Psalm 119:137-144 (NIV)
Righteous are you, O LORD,
and your laws are right.
138The statutes you have laid down are righteous;
they are fully trustworthy.
139My zeal wears me out,
for my enemies ignore your words.
140Your promises have been thoroughly tested,
and your servant loves them.
141Though I am lowly and despised,
I do not forget your precepts.
142Your righteousness is everlasting
and your law is true.
143Trouble and distress have come upon me,
but your commands are my delight.
144Your statutes are forever right;
give me understanding that I may live.
Luke 19:1-10 (NIV)
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "
8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
9Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
- - - 0 - - -There are a couple of things we need to look at in this short parable. First of all, Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Christ often used tax collectors to make a point. Even one of His disciples was a former tax collector. In Jesus’ time, “tax collectors” appeared high on everyone’s “most hated” list.
The Roman’s simply assessed the tax collector a fixed amount for his territory. He, in turn, had the job of raising the money—with enough left over to make it a profitable business for himself. This was, in effect, a license to practice greed and injustice. The more taxes collected, the higher the tax collector’s profits.
Gangster-type methods of collection were not uncommon. For these reasons, a tax collector was regarded not only as an extortionist but also as a traitorous person who had “sold out” to the Roman oppressor.
Now, not only was Zacchaeus a tax collector, he was the chief tax collector. Nobody, but nobody wanted to be around him. He was excluded from everything the Jews would do. He was shunned and despised. Everyone would ignore him and try to keep him out of their circle of friends.
In addition to being a tax collector, Zacchaeus was short and could not get through the crowds that surrounded Jesus. I can imagine this short little man trying to jump high enough to see this Jesus that he surely had heard so much about; running back and forth on the fringes of the crowd trying to find an opening and get in where he could see this man. And I can imagine the crowd, pushing this short little man out of the way and tightening their circle to exclude this hated, little shrimp.
And I can imagine how Zacchaeus must have felt. Most of us have felt left out at one time or another. Most of us have felt like misfits or outcasts sometime in our life. We have felt that we didn’t belong. We have looked at others that are considered insiders, who know the ropes; those that are members of a certain club or group, and we have felt left out. We have been excluded.
One way we respond to being left out is to form our own club or join one that will have us. That way we can have at least one place where we are the insider and others are excluded. Our clubs can be formal or informal. They can be political or social, cultural or economic. They can just be a group of like-minded people who get together once and a while to have a few drinks. The importance of our clubs is that we are members and we can exclude others. There is our power. We belong, but those others do not. Our identity or worth is measured by being able to exclude others.
Zacchaeus was an outsider and no one was going to let him be part of this little club of people that surrounded Jesus. He, above all others, was going to be excluded. And it would have been understandable if Zacchaeus just gave up and walked away. But he was determined. He wanted to see this teacher. So he ran ahead of the crowd. He figured out where Jesus was going and ran ahead until he found a tree. Then he climbed up the tree and waited.
When I read this story, I had to wonder about our churches. Today there are many churches that function just like clubs. We are a close-knit group of people that think we are just a little better than the average citizen. We are the insiders. We know the ropes. And we are quick to exclude anyone that we believe does not fit. I wonder how many people we have forced to climb trees just to get a glimpse of what God may be doing in our church?
I have heard of many churches where people visit and are given the cold shoulder just because they are new to this exclusive club. After all, they don't know who we are or what we may have done. I have heard of and seen many churches where poor people are shunned and discouraged. After all, they would not be able to put very much if anything in the collection plate. They could put a strain on the church finances.
I have heard of and have seen churches where people from different racial or ethnic groups are ignored or even harassed in hopes that they will go away. I have heard of and have seen churches where someone in the congregation knows a new visitor to the church and knows about their sinful ways. The word spreads like wildfire through the rest of the congregation and these new people are pushed outside the tight circle of Christian worshippers. They surely do not belong. After all, our church is certainly not a place for drunkards, drug users, prostitutes and thieves and certainly not tax collectors.
I have even heard of churches where children are discouraged from attending because they can be an interruption to the normal church service. This is our club and we don’t need anyone messing around with our routines and beliefs.
But in this Scripture, we see Zacchaeus, an outcast and misfit, trying to see Jesus. He tried breaking through the crowd and that didn’t work so he settled for the next best thing. He climbed a tree just to get a glimpse of this person that was making quite a commotion everywhere he went. And Zacchaeus waited.
