In the Name of the Living God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
For the sake of full disclosure, I have to tell you that I simply love the passage we’ve just heard proclaimed!
And I love it for many reasons, beginning with the fact that I’ve been short my whole life. I know this pulpit makes me look tall, but things are not as they seem. Once I climb out of here, I’m actually only 5’ 6’’, or 5’ 7’’, depending on my last haircut. So, having a short person at the centre of the passage before us in the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke immediately piques my own personal interest.
Furthermore, having to climb up to see things – just like Zacchaeus – reminds me pretty much of how I spent my entire childhood. I remember that we always went, as a family on Saturdays, to Auburn football games. For the record, I said Auburn, not Alabama!
And I can remember that I had to stand on the bench on my tip toes just to peek over the tops of the heads in the row below us. Even doing that, I really couldn’t see much at all. This was before the days of Jumbotrons mounted in the end zones and instant replay.
Actually, I can remember, still to this day, this one lady, with the brightest orange hair, who always sat directly in front of me. I literally saw the back of her head more than I saw the games below.
And I can also remember – and I just have to share this with you so you can understand how my mind works – I vividly remember, that, if it was hot day, say in the middle of a day game, she would start sweating in the back of her head and out would come what I thought was bright orange sweat (I’m serious!), and it would drip down and stain the neckline of her very white and crisp blouse.
And to a short kid from rural Alabama, who couldn’t really see the game, this was the real show! I had never seen sweat that matched the person’s hair colour, and it entertained me for years. I later realised that, in addition to teaching me many other things about life, Auburn football games introduced me to the mystery of hair colouring gone bad.
And so it is for short people. Like tall people, we see the world from different perspective. We see things differently. And so it was for our man Zacchaeus. “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he,” as you remember from the old Sunday School hit.
So, not only did he see life from a different angle, but he also had to live life from a different angle – with the stigma and shame of being a tax collector, which meant that he was despised among all people, because his position allowed him, basically, to get rich by keeping no less than a heaping portion of all the tax he collected.
In those days, you see, tax collectors could – and did – tax just about anything. They could walk up to you and tax what you were holding or wearing! Furthermore, St. Luke tells us that Zacchaeus was no ordinary tax collector. No, he was a “chief tax collector.” So, you just multiply both the stigma and the level of public disdain and you’ll get the idea.
His wealth and his power were vast. And his wealth and power most likely came from taxing the lucrative balsam trade, which was based in Jericho. You probably remember that balsam is a fragrant tree resin. In fact, Marc Anthony acquired balsam plantations to make Queen Cleopatra’s perfume in Jericho.
And Balsam is still valuable, by the way: a quick Google search for “balsam perfume” demonstrates Yves St. Laurent balsam-scented perfume can be yours for nearly two hundred bucks!
But my point, so far, is not really about Auburn football and expensive perfume.
My point, actually, is simply to remind you that Zacchaeus was short and he was the chief tax collector, no ordinary tax collector, and this is significant.
What I’d also like to suggest to you is the fascinating – and commendable – reality that Zacchaeus is looking for – that is, seeking – Jesus, which is not really what we might expect a man in his business to do. We might be tempted to think about others in more laudable and pious professions to be the ones seeking Jesus.
But St. Luke says Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, rushed ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Regardless of motivation, we call that zeal in the Church, and we encourage it.
Seeking Jesus, the way of Jesus, seeking His will in our lives and His blessing, some would argue, is what it’s all about.
I certainly wouldn’t say seeking Jesus is unimportant. It is, in fact, very important.
But I think there is something going on in this passage – something that can happen in my life and in yours – that is even more important, more life-giving than seeking Jesus.
And what’s more important than seeking Jesus – infinitely, more – is the fact that He is seeking us!
Back to the passage: look what happened to Zacchaeus! When Jesus reached the tree, on His way out of town, He looked up into the branches, called Zacchaeus by name and told him to come down – not to give him a rebuke – but because He wanted to stay with him.
This passage isn’t so much a story about Zacchaeus’s search for Jesus as much is it about Jesus’s mission to find Zacchaeus! “The Seeker Becomes the Sought” – could be the movie title!
And here’s where it really gets interesting.
If He sought Zacchaeus, He’s just as well searching for me and He’s searching for you!
Now, I can see, from the look on your faces that your wheels are turning:
You mean to tell me I don’t have to run towards or run away from Jesus to garner His attention?!? You mean to tell me that no matter what I’ve done – no matter the disgraceful acts or shameful career I’ve had – He’s looking for me and wants to come home with me so that He can make His healing grace known to me?!?
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you.
He has found you today, and He wants to bring the grace of salvation near, because “The Son of Man came to SEEK out and save the lost.”
The song goes on:
Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
But a happy man was he,
For he had seen the Lord that day
And a happy man was he;
And a very happy man was he.”
Sermon preached by the Rev. Charleston D. Wilson
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
24th Sunday after Pentecost
30 October 2016