In chapter 6 of the book of Joshua in the Bible there is a story about the famous walled city of Jericho. The people of God marched around the walls and the walls of the city fell down. This is a dramatic story about the power of God. But earlier in chapter 2 there is a story about the spies sent by Joshua to scout the city. The lives of those spies were saved because they were welcomed by Rahab the prostitute. Do you remember that story? The spectacular collapse of the walls of Jericho had been proceeded by a very humble entry into the city.

     The story about the spies and the collapsing walls get our attention. This story has been retold countless times and is memorialized in songs and film and even plays performed by children. But there is another story about God's triumphant entry into Jericho that seems more neglected. In chapter 19 of the book of Luke we read about Jesus triumphant entry into Jericho. Like the spies that were sent out by Joshua, Jesus found hospitability in the home of a sinner. In this case it is Zacchaeus, a tax collector who Jesus called down from a tree. Zacchaeus, like Rahab, was the last person any one would have expected to be picked to do God's work.

     Themes that repeat in the Bible draw our attention to something extraordinary. The theme that I see repeated here is the way that God chooses to enter a walled city. We can clearly see in chapter 6 of Joshua that the walls of the city are no match for God. The people and the priests marched around the walls and the walls of Jericho fell down. And yet, in the account of those sent ahead of Joshua and in the story about those who accompany Jesus we see that God's people were welcomed into the walled city by the hospitability of a sinner. Which is a more powerful display of God's work - walls collapsing or hearts changing? Tomorrow anyone with the will and resources to do so can destroy a wall. But can you change a heart? Can an army change a person's heart? Can all the force available to a powerful nation force one person to learn to love God? Walls collapsing make for a spectacular scene, but the greater miracle is demonstrated when people change.

     Would you like to have been Zacchaeus - the one that welcomed Jesus? Would you like to have been Rahab and welcomed Joshua's people into the city? We can learn from these people and then, perhaps, we can emulate them.

     It seems that the first thing both have in common is that they were sinners. I do not know about you, but I can certainly claim that title. If you too can accept that title, then you have already been called.

     The second prerequisite is to be ready to do what God needs you to do. What if Rahab's calendar had been too full to fit in guests from out of town? What if Zacchaeus had decided to stay home and watch the game on his new wide screen hi-def instead? What if they had said that what little they could do would be too insignificant to matter to God?

     The third prerequisite is to find a walled city. Now walled cities are a bit more rare these days, though we do have lots of gated communities. But today we also make walls out of rare and exotic materials.

     Have you ever seen a mime try to get out of a glass box? The walls hold him or her in and so their act is all about climbing out of that box. Have you ever gone some place new and tried to break into the glass walls that separate the in-crowd from the outsiders?

     Our church is a walled city. God's people want to come inside. The way they get inside is to be welcomed by a sinner.

     Do you know any sinners? I know that I am one.

     Do you know any sinners that want to serve God? My guess is that you are reading this article because you, like me, are searching for the answer to that question.

     Then aside from everything else that we do, we need to pause for a minute and say hello to our visitors, to our neighbors, to those we meet in the street. They may well be messengers from God searching for a way to enter our walled city. It really is just that simple. You meet the prerequisites. You have already been called by God. Now we just need to respond in ways that are very simple and easy to do. Shake hands. Say hello. Ask someone how they are doing. And you will be helping to tear down the walls and change hearts.

     Be open and be receptive. The unexpected might be exactly what God has planned for you.

     Soften your heart. Whenever God enters a walled city everything is changed. Be ready.