Musical Prelude and Service

Luke 19:1-10
In the past I have taken a slightly different approach to reading this passage of scripture.
I have noted that Zacchaeus never acknowledges actually cheating the townsfolk of Jericho. He says,
“If I have cheated anyone . . .
If we approach this story from the idea that Zacchaeus may not actually be the bad guy he is made
out to be, it becomes a tale of the community mistakenly identifying him as a sinner and Jesus seeing
past that. It becomes a story of that community being forced to reassess its assumptions of someone
in their midst.
That may still be a valid reading of the text, but I want to go in a slightly different direction.
Let’s assume Zacchaeus is everything the people of Jericho say he is. Let’s refer to the ways the tax
collector in the parable Jesus told us about last week, confessed to wronging people. He has
collaborated with the occupying forces. He profits from overtaxing people to raise money for the
empire that oppresses this community. He holds power in the name of the empire and the puppet
king. He uses that power and the threat of violence and imprisonment to rob them of money.
He may be from Jericho, but he is no longer a part of this community. Through his actions and his
attitudes and the resentment and anger of the people around him he is essentially pushed to the
side.
And then Jesus comes to town and once again everything is disrupted. Who has Jesus come to see?
Who has Jesus come to visit? Does he seek out the people who have been oppressed and exploited?
Does he approach those who have been harmed?
Not this time. At least not directly.
He addresses the man who has been blocked from approaching Jesus. He calls out for the man who
is kept to the outside; the one who has been identified as a sinner and not worthy of being part of
the community. Someone the good people of Jericho have declared is not worthy of Jesus’ time.
And in this moment the story of Zacchaeus becomes about penance and reparations. Of returning
what is stolen.
When we welcome Jesus in. When we open the door to Jesus. When he comes knocking, we are
changed. We are transformed and we return what we have to the community.
Today’s service is one when we take time to express gratitude. We have marked today as Thank
Offering Sunday. It is a chance for us as a congregation to thank one another; for me to thank you
for your presence; for your contributions and for your generosity. It is a chance for us as a
congregation to offer our thanks to one another and us to also express our gratitude to God for all
our blessings. The blessing of this church; for the support and comfort offered by the Grace United
community of faith, and for the way this congregation is an important part of the wider community of
Dunnville.
The idea that our blessings are provided so that we may be a blessing to others is one I first
expressed a few years ago. That as we are blessed, so we are called to be a blessing for others.
We share, we care, and we do so with the resources that we have.
Zacchaeus has found himself a very wealthy man. He collects money from everyone else in Jericho
and he is rich as a result. But in doing so, he is now despised by that community. In visiting him and
eating with him, Jesus sets Zacchaeus on a path to restoring his place in his community.
But Zacchaeus must now continue that journey. If Zacchaeus is grateful for what Jesus has offered
him, he is now responsible for how he acts going forward. What he does with his wealth; wealth
earned on the backs of his neighbours and others in Jericho will determine his place in that
community going forward.
Last week I noted that we are more than our worst decisions and our worst actions. Jesus sees us as
being far more than those actions, and choices that all too often define us for the rest of the world.
We can point to people who have been defined by the evil they have perpetrated on the world.
In a great many instances, there is no indication of repentance on their part. How are we expected to
see beyond that?
I am sorry to say I don’t have an easy answer for that question. What I am convinced of, is that
Jesus does see past the actions or inactions of all people to see the humanity of everyone.
And we are called to follow Jesus. Jesus looks up into a tree to see a small man who has betrayed
and exploited his community. A man being excluded and blocked from approaching him. And Jesus
invites himself to his home and in doing so open a path to Zacchaeus being restored to his
community and that community experiencing true healing.
We are part of a community. We are part of a community because of the work of Jesus. We are
grateful for that work and for the presence of Jesus; even when it disrupts our lives and the way we
see the world. We participate in that community and we have responsibilities to that community.
But we are told by Jesus that we do not get to decide who is in and who is out. We are told to
celebrate the presence of all who are around the table. We are not the bouncers at the gate but
hosts who make room for those who show up.

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789