RBWords

[Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22 and Luke 19:1-10]

     [Jesus] came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.  Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.  When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."  And he came down quickly and received him with joy.  [Luke]

     Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector and (as a result) a wealthy man, but he was also short in stature.  The "shortness" could also apply to his stature among the people.  Needless to say, tax collectors are rarely popular people, but when it is known that the collector gets a commission from what he gathers, he is even "shorter" in the eyes of the tax payers.  But, like the blind man we encountered a couple of days ago, Zacchaeus was able to attract Jesus' attention not only by the dramatic gesture of climbing a tree along the road, but by his desire to "see" Jesus.  Once more, it is the presence of faith that catches Jesus' attention.  Zacchaeus' reaction to Jesus' attention is as dramatic as his method of attracting it.  "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."  

     As with the story of the blind man, the "crowd" disapproves: "He [Jesus] has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."  Jesus' reply to them and to Zacchaeus is: "Today salvation has come to this house....  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."   The "crowd" tried to silence the blind man and now they turn on the hated tax collector.  There is a lesson here that we as a church should pay attention to.  Any effort to exclude someone from God's mercy should be viewed with suspicion.  Jesus, thankfully, can see through group or individual prejudice to the presence of faith.  The story of the blind man and the story today of Zacchaeus is a challenge to take off our blinkers and grow up in the sight of God!  AMEN