Luke 19:1-10
“To See and Be Seen”
November 3, 2019
It was in the cereal aisle of the old Grand Union in Bennington which is now Tractor Supply on a warm summer day. I was pushing our one year old daughter Selene in the cart and trying to keep her entertained while checking items off my shopping list after I added them to the growing pile of supplies. Just as I was turning the corner of the aisle, I spotted him. For a minute I was thrown because he was wearing a button down white shirt and Jodhpur pants and boots that indicated he had probably just been riding a horse and his hair was flecked with gray. As I continued watching him, I noticed the whispering going on around me – “Hey, it’s Superman…Look there’s Christopher Reeve. People were going up to total strangers and telling them that the 6 foot 4 inch star of stage and screen who was known to own a home down in Williamstown and performed often in plays there for over 30 plus years, was carrying a half gallon of milk and a box of cereal and making his way to the cash register. Watching from a safe distance, I noticed the young teenaged cashier quickly rang up his items and told him the total owed. She was oblivious to who he was as well as the murmuring going on by almost everyone else in the store. He then took his bag and his change, said “Thanks” and headed to the parking lot while the rest of us watched in stunned amazement.
To be watched is not to be seen. The crowd that is jostling for a view of Jesus – was it so that they could say they had seen the guy everyone was talking about with their own two eyes, that they were there, close enough to greatness to reach out and touch him? Or was it because they wanted to find out if all the stories were true and thought maybe they might get to see him in action restoring a blind man’s sight or healing a sick child? Or were they looking for something more?
Amid all of this excitement, we have Zacchaeus, who I picture as a short squat man with probably some serious self-esteem issues in light of both his diminutive height and the wealth that he has acquired from being in charge of all of those men who are getting taxes from their fellow Jews. The Romans back then would hire local Jewish men to do the business of collecting taxes, tariffs and fees and the way it worked is that the Roman leaders would get their money up front from the chief tax collector like Zacchaeus and then it would be up to Zacchaeus and his team to recoup their money and make a profit through it all. The fact that they hit the people up for every cent they could get away with only makes his neighbors despise him more.
First, we can imagine him bobbing up and down on the ground, trying to see around the taller men and maybe even women who are blocking his view. Picture him shimmying up a sycamore tree which is a fairly low tree, huffing and puffing since he probably hasn’t climbed a tree since he was a kid – all for a glimpse of Jesus. This would be comical and even a bit pathetic – were it not for Jesus’ response. Jesus takes a chance on Zacchaeus, a calculated risk, and invites himself to dinner at Zacchaeus’ house. “Hey, why does the rich guy get to eat with Jesus?” they’re all asking. Once again Jesus is throwing himself in with the sorriest of folks. Isn’t Jesus risking losing all of the good and upright citizens, the honest tax payers, the ones who follow all of the rules, by aligning himself with this obviously dishonest person who has gotten rich off the backs of his fellow Jews? Why would he take the chance of siding with the rich? Wasn’t Jesus, not so long ago, sharing parables that warned against the rich farmer building bigger barns in which to store his crops? Right before this he had just finished telling the rich ruler to sell all of his stuff and give his money to the poor. What does Jesus see in Zacchaeus that is worth taking a chance on?
What Jesus sees is more and better than the world sees. Jesus recognizes him as a son of Abraham. He gives him legitimacy by this act of noticing not his weaknesses or his greed or his collusion with the powerful Roman authorities. Some Bibles and scholars interpret the tense of the words “give away” as in half of his wealth and “payback” as in those being defrauded, as something he will do while many are like the version I read this morning which says that Zacchaeus is already sharing his money. Jesus sees him as a beloved child of God who either has been doing the generous thing all along or is about to become a better human being. Jesus is bringing out Zacchaeus’ better self by truly seeing him and treating him as worthy of respect.
How often do we seek out the best in folks first and put the judging aside when we encounter a new person whom the rest of the world has already decided is bad? Incarnation – the God within each of us – is a nice theory that we’re happy to apply to our own friends and family and folks we like but how about the person who most gets on our nerves or who supports a public figure we don’t like or even someone who has hurt us? Are we able to keep looking for the good, sometimes having to push through the ugly stuff to find it? Are we able to take the high road when so often the atmosphere is filled with gutter talk in reference to fellow human beings?
Jesus sees Zacchaeus in a way that ushers in salvation. The writer C.S. Lewis had a powerful perspective, singling out the extraordinary in people as being how Jesus views everyone. He points out that, which part of each person – the commendable or the regrettable – we choose to respond to in a person has the power to transform them into their better selves. It is the embodiment of the story that a Cherokee chief was said to have shared with his grandson about life, and comparing the fight going on within him as being between two wolves:
One is evil, he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
The other is good, he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too” he says.
His grandson then asks, “Which wolf will win?”
The old chief simply replied, “The one you feed.”
In seeking out the good in each other we may see what Jesus saw in Zacchaeus in spite of all those around who despised him. God saw much more in Zacchaeus than he saw in himself and certainly more than what his neighbors saw. Are we feeding, with our judgments, the good or evil we know is within everyone?
We’re about to eat at a table that is open to all because none of us is the worst thing we’ve ever done in our lives. This table is intended to be the welcome table that offers a glimpse of the Kingdom of God that we are working toward, the place where we are all seen and known and loved. Your place setting and mine and the one for every other person is ready. There’s always room for more. Let us be on the lookout for the better angels in each other. Amen.