Luke 19:1-10
19Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
It's the end of October and you may have wondered when will Fr. Peter give that annual sermon on Stewardship? When will we receive our letters on Stewardship? Today’s Gospel on Zacchaeus, the tax collector, provides an entre into this Stewardship Season.
Zacchaeus is a person who wants to see Jesus. The people in the community consider Zacchaeus a prominent leader and since he works not only as a tax collector but as the chief tax collector his Jewish neighbors consider him a collaborator with the Roman overlords. Jesus causes a stir whenever he enters a village and a crowd surrounds Jesus as he passes through the major city of Jericho. Zacchaeus is accustomed to planning and he sees the direction in which Jesus is headed so he finds a sycamore tree and scurries up the tree.
For us to get some perspective on this story, let’s imagine Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, and a short person, climbing up a tree to see a passing evangelist. We would consider it below her dignity to act as a child climbing a tree. But Zacchaeus humbles himself, he pays no attention to his pride, and acts as a child to get a view of Jesus.
The turning point of the story comes not with Zacchaeus climbing the tree but in Jesus seeing him up in the tree. Jesus shows himself as the God who seeks out the lost and his eye catches Zacchaeus and brings him into the fold. Perhaps Jesus oversteps social protocol in inviting himself to Zacchaeus’ home. Perhaps Jesus has something he wants to accomplish not only with Zacchaeus but also with the people.
Zacchaeus makes a strange confession to Jesus. Perhaps you noticed that I did not follow the New Revised Standard Version translation you have in your bulletin but I used the translation from the Revised Standard Version. Zacchaeus does not confess Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much. He affirms that he gives (present tense) half to the poor. While the community considered Zacchaeus a Roman collaborator, they did not see that he followed God’s command and shared with the poor and made restitution to the defrauded.
Jesus reveals to the crowd Zacchaeus’ true identity: a Son of Abraham. The story becomes a revelation of the true identity of a person whom everyone considered the worst of sinners. Zacchaeus found himself among the super rich of ancient Israel. He could easily give half of his money to the poor and continue to live in luxury.
I don’t think any among us count ourselves among the 1% of our country who make $823,763 annually. Or maybe someone does have that vast wealth. Maybe that hidden millionaire and I need to have a conversation.
All of us find ourselves like Zacchaeus ever looking for Jesus. The good news for all of us comes with the assurance that just as zealously as we are looking for Jesus so Jesus is looking for us. Ours is a God who seeks out the lost and finds us. What do we do in response to this seeking God?
I invite you to consider two concerns. How well do you see Jesus? Do you see Jesus in the worship we share? Do you see Jesus in the fellowship among us? Do you see Jesus in the Word of God we hear? Do you see Jesus in the life you live because of your membership in this church?
The second question you may ask yourself is how do you say thank you to the God who have given you these gifts? We share a responsibility for this church. We share a responsibility for the life we live together. We share a responsibility for our worship from our reading, to our singing, to our fidelity in coming to church. We share a responsibility for our ministry, for our outreach through our thrift store, for our outreach in supporting LINCS Food Pantry, for our outreach in sheltering victims of domestic violence. We share a responsibility to maintain this church, the people we hire to serve this church, the expenses we incur to the diocese as members of the Episcopal Church, the costs of running these buildings.
Think of your financial contributions. Think of ways you might increase your gift. Think of ways you can better serve this community with your talents. Think of the ways Jesus comes to you when you share with others. Think of all the gifts God constantly gives to you. Think of how you will say to God: Thank you.