Luke 19:1-10
Folks who grew up in Sunday School find an old favorite in the story of Zacchaeus – the wee little man who climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector and so not a favorite with his neighbors in Jericho. He heard that the new rabbi Jesus was passing through town and went to see what would have been a parade because Jesus traveled with a large group of people. Others from the village were already there taking the front row places along the route. Zacchaeus was short, but because he worked for Rome and collected taxes and fees, no one wanted to welcome him or even show him common decency. He simply couldn’t see over the crowd. Being somewhat resourceful and very determined, he climbed a tree so he could see over their heads. And Jesus saw him and invited himself home with Zacchaeus for lunch.
What is the moral of this story? Often it’s phrased something like “even tax collectors and sinners can be saved because of Jesus.” Or God loves everyone, even the scum of the earth. We all hear the story and nod our heads over how kind and loving Jesus can be. We share it as the “good news of the gospel” – Jesus loves even folks as bad as Zacchaeus.
It’s helpful to remind ourselves that when we’re reading Bible stories it’s unlikely that we are the good guys in the story. We aren’t the ones welcoming even Zacchaeus into the reign of God. Most of the time I fear we show up in this story as the people of Jericho – astonished that Zacchaeus was worthy of Jesus’ attention. I was trying to read this story with an open mind this week and noticed some things I hadn’t seen before. Let’s start with the fact that he hero of this story isn’t Jesus who “saves” Zacchaeus by paying attention to him and encouraging reform. This story’s hero is Zacchaeus. He’s the one who had heard about Jesus and wanted to see for himself this reformer. He’s the one who didn’t push and shove when he was shut out by his neighbors but just climbed a tree. And he’s the one who turns out to be kind and generous. Even before Jesus stops, he has a plan that he’s eager to share when he gets a chance. He’s heard Jesus’ message about caring for others and has decided he can give away half his assets to help those who are poor. We all assume that because he’s a tax collector, Zacchaeus is a cheat, but the story doesn’t say that. He says, “IF I’ve cheated anyone I’ll make reparations – returning the overage with interest.” It’s possible he’s been honest, even though his job gave him a chance to enrich himself by cheating. He’s willing to double check his records and be sure he’s charged folks fairly. If there’s an error, he’s going to make it right. Zacchaeus doesn’t deserve his bad reputation but is a leader in the new movement Jesus is promoting. He’s going to help the community that’s rejected him.
This story gives us a chance to take a look at assumptions we make about other people and ways that we rush to judgment without cause. There’s a lot being written these days about how those of us who come from a position of relative privilege are blind to the assumptions we make about how the world works and who has value in it. The people of Jericho missed the kind-hearted neighbor in their midst because he was labeled by his job. He used the good pay his job gave him to help others – including those who had been mean to him. Where does that happen in our lives.
This week I was picking up my granddaughter from school and watching the students heading for home while I waited for her. I noticed that I was surprised by the children of color who were walking home. “These people live in my neighborhood?” I thought. I caught myself, realizing that I assumed “they” wouldn’t live near “me”! I work hard at overcoming racism and negative assumptions, but they work just as hard at sticking in my brain. I needed to think differently!
This time of year all of our neighborhoods are sprouting political yard signs. It’s tempting to drive down the street and think that one house belongs to sensible folks voting for great candidates while their neighbors are uniformed and supporting others. We can’t make judgments about whether or not these are good folks based on their politics – but we do.
When we first started cooking at LaGrave, I was a little intimidated by the fact that these neighbors had lived hard lives and been homeless for a long time. They seemed rough and sometimes scary. We were cautioned not to take children to help, and at first that was good advice because there were some bugs needing to be worked out in behaviors. Now I take my grandkids along to serve and everybody welcomes them. Folks are healthier and I think of them as friends. When we were talking with leadership there about menus and budgets, getting ready for them to hire a cook, one top official said to me, “What can it cost to buy a little white bread and bologna?” I was horrified! I don’t feed bologna sandwiches to friends who visit for supper and I’m not about to serve them to my friends at LaGrave. It was a sign of how much we’ve learned in our time there.
Our Tuesday morning book group is reading a Inner Anarchy right now. Jim Palmer, the author, suggests that the message of Jesus isn’t “God can fix you if you believe in me” but “God has given you the ability to create heaven on earth right now.” Zacchaeus is a good example of the difference. Instead of thinking “Jesus made even Zacchaeus okay” we can think “Zacchaeus had a lot to offer and Jesus helped the community recognize that.” We’re not waiting for Jesus to fix everything that’s wrong with folks and so create a better world. Jesus is calling us into community where we can see what everyone has to offer and work together to realize the vision of a better life for all.
If we’re going to work together to make God’s dream for life real, we’re going to have to start with the way we see each other. It’s an opportunity to recognize unhelpful assumptions that are getting in the way. We all have old tapes playing in our heads that tell us people are different or dangerous. That not everyone can be trusted and not everyone has value. Those old messages are wrong and the first step in forming a Jesus community is learning to recognize them and set them aside. Every person has worth. Jesus helped Zacchaeus make a plan and act on it, bringing his value to light. The people who follow Jesus today do that same work – treating everyone with respect and dignity and finding ways to let each person shine in his or her own way. It takes some re-training and lots of practice, but we can do it. I’d like to think that the next time something important happened in town, people stepped aside and moved Zacchaeus to the front row. I’d like to think we’d do the same. Together, we can make it happen.