Introduction We've just heard again the familiar story of Zacchaeus, the diminutive tax collector who climbs up into a sycamore tree to get a better look at Jesus as he passes through Jericho. Many of us surely remember this story from our youth and can't quite get out of our minds the little song we learned in Sunday School. Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see And as the Lord was passing by that day he looked up in the tree and said, ``Zacchaeus, you come down! For I'm going to your house today. For I'm going to your house today. I don't recall learning too much about what kind of man Zacchaeus was, other than for the fact that he was small. ``A wee little man was he,'' that's what sticks out in my mind. He was so small there was no way he could see over or through the crowd. So, being obviously clever, he runs ahead, climbs up in a tree, and gains a good view. So, the fact that Zacchaeus was small sticks out, that, and the last words of the little ditty, that I'm going to your house today. Maybe that's the best message of the song, that today Jesus is coming to our house. That still works for us today.
The Zacchaeus story The gospel writer Luke places this account towards the end of the long middle section of his gospel. Jesus is on a long journey from Galilee to the north to meet his fate in Jerusalem. A little north of Jerusalem he comes to the gateway city of Jericho. Jericho was situated in the center of a fertile agricultural area, known especially for its palm and balsam groves. A tax collector would have a bevy of people to assess, for the good of the Roman state, of course, but the possibility was at least there for some private profit.
Luke calls Zacchaeus the ``chief'' tax collector so presumably he had general responsibility over the region around and including Jericho. Luke also tells us that Zacchaeus is rich. As a tax collector Zacchaeus was surely seen as a collaborator with the hated Romans. In the New Testament writings we regularly see the tax collectors (as well as the Pharisees) held up as people we are not to emulate.'' Jesus said, ``for if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?'' (Matthew 5:46) Zacchaeus held a despised position, working in collaboration with the Roman occupiers. The sting was made all the more unnerving by his name, which comes from a Greek root for the ``righteous'' or ``pure one.'' We don't know why Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. We don't know why he made every effort to see Jesus in Jericho, if only from his perch in the tree. For whatever reason, his curiosity was aroused, and he ran ahead of the crowd to find a better vantage point. Jesus passed by near the sycamore tree. He looks up, sees a man in a tree, calls him by name, and announces that he is going to his house. Zacchaeus scrambles out of the tree and is only too happy to oblige, welcoming him to his home. This, of course, does not sit well with the people around Jesus. Not just a few, butallof them, quickly point out the obvious problem, ``he is going to the house of a sinner.'' What is with that?
I suppose that in that time you could have been a hawk or a dove, either way, you didn't like the Roman occupation. You could have been for its violent overthrow, or a non-violent one, but either way, the Romans had to go. So here was Jesus agreeing to go to the very house of this Roman sympathizer, or at least one willing to do the dominant regime's bidding.
It's pretty easy to stereotype Zacchaeus as another one of these people, each distinct in their own way, whom Jesus encounters and finds a way of speaking to their need. There's some truth in that, but Zacchaeus is more complicated than first meets the eye. After inviting himself to Zacchaeus' house, in the very next line, we read Zacchaeus' testimonial about his generosity.
The verb tense is very important here. The NRSV uses the future tense. The idea being, now that I've met Jesus, now I ``will give'' half of my possessions to the poor, and I ``will restore'' four times over to anyone I have defrauded. But some translations put these verbs in the present tense, and I think this is the better choice. Actually, Zacchaeus points out, before I even met Jesus I have already been giving half of my possessions to the poor, and I've already been seeking to reimburse anyone who feels defrauded.
Just making that change, look how our picture of Zacchaeus changes. He's not just a conniving, filthy rich, Roman loving tax collector. He's more multi-layered than that. Yes, he's in partnership with the Romans. He collects their taxes. But he's already practicing a kind of economic justice by giving liberally to the poor and those who have been cheated. So he's a confounding character, and we can't just pin him down and say we've got Zacchaeus all figured out.
Then comes the conclusion of our story. Jesus declares that salvation itself has come to Zacchaeus, and not only to Zacchaeus, but to his house.
Jesus didn't need the house all cleaned up, he didn't need to know if Zacchaeus had his life in order, before he would enter his home. And then knowing only that this tax collector for the Romans is actually a very generous man, he blankets everyone in the house with salvation.
