November 3, 2013
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow
- Luke 19:1-10
- Dr. Teri Thomas
As we walk through all the stories in the Bible
we cannot help but be impressed by the assortment of folks
whose lives were touched by Jesus in one way or another.
There were very old and very young,
there were men and women, children and slaves
many of the folks he met were sick but most of them were healthy
some were rich and others poor
some were nameless and still others were identified by name
Today in our Gospel reading we meet one of the most memorable of all those folks-
Zacchaeus . While there are many things we don’t know about him, there are a few things we do know.
We know from scripture that Zacchaeus lived in Jericho where he was the chief tax collector. We can presume the Romans didn’t like him because he was Jewish, and the Jews didn’t like him because he sold out to the Romans. That said- He probably didn’t have many friends and kept to himself a lot.
Chances are good that Zacchaeus was a man of some means. He received a portion of all the taxes collected in his district and if he was like most in his profession, he collected a few extra taxes just for himself. And we know Zacchaeus was short. He might have been teased about this. Maybe that is why he went to work for the Romans. He would have a position that would elevate him above folks twice his size.
And we know the story.
Zacchaeus heard Jesus was coming to town.
By this time everyone knew about this Jesus.
He performed miracles.
He told stories.
He related to all kinds of people.
He seemed to speak his mind, about everything and everyone.
This Jesus was coming to town, to the town where Zacchaeus lived, to the precinct where Zacchaeus collected taxes, to see the people Zacchaeus had wronged and cheated.
Now we all know what Zacchaeus did, but we sometimes forget that he had a choice.
He wasn’t a very good Jew,
he wasn’t a very good person.
He could have hidden.
He was short enough to hide easily in the crowd or behind a tree
or he could have just stayed home.
But he wanted to see Jesus, and the fact of the matter is
you cannot see Jesus without Jesus seeing you.
So Zacchaeus climbed the tree and from his perch he saw Jesus
and sure enough, Jesus saw him and said-
Hurry and come down, I must stay at your house today.
Get yourself out of that tree, come down close and look at me.
See what I am
what I offer
what I demand.
Look at yourself. What you are, what you have, what you want.
I am coming to your house. I am coming into your life.
Jesus said- Hurry, do it right now.
Don’t give yourself time to procrastinate any longer
If you delay you will come up with 1,000 reasons to stay in the tree.
You will come up with some excuse why I cannot come today.
You will think of all the ways to defend your life-style.
You will think of all the obstacles that stand in the way of a different future.
So hurry. Come now. And he did.
And his life was changed.
Zacchaeus pledged ½ his possessions to the poor.
He promised to make restitution four-fold to all those he had harmed.
This is one of those stories that has many different layers.
What shall we talk about?
How shall we apply the experience of Zacchaeus to our own?
Well, we could talk about the fact that three stories earlier in the Gospel of Luke,
there was a rich young ruler who wanted to be saved.
Jesus invited him to sell all he had and give it to the poor.
Jesus said, “It is harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God
than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”
And now, three stories later,
we discover a rich man who goes through the eye of a needle and is saved.
We could focus on that.
Or perhaps we could talk about the fact
that Zacchaeus was the biggest immoral scoundrel in town,
a skunk, a reprobate, the worst of all possible sinners
and Jesus ate a meal with him.
We could talk about the fact that Jesus will eat with anyone,
no matter how bad of a person he or she is said to be.
And so it is with Jesus’ meal, Holy Communion.
If you are the worst of the worst, Jesus wants you at his table.
We could focus on this.
Or I could simply remind you that Jesus loved Zacchaeus,
the biggest sinner in town.
Jesus loved him, and in that love, Zacchaeus was transformed.
His life was changed forever.
Zacchaeus took Jesus into his home. He let Jesus into his life.
His past was redeemed
His present was transformed
His future was redirected
Zacchaeus moves from being a distant observer to living as a faithful disciple.
He understands for the first time the generous nature of love
the love that restores him to a place in the community
the love that renews for him a sense of covenant
the realization that he is part of something larger than himself
the love that allows him to trust in God’s abundant grace.
and he realizes how he can contribute to this love
he wants to be as generous as this amazing grace he has experienced.
So we could ask ourselves- are we as open and responsive as this tax collector?
Or are we still perched in the branches of some tree watching from a safe distance?
Are we close enough to know what is going on but far enough away to avoid being changed.
After all, if we keep our sin out of sight, we don’t have to repent
if we deny our anger we don’t have to be forgiving
if we conceal our fear and confusion we do not have to learn to trust in God.
If we hide in the tree we don’t have to obey or respond or change.
But if we keep Jesus at a distance that also means we cannot hear his promises
receive his forgiveness.
feel his presence and support.
If we hide from him we cannot experience his love.
Jesus says- I must come into your life.
If we let him in the blessings begin to flow,
gifts of love, acceptance, forgiveness and grace.
Acceptance of those gifts require commitment
for the disciples that commitment meant leaving their families,
their homes, their jobs and following Jesus.
For Paul that commitment would mean a total change of attitude and belief
For Zacchaeus that commitment meant turning over his wealth and making restitution
It starts with a little man in a tree.
And it ends with a heart of generosity and blessings flowing forth.
What does commitment look like for you?
Are you ready?
He is coming to your house again, today.
Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow!
Amen