October 30, 2022: Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When 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.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus 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.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
Zacchaeus was working so hard to “see who Jesus was” that he even climbed a tree! So often we think we need to go out of our way to find God, when God is always with us! Jesus knew right away where Zacchaeus was, and was inviting him into relationship with him by calling him to come down from that tree. So, too, God is always calling us into relationship, right where we are, right now. We don’t have to go far to find God but we do have to be willing to respond, like Zacchaeus did, when we are called.
Zacchaeus was not only a hated tax collector, he was the chief tax collector, so he must have been pretty despised for his collaboration with the Roman occupiers. I imagine Jesus’ acceptance and solidarity with Zacchaeus softened his heart and helped him to change his ways. After experiencing Jesus’ inclusiveness with him, Zacchaeus felt drawn to make things right with those he had cheated, and to give half his possessions to the poor. When we feel accepted for who we are, and forgiven even when we’ve screwed up, we are much more apt to extend love to others.
Perhaps Jesus calling Zacchaeus into relationship can help us ask ourselves the question: is there someone in our lives to whom we need to welcome? Our kindness to another can make all the difference in helping that person extend kindness to others. As Mahatma Ghandi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”