Back to Church Sunday

Dining With Jesus

Reading: Luke 19:1-10

As you can see, I am not preaching on the lections for Proper 26. We are celebrating Back to Church Sunday. I am using the suggested reading. For more information on Back to Church Sunday, check out their website at http://www.backtochurch.co.uk/

I love window shopping. Sometimes when I have time I will browse through stores where I know that the price is beyond my means. Invariably an immaculately dressed sales person will come to my aid. “Oh! I am just looking?” I will say. It is usually an uncomfortable moment when I feel as if I don’t really belong, but I brazen it out.

Zacchaeus knew that he really didn’t belong in the crowd that constantly followed Jesus. His lifestyle was completely opposite to everything Jesus stood for. For starters he was a tax collector. And not just any tax collector. He was the chief tax collector. That meant that he worked for the Roman government. To say that he was unpopular with the average person in Jericho is an understatement. He is tough, single-minded, courageous, independent. He has achieved a high position in a large and prosperous community. He may be small in stature, but don’t kid yourself. He is formidable. At the same time he is marginalized. It is not poverty that keeps him on the fringes of society. It is his very position. His wealth may insulate him against the hardships of life, but it also isolates him from other people. He is unacceptable amongst Jericho’s society.

Yet he is very anxious to see what Jesus looks like. Perhaps there is more to it than mere curiosity. “Who is this man who preaches, teaches and heals? Who is this amazing miracle worker?” he must have been asking himself. Maybe there is also a ray of hope in him. He feels like an outsider in his home town. It makes him feel very small indeed. He has heard how Jesus is a friend to outcasts. Perhaps he will be treated differently by this man. Yet he cannot push his way into the crowd, not simply because he is a rather short man, but mostly because the crowd will not give way to him. And so he climbs up into a sycamore tree in order to get a glimpse of Jesus.

Jesus spots him in the tree. He stops under the very limb on which Zacchaeus is perched. As he looks up into the tree, Zacchaeus is suddenly in the spotlight. All eyes are on him. They are waiting for Jesus to give him exactly what he deserves. They are waiting for Jesus to take him down a peg or two.

But that is far from Jesus’ mind. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down,” says Jesus. “I must stay at your house today.” Zacchaeus and the crowd learned something new about Jesus that day. They discovered that Jesus was one who reached out to those whom others assumed to be off God’s list. What is more, Zacchaeus welcomed the opportunity to be a host for Jesus.

The crowd was decidedly unhappy about the whole event. They grumbled against Jesus and the tax collector. After all, they said to themselves, Zacchaeus is nothing short of a scoundrel. He is beyond redemption. And here is Jesus consorting with him. He is not worthy of Jesus’ time. He should be punished, not saved.

Jesus found a sensitive human being who was anxious to act with justice in his community. “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him. Jesus knew all along that what Zacchaeus really needed was salvation. He needed it, and that was enough for Jesus. He offered him what he needed.

Zacchaeus had come in order to see what kind of a person Jesus was. Instead of catching a glimpse of Jesus from the limb of a tree he had a face to face encounter with him. He had a heart to heart conversation with him. He discovered something about the heart of Jesus. He discovered too something about his own heart’s desires.

It is a beautiful story of the grace of God. Zacchaeus undergoes a remarkable transformation. Whatever he may have understood about himself, Jesus saw a person who was up a tree in his life. And Zacchaeus not only responded, receiving Jesus into his home. He also made amends for his past. He gave a glad and unlimited response to God that day. It transformed his life.

I suspect we can all relate on some level to Zacchaeus. It is easy to feel as if you are out on a limb with no options. We all feel marginalized at times in our lives. I can certainly relate to it in my own life. There are times that I have wondered where God was or whether God loved me at all. I wondered if life was worth living. Life is not always easy. We go through periods of suffering or difficulty in our lives. It may be a serious sickness, or depression, or unemployment, the breakup of a marriage or the loss of a loved one. They can all cause us to lose faith.

I grew up in an inner city rectory, but we had a large yard with wonderful trees. I loved to climb up onto the branches of one of the large trees in the front yard and watch people walking up the street. There are times we would just like to quietly sit up in our tree and observe. We want to get a good look at Jesus, but from a distance. We want to watch him silently. We don’t want to be noticed.

It shows sometimes in the way we worship. It seems as if we would rather see Jesus than meet him. After all, it could be risky meeting Jesus. He might have something to say that we don’t want to hear. Reconcile with your neighbour who has upset you. Make amends to your family whom you have hurt. Give to the poor. Advocate for the oppressed. It really may seem better, after all, to sit silently in worship and see what happens.

Or we may even opt out of worship altogether. We may decide that church is not for us. After all, churches are filled with hypocrites who say they are Christians and then act in a way that says that they are not. But that is not what God needs from us. God needs a glad and unlimited response. It is in offering that response to God that we will be transformed as beloved children.

We may be like Zacchaeus. Or we may know a few people like Zacchaeus, people we have misjudged. It is easy to follow the crowd and simply let our misconceptions continue. It is about meeting them through Jesus’ eyes. Then perhaps we will catch a glimpse of one who is doing their best to be honest, generous, charitable, and true to their beliefs.

As followers of Jesus we are called to see the Christ in others and to allow them to see Christ in us. We are to join him in his invitation to dine with him and affirm the goodness that we find in every Zacchaeus we encounter.

Today we gather at the table with Jesus. We break bread and bless the cup. Together we share in communion. Hopefully you will find the grace and peace that dining with Jesus can bring.

Zacchaeus found out!