, September 2, 2013, Diana Nyad made us believe anything is possible. Good for you, Diana! Congratulations!
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Author, Poet
(1) http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/21/us-cuba-swim-idUSBRE87K0J120120821
(4) Books written: Other Shore by Diana Nyad, Random House, Inc. (January 1, 1978); Diana Nyads Basic Training for Women by Rh Value Publishing (September 2, 1981); and Boss of Me by Diana Nyad (July 1, 1999).
http://www.amazon.com/Diana-Nyad/e/B001H6Q9FQ