July 8, 2001
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Galatians 6.1-10 The story of Jesus and his encounter with Zaccheus
is a familiar one to many of us. The two men meet each other as Jesus is passing
through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem and the passion that waits for him
there. Jesus is no stranger to Jericho. He knows the area well. It was in the
nearby river Jordan that he was baptized, it was likely in the surrounding hills
that Jesus faced down the temptations of Satan. It was in the city of Jericho
that Jesus restored the sight of Bartimaeus. It is in Jericho that Zaccheus has earned his
living. It is here in the city that Jesus meets Zaccheus and changes his life
forever. Who is Zaccheus? Zaccheus is not just a tax collector, he is of Jewish
heritage and he is the chief tax collector. He is part of a system that is
corrupt and he is lost in it. He certainly knows where he is geographically, but
he is lost to himself, to his religious heritage and to the value of compassion.
In those days, as in these days, there were very
few things that were not taxed. A farmer moving goods outside his immediate
territory was taxed for the privilege of using the roads. If you took your goods
from Olde Towne East to German Village, there would be a tax for you to pay.
Goods sold in certain markets were also subject to a tax. A craftswoman selling
jewelry in the North Market could not only rent space, but she would have to pay
a tax on let’s say 50% on what she sold. Contracts for collecting these high and oppressive
taxes were farmed out to wealthy foreigners who in turn subcontracted local
people like Zaccheus to collect all of the taxes. These people, the hired tax
collectors were then personally responsible for paying the taxes to the
government, but they were in turn free to collect extra taxes from the people in
order to make a profit. Theft, fraud, and corruption were common. Because they
dealt with Gentiles, these Jewish tax collectors were considered to be unclean.
Because they were part of a depraved economic system that supported and
collaborated with their Roman oppressors, they were despised. Zaccheus is the image of self-hating arrogance, a
man who helps to keep his own people in poverty and servitude. Is Zaccheus
worthy of God’s salvation? This encounter, with this lost man being found
raises a question for us. Once we have encountered or been encountered by Jesus,
what do we do? Is there any one not worthy of Jesus’ salvation? Yes he is
because Jesus knows who he is. And on this day, Jesus is walking through a Jericho
neighborhood, just passing through town, minding his own business which we know
is God’s business. Jesus is not likely in the best part of town. Given that
Jesus often found himself in the company of people who were on society’s
margins. They were perhaps people of questionable reputations, we can assume
that he was more likely in the poorer quarter of the city, and not for instance
in the wealthy area where Herod had his winter palace. If he
were walking through Franklin County, he would be in Columbus, 43205 instead of
New Albany, 43054. If he were in New York, this incident would take place at 125th
Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the heart of Harlem, instead of on that
marvelously affluent residential and shopping area, along 5th Avenue.
What do we think of such a person, and what does
such a person think of himself? Fred Craddock in his commentary on his passage
says what we know in our hearts to be true: “no one can privately righteous
while participating in and profiting from a program that robs and crushes other
persons” (Interpreters “Luke”, p.218).
I believe his encounter with Jesus left Zaccheus thinking what do I do
now? His soul-searching left him asking how did get so lost? Zaccheus knows that his life needs to change, and
he has heard that Jesus is one sent from God who by his very presence can change
lives. So up he goes, up into a tree, the better to get a glimpse of Jesus and
in the next few minutes he will not only see Jesus, but Zaccheus himself will
come to be seen as someone who is in need of receiving grace and salvation. It happens quickly. Jesus invites himself to the
home of Zaccheus and so into his life. Even if we believe that no one is beyond
redemption, we look at this scene of Jesus calling Zaccheus out of the tree and
we think, he is the last person we would think of as a good host for Jesus. But
that is who Jesus seeks. He looks for the ones we would condemn, he embraces the
ones that we would reject, and he offers salvation and hope to the ones that we
would abandon. We would leave the despised and feared among us, or the ones who
make us uneasy: the abusers, the racists, the sexists, the politicians we do not
trust, and we would not only leave them in there trees, but we might even hope a
strong wind blows. We do not always realize that with our own limitations and
short-comings, we are up in that tree too. But Jesus always has a more excellent way. Jesus asks to come visit Zaccheus in his house. He says to all of us who find ourselves up a tree from time to time, come down, I want to spend some time with you. Let’s you and I get to know each other better. I want to come into your house, your heart, your life, and your soul today. Come down and let me in. What
do I do now? Let Jesus in to the place of our soul’s deep need. All Zaccheus does is say “yes” to Jesus.
“Yes, I will welcome you into my house, my heart, my life, my soul. Yes.”
