Peace

Peace

Saturday 29 October 2016

Called from a Tree.



Jesus, the traveling preacher is coming to town. It’s general admission, so people have begun setting up tents, putting out their chairs and blankets. Families are sharing picnic food. It’s turning out to be a big crowd. It seems that maybe Zacchaeus couldn’t get off work, or maybe his kids were sick, or maybe his wife thought he was out of his mind to join the mob scene just to see a rabbi.

And so he sneaks out of work early and slides through the crowd; it looks like people are going to stand to see better and Zacchaeus is . . . well, he’s short. Just like me and many others this man was short. And so what does a short person do? He/she climbs a tree. And then Jesus spots him— the crowd bustling with excitement, Zacchaeus can see the teacher making his way toward his tree. Zacchaeus’s brain is spinning — “Did he just look at me? No way.” And wouldn’t you know it, Jesus stops right at Zacchaeus’s tree.

Jesus calls him out of the tree and invites himself over to Zacchaeus’ house. I don’t know about you, but when someone is coming to my home I do a few things: clean a bathroom, wipe the benches, pick up the clutter. I get down a nice bottle of wine from the rack. I plan and cook what I hope is a nice meal. I prepare. But there was no time for that. Zacchaeus just shows up with Jesus. It says nothing of household or family. Can you imagine their faces when he shows up with the famous teacher . . . for dinner? The text says his life was turned around. Of course it was— Jesus saw Zacchaeus’s home . . . unedited.


People love to hate a rich man but revile even more a generous fool. If Zacchaeus ever cared what people thought about him, he could not have got wealthy, climbed a tree, or paid restitution for fraud. This seems to be the requirements for a President but I wonder if the candidates could or would turn their life’s around to what Jesus calls us. The name Zacchaeus means “pure.” Despite a life of corruption, something in him remained pure in his deepest heart, making him ripe for plucking when Jesus encountered him in the sycamore tree.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Or be seen by God. If love triumphs, the heart laughs in peace. “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Imagine the bureaucratic nightmare of false claims, accusations, old stories stirred up by cashing in on Zacchaeus’ radicalisation.

Maybe Zacchaeus disappears from Jericho the very next morning, leaving the reconciling of debts to a well-paid aide. Perhaps a short, clever man is among the disciples fifty days after that Passover, and he, too, appears drunk with the Holy Spirit. Who knows? Perhaps short slightly clever people still exist and need to look at the stewardship and wise use of their resources in this age. Or maybe, even though they are not short, people need to look at the stewardship and wise use of their resources now and act on that. 

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