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A Sermon by The Reverend Allen Michel
Nelson Cathedral
Sunday, 6 July, 2008
Readings
Luke 19:1-10
Give us grace, O Lord, not only to hear your Word with our ears, but also to receive it into our hearts and to show it forth in our lives; to the glory of your great name;
Amen
When you heard Richard begin reading our second lesson this evening what picture came into your mind?
A crowded city street similar to Trafalgar street during a big parade?
A short tax collector climbing a sycamore tree and then having to rush home
to prepare a meal for Jesus and his friends?
Jesus eating once again with sinners and tax collectors?
That’s what I like about the Gospels, the words paint pictures.
Janice even sang me a Sunday school song about Zacchaeus and his meeting
with Jesus which I must confess I hadn’t heard before.
Children can identify with Zacchaeus; they often find themselves at the
back of a crowd and can’t see what’s going on.
Luke makes Zacchaeus one of his minor heroes.
Luke’s is the only gospel that tells of him and his sudden moment of glory.
The story of the hardened old tax collector fits into three of Luke’s
regular themes:
the problem of riches and what to do about it
the identification of Jesus with so called sinners
and
the faith which recognises Jesus as Lord and discovers new life as a result.
As we picture the story, as we listen, who is the focus of our attention?
Do you see Zacchaeus as someone pointing to Jesus pointing out
what our Lord is doing or teaching?
Or do you see it as I do, Zacchaeus important in his own right also teaching
us something about life and our relationship with Jesus.
So let us look at this chief tax collector and more importantly where this story
takes place.
Yes the location is important especially in the life of Zacchaeus.
Jesus has entered the city of Jericho.
Jericho that ancient city in the Jordan valley that immediately brings to mind
the story of Joshua, trumpets and the falling city walls.
A city that had been important for over two thousand years.
What was it that made the city so important? Jericho was built on an important
trade route and through the city travelled exports and imports to the east
and to the west.
Now in the first century, Jericho was a very wealthy city, commanding the
approach to the city of Jerusalem and the crossing of the river Jordan
to the east.
Jericho was famous for its forest of date palms, groves a balsam trees and
gardens of roses.
All this perfumed the air meant that travellers could almost smell Jericho
before they could see it.
The famous historian of the first century, Josephus, described Jericho and
the surrounding area as a “divine region, the fattest in Palestine.”
It must have been a wonderful city to live and work in. But like all earthly
paradises there was a negative side to Jericho. Jericho one of the greatest
taxation centres in all Israel especially for the collecting of excise tax.
Taxes which were levied at a fixed rate such as poll tax and income tax didn’t
leave much room for exploitation but other taxes and duties such as road tax,
property tax, purchase tax and import and export tax were open slather.
It was here that the tax collectors made their profit levelling as much tax as
they thought they could get away with.
Zacchaeus was a man who had reached the top of his profession, the chief tax
collector, the commissioner of tax in the city which was known as
the tax centre of Israel.
He was a wealthy man, probably the richest man in town but was he happy?
We are not told, but as we read the story I think we can see lonely man
who has found that all his wealth has only made him the most hated man
in town, isolated from others, a social and religious outcast.
Even his wealth could not gain him entry to the synagogue.
Perhaps this Rabbi called Jesus would have a word of advice, or comfort
for him after all he had heard he welcomed tax collectors as well as those
who were called sinners.
Even though he was hated by almost everyone in his life, perhaps God still loved him.
He must find out.
So when Zacchaeus heard that Jesus had arrived he was determined nothing
would stop him, this was going to be one of the most important days in his life.
For Zacchaeus to join the crowd in his attempt to see Jesus must have been
quite a courageous decision.
Can you imagine the winks and nods that went between people
as Zacchaeus tried to get to the front of the crowd?
The elbow jolt, the kick and the push that this disliked tax collector would
receive.
It was a golden chance to get even for all those unfair decisions he had made.
An opportunity not to be missed. Poor Zacchaeus would be black and blue
by the time he got home that evening.
As much as he pushed and tried to get to the front the crowd made sure he
didn’t.
A sycamore tree that was growing beside the road gave him the chance to see
and to be seen. He was soon up in the branches hoping this Rabbi, this Jesus
from Nazareth would see him and talk to him.
You can imagine his joy, probably his amazement when Jesus stopped and
spoke to him. His wildest hopes had come true but more astonishing Jesus’
announced that he would spend the rest of the day with him at his house.
I suppose the crowd thought “here we go, we will never hear the end of this.
This nasty little fellow will be all smiles the next time he demands exorbitant
taxes from us. He will tell us the rabbi is on his side, his friend.”
But Zacchaeus had made a life changing decision when Jesus had invited
himself to stay at his place that day. Here was someone who loved him in spite
of the sort of man he was. We now see Zacchaeus a changed man with a new
outlook on life but words and thoughts were not enough and are never enough.
Words and a change of heart have to be displayed by action. Zacchaeus had to
show the community he was a changed person..
He told Jesus he would give half his wealth to the poor and with
the other half he would make restitution to all those he had defrauded.
Not dollar for dollar restitution but four times the amount.
Under the law written in the book of Exodus a thief had to pay back double
the amount he had stolen but if a voluntary restitution was made the amount
was the original plus one fifth.
Zacchaeus was doing more than the law demanded.
By his deeds he was determined to show Jesus and the community he was a
changed man.
Compare this with the story of the selfish rich young man in the previous
chapter of Luke’s gospel who could not give away his wealth and possessions
to follow Jesus.
Has your picture of Zacchaeus changed?
We no longer see him as in the Sunday School song:-
“A wee little man who climbed a sycamore tree.”
We see a person whose encounter with Jesus has changed his life.
A person who was unloved finding love.
A person whose life didn’t change just by saying words but by deeds.
Each day in prayer and bible reading we meet Jesus, each Sunday we meet
Christ as we join in fellowship and worship with other Christians.
Do we grow a little in faith and understanding with each encounter?
Does our life change even a little?
Like the sheep, like the coin and like the prodigal son, Zacchaeus was lost,
he had wandered away from God.
God had been replaced by ambition, wealth and possessions.
Then from a branch in a sycamore tree he found love, forgiveness and his
place in God’s family. He was found, no longer lost.
Are you and I looking out for the people who are lost in everyday life?
The people who have lost their way, the lonely and the unloved, the people
looking for a new way to live their lives.
If we are called to be Christ’s eyes, ears, hands and feet it is our duty to be out
there in the community among those who have lost their faith or never had
faith.
We are called to reflect Christ′s glory in our own community.
To bring the Zacchaeus’s in our community down out of their sycamore trees
and into the family of Christ.
It might only be a smile or a daily good morning to a neighbour, it might be
visiting a sick friend, or talking to the person who has lost their job.
Caring for the lonely or unloved or just being there for someone.
Through us they encounter Christ in their lives and through Christ
lives are changed.
“Today,” said Jesus, “salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.
You see, the son of man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
Amen
The Reverend Allen Michel
This sermon was written and delivered by The Reverend Allen Michel at Nelson Cathedral, 6 July, 2008