And when he does that, his life is changed forever. It will never be the same.
This is a conversion story, Zaccheus is about to turn around from his old way of
doing things. This is not an explosive conversion story, it is one of those
‘aha’ conversion stories. There is not a big moment, but a building
awareness of the difference Jesus makes. All Jesus did was call him by name, and say to
Zaccheus I want to come to your house. Jesus does not ask Zaccheus to repent or
to change his behavior. The invitation into his home, into this most intimate
and personal space is enough. It’s not always that Jesus asks us for anything
except to make room in our lives for his good news, and for his gracious self.
We will then make the change ourselves in order to be our best selves wherever
we are, whether at home, at work, at school, in the places we play, pray and
volunteer. There we can come to
expect good things from ourselves and from that expectation can come respect for
ourselves and for others. Zaccheus is ready for this life-changing encounter.
His desire to see Jesus was intense. He was willing to risk both ridicule and
embarrassment as he climbed that sycamore tree to better see Jesus and he
learned first hand that not everyone viewed his time with Jesus as good news.
Some of you might know what it means to make a big change in our lives,
especially when those changes run counter to the way people are used to seeing
you. While we are happy others will be upset. Remember verse seven of this
lesson: “all who saw it began to grumble and said of Jesus, ‘he had gone to
be the guest of one who is a sinner’.” And so Jesus had. The same could be
said of you or me. Who has not been
out of right relationship with God and our neighbor from time to time? That is
one definition of sin. Who would not welcome the chance to host Jesus for a
while? What
do I do now? Turn around and do the right thing. His offer of half his possessions to the poor and a
generous restitution to anyone he may have cheated can be seen is evidence of
the radical grace and the great good news Jesus has given him. Zaccheus finds himself and helps us to know what to do when we are lost to our own selfishness, our own corrupting power, our unhealthy egos, or even our own feelings of worthlessness. We can rejoice that Jesus will always look up or down to where we are and invite himself into our lives and then leave the changing to us. This is the good news that Jesus loves us enough not to force us to make a decision. He loves us enough to confront us with the reality of our lives and then will stand with us and helps us find ourselves in him. He guides us to where we can say “yes” like Zaccheus and the disciples who decided to follow him. What
do I do now? Receive the grace and salvation Jesus offers. Here is the rest of the good news for which we
thank God. Jesus hears Zaccheus pledge to do the right thing and he responds
with a promise: “Today salvation has come to this house,” and he reminds
Zaccheus that is not alone, he too is the son of Abraham”. Zaccheus is a
worthy son of Abraham who cannot really live well if he is cut off from the
promises of God. His life-style and his treatment by the community and synagogue
had not moved him beyond the reach of God’s seeking love. And if he is a child
of Abraham, so are those in the crowd, including those that murmured and
grumbled, and as children of Abraham, they too need the grace of God in their
lives. Zaccheus is not fractured anymore, he has been made
whole, he is saved, healed, reunited with his God and with God’s Messiah. He
stands in that line of inheritors of the promises God made all those years ago,
promises that will be fulfilled in Jesus. Zaccheus is not alone and we are not
alone. We stand in that line too because we can claim the grace and hope of
Jesus in our lives. I’m so glad that the same thing is true for us, for in the salvation story of Zaccheus, we see part of our own salvation story. We too are the daughters and sons of God. We too are among the lost who have been found. Jesus says that he has come to seek and to save the lost. Jesus knows who is lost to him, and he knows how to bring them back with rejoicing as in Luke 15 when he talks about the joy of the return of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost and Prodigal son. What
do we do now? We trust the Spirit of God that is in us. We know that spirit, that’s why we have opened
our hearts to Jesus and that is why we have opened our doors to all that find a
common purpose with us. We know it, that’s why we pray for the healing and
salvation of our loved ones. We know it, that’s why we climb trees, climb
mountains, practice good stewardship, read books, meditate, pray, and do
whatever else we do in order to feed our spirits. We know it, that’s why we
listen for our name to be called, that’s why we wait for our time to renew our
repentance, and pledge again to do what is right. We know it, that’s why we
listen so carefully, and why we make our way to this place and other places that
feed our souls. Here we learn to trust the promises of God. It is
the promise to come and look for us when we are lost so that we can be found,
and be made whole, healthy, and healed again. It is the promise that Jesus died
for, it is the promise for which God raised him from that death, and it is the
fulfillment of that promise that keeps us waiting, eager, and hopeful. We know it, and so we find hope enough and courage
enough to climb down out of the tree and enter into the joy of God’s realm and
God’s church. God through Jesus Christ has promised, and the promises of God
can be trusted absolutely. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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