2018 Zacchaeus
Sunday – Faith Working Through Boundaries
St. Luke is such a
great story teller. Some of the most well-known stories found in the Gospels
come from his pen. Such parables as the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan, along
with many others are found only in his Gospel. We have one of those stories this
Sunday with the beautiful encounter between Jesus and a man named Zacchaeus. Luke
paints a perfect picture of someone who has heard the Good News about Jesus and
his message of true repentance. Zacchaeus puts this new teaching of Jesus into
practice in his life, then by any means necessary, desires to see the one who
has transformed his life. It becomes a living story of faith at work in our
world, in daily life, that we can truly comprehend and implement.
The key to
understand the power of this story is to look at who Zacchaeus is and see where
he might have first learned about Jesus. The big clue for us comes by Luke
calling him, “a chief tax collector” (Luke 19:2), meaning that he has other tax
collector serving under him, he is the boss. Some of these leaser tax
collectors might well have been in the crowd when John the Baptist was
preparing the way for the Lord, when we are told by Luke, “Tax collectors also
came to be baptized and said to John, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he
said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” (Luke 3:12-13) I
speculate the tax collectors then return and tell Zacchaeus about this new way
of living, according to faith in the Living God and amazingly he transforms his
life around this new teaching. He completely changes the course and direction
of his life through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Putting into
action the words of Romans “The gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to
every one who has faith” (Rom 1:16) Zacchaeus, then hears the Lord is coming through
and he wants to meet the one who has turned his life upside down and inside out
for the better. He has the desire to tell the Lord how faith has changed him
into a different man.
There are many obstacles
and short comings that seem to get in the way of Zacchaeus and his desire to
see and know Jesus. First because he is a “wee little man” as the children’s
song my kids love to sing says, but does this stop him? What about the big
crowds who are trying to see Jesus and block his view, does this lead him to
despair? No, instead he runs and climbs a tree in order to see Jesus. Back then
you would not see a grown man run in public outside of games. But no wall can
get between his desire to see Jesus. Then shocking for us, after claiming the
tree, he does not even have to speak to our Lord, Jesus knows full well why
this short man is in the tree. He tells Zacchaeus, “hurry and come down, for I
must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:5) We see clearly that Jesus’ desire
to be with Zacchaeus is as strong as Zacchaeus’s desire to be with Jesus. This
is how faith works, God desires us and we desire God. As St. Paul tells the
Corinthians “But if one loves God, one is known by him.” (1 Co 8:3). Zacchaeus receives
conformation that he has done what God desires him to do by amending his life,
was this easy? By no means, we all know the struggles that we encounter daily
to live godly lives. Think about the friends or the money that Zacchaeus lost,
or gave up, to follow our Lord’s new way of life over his own. How, then does
he react to this reply from Jesus, “he made haste and came down, and received
him joyfully.” (Luke 19:6) We should all be able to appreciate the happiness
that has come over him, the same great desire that took him up the tree, now
brings him back down with equal desire. Knowing full well that his life is on
the right track and Jesus is coming to dine at his house today. This dinning
becomes a sign of fellowship and communion, the very thing that we all seek
with our Lord and with one another. When we eat together, it’s a way of showing
that whatever walls might separate us, they have now been torn down.
Do some of the
people like what has happened between Jesus and Zacchaeus? No not at all. Look
at the response of the bystanders looking upon this exchange, “when they saw it
they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” (Luke
19:7) Does Zacchaeus lose heart over this? Does he let this new boundary or
road block of not fitting in or not being liked, keep him down? No, he tells
Jesus and them all, with faithful confidence “Behold, Lord, the half of my
goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I
restore it fourfold.” (Luke 19:8) He is confirming to Jesus the radical change
that has happed in his life since he received the Gospel message. This is the challenge
for each of us today, can we stand and make such a case before Jesus? Is God
looking for total perfection, well, yes in some ways he is, but more importantly,
he desires someone like Zacchaeus, who has made hard lifestyle changes and choices,
and is now living as his faithful disciple. This goes along with what St. Paul
says in Romans, “to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and
honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are
factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath
and fury.” (Romans 2:7-8) Jesus’ words demonstrate this same message, when he
tells Zacchaeus, “today salvation has come to this house.” (Luke 19:9) Jesus
wants him and all of us, to know that this is how salvation and the Gospel work
together. People set free from whatever traps them in their current life, no
matter if it’s the sinners life of the tax collector or anyone else, the cure
of finding Jesus and its result is the same. New-found freedom, at last God can
be at work in all of us. This salvation spoken of by Jesus here, is walls
broken down and lives redeemed, in order to faithfully serve the living and
true God and his people. Think about how many people Zacchaeus would meet and
then tell about Jesus. He would surely witness to them about this man who had
caused such a change in his life. Then those people would seek out Jesus for
themselves, amend their lives, becoming his disciples, and thus the same pattern
continues to this very day. As we read in 1st Thessalonians, “they
themselves report… how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true
God.” (1:9)
Let us not get discouraged
by what walls and boundaries we face in our daily life. We all must have courage
and confidence to seek out Jesus and to put his message at work in us. He has given
all the tools that we need, his Church and the power of the life-giving Spirit.
We just have to make the move, to climb the tree, overcoming whatever obstacles
that might be in our way. Knowing fully that Jesus is looking for us as well,
we just have to have the desire to find him.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any
one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him,
and he with me.” (Rev 3:20)
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