It’s hard to resist the lovely and moving first reading from Wisdom. Who would not feel safe and honored before the God described in the passage? This may be one of those occasions when the preacher focuses on a text from the Hebrew Scriptures. Here is an opportunity to debunk the harsh stereotype people have of the so-called “Old Testament God.”
If I were to make a list of the things I think God should not have made I would put on that list: mosquitoes, fruit flies, poisonous snakes (I just don’t like any snake!), rats, leeches and weeds. They just don’t make sense to me; what was God thinking anyway?
But today’s Wisdom reading says, unlike me, God loves everything and “loathes nothing” — not even mosquitoes. If God didn’t love something, God wouldn’t have made it. God preserves all things. And we are not just talking about mosquitoes, are we? God loves each person on death row, even mass murderers. God loves the vicious gang member in Mexico and the drug dealer on our streets and near our school playgrounds. Which doesn’t mean we don’t protect ourselves and the young.
What difference would it make in our criminal justice system and rehabilitation programs if we took the author of Wisdom seriously? Would people be warehoused in crowded prisons with minimal rehabilitation programs? Would mental health programs be underfunded? Would the food stamp program be cut while the military continues to be funded? Would the government program that monitors the environment in the Arctic be shut down during these budget debates — if we truly believed what Wisdom tells us about our God? “For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made.”
Before our all-powerful and infinite God we and all things in the universe, are like a mere “drop of morning dew.” Still, we not only count in God’s eyes, we are loved. What difference would it make today if I looked at each person and each thing, through the lens of love that God has towards us?
We can see why the reading from Wisdom was chosen to pair with today’s gospel. A tax collector would have been despised and shunned by everyone. He was a Jew who collected Roman taxes from his brother and sister Jews. Luke makes sure to tell us he was a wealthy man — more reason to despise him. His wealth came off the backs of the poor. Tax collectors had a quota assigned by the Romans. They could keep whatever extra they collected. If Zacchaeus were wealthy, then he was collecting a lot extra.
In order for Zacchaeus to catch a glimpse of Jesus he had to climb a tree. A lot of people in Jericho turned out to see Jesus that day. There must have been devout and good souls among them who would have loved to have Jesus to their home for dinner. After church services pastors usually get invited to eat at the homes of the stalwart churchgoers. Instead, Jesus deliberately chose to eat in Zacchaeus’ home. The other guests at his table wouldn’t have been the folks from the front seats in the synagogue, but Zacchaeus’ cronies. If Jesus keeps acting like this on his way to Jerusalem, he is going to get a reputation for the unsavory company he keeps. Which he already has (15:1).
At the parishes where I preach retreats I meet people like Zacchaeus who have come out searching to get a better glimpse of Jesus. These are not bad people, but like us, have parts of their lives they want Jesus to address. Or, some may have a dark side that needs forgiveness or healing. Others may want to “see Jesus” — see his presence in the midst of their struggles, or come to deeper insight into who he is and what difference he makes in their lives. Maybe they identify with Zacchaeus, who was “short in stature.” There is a smallness in their spirits which they want Jesus to touch and expand to new life.
People who come out to make a retreat have chosen that as a “tree” which they must climb to get a better glimpse of Christ. But there are other ways to see Jesus. We could put some time aside each day for prayer; take up a serious study of the Bible (“A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105); have a chat with a spiritual friend about the things of God, etc.
Whatever we choose to do, the Zacchaeus story tells us it will take some extra effort — like climbing a tree. It might even cause a little bewilderment in our friends, who think they know us but can’t account for this shift in our priorities. The fact that the crowd grumbled at Jesus’ inviting himself to dine with Zacchaeus didn’t stop him from going, or Zacchaeus from responding by changing his life.
Haven’t we done a “Zacchaeus thing” today by leaving our homes to come to church? Aren’t we gathered together to get a better glimpse of Jesus? Who knows? He may just stop at the place we are right now and give us a clearer insight to where he is in the midst of the issues and struggles that embroil us. We’ll stay in this “tree” we have chosen today — but just for a while. Then we will climb down to return to our daily lives.
To those places — family, work, school, recreation — we will bring the clearer vision we have received of Jesus at this Eucharist. We have seen him through his Word, by receiving his body and blood and by being together with other searchers who have come out to see the Lord.
Zacchaeus didn’t encounter Jesus at a shrine on a mountaintop, or on a walk among the cedars. Surely those are places where encounters with the Holy One do happen. But not this day. Zacchaeus met Jesus in his everyday world. The important aspect of the event is that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus and his responding to that desire made the meeting possible.