Pentecost 23

Pentecost 23 (Luke 19:1-10) The Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.
Zacchaeus was lost.

He was lost in crime, in sin, and in separation from God and other people. He was also lost in his wealth. His soul had disintegrated to that place where he was possessed by his possessions.

Jesus came to earth to seek and to find and to restore the lost. He came to Jericho that day for that purpose.

It is unclear if Zacchaeus knew anything about Jesus. As a Chief Tax Collector in Judea, Zacchaeus focused his time and attention on what he valued most: money. Yet, when Jesus entered the city there were many in Jericho who had heard of his reputation as a teacher, a healer, and a miracle worker. Whether they believed in Jesus or not they were curious about him. They wanted to see him.

Zacchaeus heard the commotion. He saw the gathering crowd. He, too was curious. He wanted to see what was going on. Zacchaeus had a problem that prevented him from seeing Jesus. He was short. It is an interesting and almost irrelevant detail in the story.

In the excitement of the moment Zacchaeus was caught up in the press of the crowd to see Jesus. Yet, Zacchaeus was too short to see over the crowd. So, he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree further down the street. He knew Jesus would pass that way. He knew he would be able to see over the crowd. He did not expect Jesus to speak to him personally.

Zaccaheus was a Chief Tax Collector. He was little more than a legalized gangster hired by Rome to collect taxes by any means, People hated him. The religious people would not speak with him.

Jesus spoke with him. Jesus initiated the conversation. I suspect Jesus saw the humor in this short self important self obsessed official sitting in a tree to get a better view of him. Jesus looked at him, saw him, recognized him and then called him by name. Zacchaeus.

The co-eternal Son of God had emptied himself of his omnipotence and omniscient when he became a particular man. He lived life as we live life- one day at a time, moment by moment. Unlike all of us, Jesus never separated from the Father. He lived each moment of life in communion with the Father. Jesus paid attention to other people, the world around him and to his heavenly Father is a way we do not.

Jesus learned the name of this short Chief Tax Collector and he called him by name. He showed him respect even though by the standards of the time he deserved condemnation. But, Jesus had come to Jericho to save the lost. And, Zacchaeus was among the lost.

Jesus paused and saw Zacchaeus for who was and in spite of who Zacchaeus was Jesus had compassion on him. Jesus gives Zacchaeus an invitation: “Come on down, Zacchaeus. Come on down from that tree. Hurry up. Come down now.”
This was Zacchaeus’ moment of grace. It was at an unexpected time under unusual circumstances. It was the moment Jesus saw him, spoke to him and invited him to make a real choice.

Then, Jesus offers Zaccaeus an amazing gift. “I must stay at your house today.” People avoided Zacchaeus. People hated him and would not even speak with him. Jesus asked to come to Zacchaeus’s house and to dine with him. A Pharisee would never think of doing this. A priest would never think of doing this. The religious people of Jesus’ day brought forth condemnation and separation. Jesus came with compassion and reconciliation.

People began to talk. People began to grumble. How can Jesus be so good when he associates with people who are so bad? How can Jesus be a righteous man when he enters the home of the unrighteous? How can Jesus be a religious teacher when he engages the corrupt and immoral people in conversation and fellowship.
The assumption is that the righteous exclude and condemn the unrighteous. The assumption is that the religious reject and ostracize the irreligious. The assumption is that God favors some people and rejects all others. The assumption is wrong.

Jesus is the reality that God accepts all people. Jesus is the perfect mirror to the human soul that reveals all are lost. All are lost and none wish to be found. Yet, Jesus has come to seek the lost, to find the lost and to save the lost.
Zacchaeus experienced salvation that day that Jesus called him by name and came to his house. He experienced what so many religious people who were caught up in their own rules and regulations could not appreciate.

Zacchaeus experienced conversion. He experienced a change of heart and a change of direction. He received a new life and entered into a new way of living. “I give half my wealth to the poor,” he told Jesus.“ I will restore four fold what I have stolen,” he continues.

Before he met Jesus, Zacchaeus lived only for money. He worked to build his wealth. He schemed, lied, cheated and bullied people to increase his wealth. He worshipped only money and his soul was collapsing into the dark abyss of separation from God.
God met Zacchaeus in Jesus Christ. God found Zacchaeus in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, Zaccaheus, I must stay with you today. And, Zacchaeus recognized his moment of grace and said “yes.”

Salvation is not about religion, philosophy or science. Salvation is not about our search for God. Salvation is about God coming to earth in person to seek, find and restore the lost. Salvation is Jesus Christ.

Jesus met Zacchaeus at a very precise moment in time under some very unusual circumstances. The moment of grace is always very precise. The circumstances in that moment are always unusual. In the moment of grace God finds us where we are, accepts us for who we are, and invites us to become more than who we are.

In the moment of grace, Jesus offers us the gift of forgiveness, the gift of reunification with God the Father, the gift of transformation in God the Holy Spirit. Salvation is a gift God the Father offers us in Jesus Christ. It is the gift of a new life and a new way of living. It is God in Christ who seeks the lost who do not want to be seen, who finds the lost who do not want to be found, and who saves the lost who stubbornly insist on going our own way.

The way of salvation is Jesus Christ. It is the way of love and compassion. It is the way of daily transformation. It is the way our Heavenly Father seeks out and saves the lost.