When I was about six, I was sent across the road to the chip shop to buy some chips. I remember feeling terribly lost and alone in the chip shop, surrounded by all these adults. We are told that Zacchaeus was a little man. He was rich and important, but he was tiny. We surmise that he was unpopular and lonely; tax collectors are never popular, but he was virtually a servant of the occupying military power Rome, so he was a traitor. His position gave him the right to exact as much money as he could – there were no legal maximums; as long as he paid enough to the authorities, he could keep the rest.
He wanted to see Jesus, but he was too short. He may not have wanted to be jostled by the crowd. Therefore he does something childlike and undignified – he climbs a tree. This will give him a good view, and perhaps allow him to remain anonymous.
But Jesus stops the procession, looks up and fixes his gaze on him. Come down, Zacchaeus! Quickly! I must come and stay at your house.
As Zacchaeus is such a renegade and all round bad person, this caused outrage amongst so-called respectable people. And it is why we are looking at this story together on a day when churches all over the land are inviting people ‘Back to Church’. The strap line comeasyouare is inspired by the attitude of Jesus as we find him in this story.
Jesus does not insist that Zacchaeus be different or reform himself. There are no conditions. True, after his encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus is different. From a life apparently centred on material things and the gaining of money, he changes radically when he determines to give away half of his possessions. The penalty for theft in the Old Testament was to repay double what was stolen (Ex. 22:4) – Zacchaeus promises to repay four times as much.
He has really changed. But it is before all this that Jesus says he will come to him. Again and again, Jesus breaks the norms, upsets the established order of things. He accepts us as we are, and loves us.
This is the message we all need to hear. You will find at the back of church some postcards. The drawing of this incident is by Sunhee Joo from Korea. No matter what culture we come from, irrespective of our class, education, wealth or background, we all need to know above all that God loves each of us, as we are, and Jesus came to include us in his love.
As a church community we are seeking to learn how to live in the spirit of acceptance that we see in Jesus. It is not automatic, and there are all sorts of pressures that can make any of us defensive and judgemental. Our heart’s desire, however, is to be Open for All, accepting all as Jesus did. This is especially important as somehow the church in general has gained the reputation of being inward looking and oppressive, instead of being the place where we can find life and hope in Jesus.
The fact that you are here suggests that you have done something, maybe started to climb into a tree, to try to see Jesus. May I encourage you to respond to his invitation of love? He would love to come, as it were, to stay with you and share your life. This is not just a life-enhancing feel-good factor, but will affect you deeply in every area of your being. You may find yourself being better as you get to know him.
Please take home a copy of this postcard if you wish. Stick it on your fridge door or have it on your desk. You may find it helpful to look closely at it. Who are you in the story? Are you Zacchaeus, up in the tree, hoping to remain inconspicuous? Do you sympathise with those who muttered because Jesus was lavishing attention on a self-confessed ‘sinner’? Where would you like to be in relation to Jesus?
If you want to pursue these questions, you might want to chat them over, perhaps with the person who brought you this morning, or catch me over coffee. You might want to come along to the launch of our Alpha course this Tuesday evening at Bonnys.
Jesus asks us all to come as we are. We are all accepted, all loved.
Questions
1. What is the most surprising thing about this story to you?
2. How do you respond to the suggested motives Zacchaeus might have for climbing the tree? Does this tell you anything about how you see yourself, and how you respond to Jesus?
3. What ways are we aware of that the church can be like the ‘muttering’ crowd? How should and could we be different?
4. The Son of Man came to seek that which was lost. How can we collectively do this today?
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