We can juxtapose this story with the Isaiah 1 lectionary reading for today. Isaiah critiques the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. They practice their religion but they fail the test of doing good, practicing justice, rescuing the oppressed, defending the orphan, pleading for the window. Zacchaeus seems to pass that test.
Some musing on Zacchaeus and the text Two words that come to mind when I read this text are these: curiosity and salvation. Curiosity There's something intriguing about the child-like curiosity of Zacchaeus. We imagine the scene. He looks around, he can't see through the crowd. So thinking fast he runs ahead, and then climbs a tree. These are the actions of a kid, but here we have a grown man running and climbing, looking for a better position. For reasons unexplained, he has this apparently insatiable desire to get a glimpse of Jesus. Where does this curiosity comes from? I don't think guilt makes a person run and climb a tree for a better look. I don't think duty or obligation make a person run and climb a tree for a better look. This curiosity comes from a deeper place in the heart. There is this longing, this unquenchable desire, to find out more about Jesus. It takes shape in many different forms. It can come to the mind and the heart.. It can come from rationale or more irrational places. It begins to stir within us, it prods us, it nudges us, we want to know more, and we start to run and climb trees. Whatever it takes to get a little more. I commend this kind of curiosity to all of us. Can we breed among ourselves a growing desire, a growing curiosity, to draw closer to Jesus and the Christian way? It can express itself in new and different ways, in ways beyond what we can imagine. We need to have enough imagination, and sufficient curiosity, to keep going back again and again. And the great thing is, Jesus will be right there to greet us, and will come right in the door. Salvation And Jesus offers, by his presence and his being, salvation. This is not something that comes, necessarily by knowing the right things, or by just doing the right things, but by the transforming presence of God within and among us. We gain an interesting impression of salvation, just by reading our text for today. What do we see in Zacchaeus? Not a lot of penitence, not a prescribed spoken formula, no wringing of hands. We do see eagerness, readiness, availability. Jesus just declares, right after hearing about his generosity towards the poor, that salvation is upon him. It's as though, Zacchaeus, look me in the eye, do you realize that salvation, the kingdom of God, is right here upon you right now!? Hey, rejoice! Be happy! Another thing about this salvation is that it is more than personal, it is communal. Jesus doesn't announce his salvation simply upon Zacchaeus. But he says that everyone in the household, salvation is upon all of them too. Salvation is here upon everyone in this house. This salvation is multi-dimensional. It is personal but it is just as much communal, and it is social, and it is economic. It has a ripple effect moving out into the community. To be saved is to be made whole, to make well, and this is much more than just an individual salvation of a particular soul. It makes me think about the ways in which we as parents, or grandparents, create an environment in which we raise and nurture our children and our grandchildren. We set a tone in the home by the things we do and say, and by the things we don't do and say. Those who are nearest to us can see the truth of our lives. In Zacchaeus' case, maybe many people just saw a wealthy, cheating tax collector, but those closer in knew something more. A person who gave extravagantly, a person who sought to set things right when wrongs had been committed. He helped to set an example, right in the home, and when Jesus came, he recognized the imprint of God upon the house. And so I say, ``blessed are the curious….''
Last Sunday afternoon Last Sunday Glena and I were in Las Vegas. That afternoon we visited the Emmanuel Faith Chapel Church, a new sister Mennonite congregation in our conference and denomination. Our ride got us to the church a full hour and a half before the service was to begin. We waited around in the small park across the street from the church. In time a sister (Gladys) in the church pulled up and pulled out of her trunk a huge pot of spaghetti, some salad, bread, and orange Fanta drinks. Then another van drove in, and another. Out spilled eleven people (ten men and one woman) whom they had retrieved from a couple of homeless shelters several miles away. Soon enough we were all eating together.
We found out that this is the weekly witness of the church. The congregation's theme verse is James 1:27 (take care of the widows and the orphans, keep yourselves unstained…) Every week someone cooks. Every week others go to the shelters. Then everyone meets in the park for a meal. After eating they go to church together. After the service they are taken back to the shelters.
At church the homeless folks are not consigned to just sit there. During the testimony time one fellow, I think his name was Jamal, was cajoled into walking to the front to share what the Lord had done in his life.
What is the point of this? Perhaps just this. Jesus catches a glimpse of us as well and invites himself over to our place. I hope he finds us eager to know more and already going about the task of taking care of the widows, the orphans, the poor. I believe we too can hear the words, ``Today salvation has come to this house.'' Amen.
