Stop Hiding - A Testimony from Zacchaeus for Reformation Sunday October 30, 2022

GOSPEL: Luke 19:1-10

The holy gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, O Lord.

1[Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through it.2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “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.” 9Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

You must have lots of questions of me,

Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector.

Why did Jesus choose me?

Why did Jesus say he must have dinner at my house?

Why’d you really climb that Sycamore tree?

And, I’m sure plenty of you are still asking me

the same question you’ve been asking all these years;

How dare you?

I don’t feel like I owe any of you an explanation,

but at the same time,

something compels me to tell my story,

maybe that’s God,

maybe that’s guilt,

but here goes…

Here’s the thing - I grew up just like most of you,

a normal guy,

some called my family peasants,

but I considered myself … normal.

That is until I figured out I was small.

It never bothered me,

until the kids started making fun of me:

vertically challenged,

short in stature,

ankle biter,

I get it, I’m so short that

I climb trees just to see eye to eye,

I’m so short I’d still be be short on stilts.

I’m okay with that now,

I’m at peace with it,

but I wasn’t before.

That day Jesus came through town,

I thought about just pushing my way

to the front of the crowd,

but no one would let me,

no one would make room for me,

because they hate me.

I was born and raised in this town,

and the people hate me.

Some seem to hate me even more

ever since Jesus showed up.

I mean, he chose me -

the guy people call a sinner,

a traitor,

Roman scum.

I get it, I’m a tax collector,

okay - chief tax collector,

but I’m no Roman,

I was born and raised here like all the other Jews.

I was just trying to make something of myself,

nothing more secure than a government job.

But I was a symbol of what’s wrong with the world,

Rome conquers, colonizes

and gets us Jews to collect the taxes

that pay for their military,

that pay to keep up the occupation.

And me,

I make my living off my fellow Hebrews,

and off my fellow tax collectors.

Jesus helped me see

that my actions, my choices,

were keeping the powerful in power

at the expense of the little guy,

pardon the pun.

It’s not just the tax system that was corrupt,

I was too.

I took my wealth from the poor.

If I’m honest, that’s partly why I took the tax collecting gig.

I was tired of being small.

This way I got to be the big man,

and I didn’t care who got hurt in the process.

And, I’m sorry.

I’m really, truly sorry.

Look, I wasn’t just saying those things

because it was Jesus,

I wasn’t just trying to save face.

I meant it when I said;

“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.”

After all the harm I’ve done,

the people I’ve hurt,

further oppressed,

directly, indirectly,

I had to do something about it. 

I knew I had to change my life.

And that feeling,

I knew it was the right thing to do,

the faithful thing to do,

but, it’s like it wasn’t even my decision.

It just sort of … happened, you know?

It’s kind of like climbing that tree.

Something just came over me,

and I just had to see this Jesus

that I’d been hearing about.

I was used to climbing trees,

did it all the time as a kid.

The tree is the place where I could hide from the bully,

hide from the kids who called me the imp.

It was my safe space,

hidden in those leaves.

I admit, even after growing up,

I’d put on my brave “tax collector” face,

and then sometimes I hide in that tree

to get away from people calling me a sinner,

calling me traitor.

They say some people like to hide in a crowd,

where they can just fit in and not be noticed.

The tree is about the only place that I could fit in.

I knew what I was doing was wrong,

and sometimes I couldn’t bring myself

to look the people I hurt in the eye.

So I’d hide up there.

I could see everything,

but no one could see me…

Except Jesus.

I thought I’d get a good look at Jesus,

I never thought Jesus would get a good look at me.

I braced myself for the worst.

I mean, if the average joe would call me a traitor,

what would Jesus have to say?

Jesus didn’t just talk to me,

Jesus ate with me,

Jesus stayed at my house

chief tax collector,

chief of sinners,

little man, inside and out.

Jesus showed me another way,

and it felt so freeing.

I’d never felt more free in my life.

Jesus broke down the barriers,

Jesus got me past the crowd,

Jesus got me down the tree.

I didn’t realize it,

but I was trapped, bound, shackled,

and it’s like I was craving my chains.

I couldn’t not take more than what was fair.

I couldn’t not try and hurt others

to make up for my own … shortcomings,

pardon the pun.

I was bound to the oppressive system

and to participating in it.

But I learned that Jesus is all about reversal,

that God is about reversal.

Jesus told me about this song his mother used to sing,

My soul magnifies the Lord,

it’s beautiful,

but there’s a haunting line:

The Lord has cast the mighty down from their thrones

and lifts up the humble of heart.

The Lord fills the hungry with good things

and sends the rich away empty.

Jesus wanted to be with me,

the one they call sinner,

the one they call traitor.

hows that for reversal?

That even the rich one like me is included.

Sending the rich away empty,

can happen in a way that feeds those who are hungry.

So, as I give of what I have,

giving to the poor,

repaying those who are victims…

it’s God’s work of reversal

and I get to be a part of it!

It’s so freeing:

Jesus set me free

from participating, and benefiting

from this system that causes the poor to be poorer

and the rich to get richer.

Jesus set me from from that sin

so that I can use my freedom for common good.

Salvation came to my house

not because I did the right thing

but because Jesus called me

down from my hiding place.

I wanted to stay there,

but it was as if I was being pulled down that tree

maybe that was the Holy Spirit.

It is so tempting to climb back up that tree,

so to speak,

to see others and not be seen,

to take my place above the crowd,

to take my place to take advantage,

but I’m being freed from that.

I’m freed from being defined as a chief a tax collector,

I’m freed from being defined as one

who takes advantage of others.

Now I’m a child of Abraham,

I’m a child of God!

I’m the one that Jesus ate with,

stayed with,

with made time for …

God’s at work in me!

How can I not use what I’ve been given

to help those who need it?

I heard Jesus tell this story

about two men who went up to the temple to pray…

one a Pharisee,

the other a tax collector.

I thought: how can I possibly measure up to the Pharisee,

but it’s not about measuring up:

real good news for a short guy like me.

I used to exalt myself,

but humility is way more freeing.

I’m freed from the comparison game:

I kept comparing my short self to the tall people,

and I had to find ways

to be taller than others - so to speak.

There’s freedom in humility.

There’s freedom in praying,

“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

With Jesus,

I’m just as loved and valued as anyone else.

Salvation came to my house:

the Spirit of Jesus in me

feels like a hot bath

with new clean water every day:

the dirt and mud of this sinful world

don’t stand a chance.

The Spirit of Jesus in me

is like bread that is abundant

to satisfy my hunger,

like the choice wine that overflows my cup.

It’s like, I want to eat and drink and be merry,

but that hunger for God,

that thirst deep inside is met.

I don’t need to find my salvation out there,

to make myself seem taller out there.

I was always hungering,

I was always thirsty for more:

it didn’t matter how many extra coins

I could skim off the top for myself,

it didn’t matter how much power

I wielded over the people,

let alone the other tax collectors,

It was never enough.

Now as I share my power,

as I share my wealth,

as I share what Jesus has done for me,

I find I’m like that sheep following the Good Shepherd,

and I shall not want.

Man, I was stuck in that tree long before I climbed it,

I’ve been taking refuge in the chains I wore:

chains that oppressed others.

I was stuck,

and only hurting others,

only hurting myself.

Now… I’m free.

I don’t need to hide anymore.

Thank you, Jesus!