As Preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church
In
the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
“For
the son of man has come to seek out and save what was lost.” [Lk 19:10]
At
first glance it would be hard to think of Zacchaeus as lost. He was savvy and
wealthy. He negotiated a lucrative position in government service and took
advantage of his position to amass a fortune. He did well for himself. He has a
slight image problem in his society. But what does that matter? The guardians
of social propriety looked down on him as one whose wealth and power was gained
by virtue of his connection with the occupying power. Yet these critics were
not averse to wealth and power and to use their position to control others. And
in those days, it was felt that if you were wealthy and powerful you were
blessed by God. Along comes Jesus Christ and turns all of this on its head.
Outsiders are in and insiders are out.
Well
not exactly. Nobody is really out. Everyone has the opportunity to be saved.
But Jesus is making a point here about how one is to go about this. He is
seeking out the lost but it has a reciprocal component to it. And the first
step is desire. On the Sunday before Christmas, we refer to Daniel as the
prophet of desire, due to his devotion, righteousness, and commitment to God. And
God saves him. Daniel’s lifelong desire to connect with and please God is a
high standard for ordinary people. Zacchaeus didn’t meet that standard, but
what he did have was desire. We are not told how that came about, but we see
the outcome in action.
He
has heard about Jesus and desires to see this special man, maybe just out of
curiosity. But there is a crowd and he is short and with his reputation the
crowd wasn’t going to part for him to get a better view. Not wanting the moment
to pass and miss his opportunity, he dispenses with propriety and scrambles up
a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passes. But then Jesus stops and looks
straight at him. Who knows what went through his head at that moment? But the
outsider is no longer the outsider. Out of that entire crowd, Jesus notices
him, and calls him by name: Zacchaeus, come down, I am to stay at your house
today. The murmuring of the crowd grows. He is going to a sinner’s house!
Unthinkable! And that’s our opening! The unthinkable is just where Jesus goes.
We
can spend our whole life thinking we are unworthy to receive Jesus into our
lives. Look at all the mistakes we’ve made, all the wrong turns, all the things
we’ve done and now regret, all the moments we’d like to take back and make
better. And Jesus overlooks all that and calls us by name and says, come here,
I am to stay at your house today. Unthinkable, but not for Jesus, not for God! As
the gospel says, Jesus has come to seek out and save the lost. And that’s
really all of us. We are all lost, but not forgotten, even if we feel shoved
aside by life or society. We are always within God’s grasp. We simply need to
want God to notice and to hold us, and he will.
Glory
be to Jesus Christ!
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.