Then we see Jesus stop and look up. He called Zacchaeus down from the tree and invited himself to this tax collector’s home. Can you imagine what must have been going through Zacchaeus’ mind? Here he was excluded from this exclusive club only to be called down by the leader of the group. I can hear what must have been happening in the mind of Zacchaeus. "I hope the house is tidy and neat. I hope my wife has something wonderful planned for dinner. I hope the extra bed has clean linens. I hope the grass is cut and the trash has been taken out and the table is cleared and . . . "
So he climbed down from the tree and the crowd must have been dumbstruck. They began to moan and groan and point out that this man, above most others, was a sinner and an evil man. Why would Jesus want to spend any time with him? Kind of sounds like us sometimes doesn’t it? When we wonder why this or that person comes to our church. After all, we know they are not getting anything out of being here.
And then in verse: 8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
Here and now, Zacchaeus said. Here and now, I confess that I have done wrong. Here and now, I repent of what I have done. Here and now I will atone for what I have done. Here and now, I stand before you, Jesus and ask for a chance to right the wrongs I have done. Here and now, I welcome you into my house.
This is all that Jesus had to hear. And Christ looked at Zacchaeus and said: "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
There was no group more hated than this tax collector, but Christ accepted this man without hesitating. Christ took this misfit and outcast man and offered to go into his house. Christ opened his arms and welcomed this man into His club; a club that excludes no one; a club where all are welcome and where peace and love are shared with all equally.
And through Christ, we have been charged to do the same. We, as Christians, are to try to save those who are lost. We, as Christians, are to open our churches to the outcasts and misfits and welcome them into our sanctuaries so that they can see the face of Christ without having to climb a tree. We are to open our circle and make a clear path for those people to pass through and not block the way.
I have had the pleasure of talking with Pastor Mike and have listened to his prayers. He is a man who communicates with God. I know he wants a church that is open to all who would like to enter. And I have seen other churches that try to keep the path to the sanctuary open and clear of any obstacle. My home church desperately tries to keep open doors. But in any church, there always seems to be someone who tries to block certain groups, maybe not in a way that gets in your face and says get out, but more subtly. There always seems to be someone that will whisper his or her dissatisfaction with one group or another or pull back the hand of friendship or turn and walk away without trying to offer a kind or welcoming word.
I said before that there are churches that believe the sanctuary is not the place for drunkards, drug users, prostitutes and thieves. We have trouble looking past the things these people do and feel reluctant to get involved with them. We feel uncomfortable. Maybe because they remind us of where we once were. Maybe because we feel they will be a bad influence on our children or us. Maybe because we just don’t know what to do with them or how to interact.
We have a fairly young couple that began to attend my home church a few months ago. The man had been a heavy drug user and still has some trouble with alcohol. He has been welcomed by some in our church and shunned by others. I have witnessed this couple trying to set their lives on the right path. I have watched them grow in Christ and try to do the right things. They have acknowledged their sins and have asked for forgiveness. I know Christ has forgiven them, but some in our congregation have not. They attend church regularly and have started attending Bible study. They bring their children. They are poor and have no money. They put little or nothing in the church collection plate which some in our church have been quick to point out.
Through drugs this man got into debt with the wrong people. Now, every payday, he has to make a payment to his debtors. If he doesn’t, the very life of his family is at stake. His debtors have threatened to hurt or even kill his children if he misses a payment. He and his finance’ look over their shoulders, terrified of the smallest noise. So, every payday, he pays the debt of his sinful ways. And what is left over, goes to pay what bills he can and provide food for his family. They often have little or nothing to eat.
This family sometimes has to climb a tree in order to see above the crowd that tries to block the way. They are looked on suspiciously whenever something turns up missing in the church. Their fight to get to know Christ is a little more difficult than it is for many of us. But they persist and are growing in the Lord. Last week they brought someone new into the church; someone that the man works with. I met this new person and spoke with him for a little while. He reeked of alcohol. He looked like he had very little going for him, but he agreed to come to church because someone took the time to bug him a little. I hope we can get him back a few more times at least. But he too will have to climb the tree a couple of times. I know that.
You see the church is exactly the right place for the drunkards, the drug users, the prostitutes, the thieves and all the other misfits and outcasts. The church is their one chance to become better people. And we must remove the roadblocks and open our circle and welcome these people into our club. Christ accepted the most hated people of his time with love and compassion and forgiveness. Should we, can we do any less?
A funny thing happens when we begin to set aside our prejudices and try to accept people as people. We actually begin to feel better; better about ourselves; better about our families and friends, and better about our God. We begin to understand what forgiveness and love are really all about. Then, and only then, do we find out what it is really like to be a Christian.
Church is not a social club. Church is not an exclusive club. Church is one place to come to worship and commune with God. Whether we know it or not, we are all misfits or outcasts in one way or another. If we sat down and really took a good look at our lives, we would realize that in certain ways, we are no better than the tax collector. But Christ made the way clear. He reached out and asked us to climb down from the tree. He invited himself into our homes. Everyday we make the choice to let him enter our home or stay in the tree.
In every church across the nation, we need to cut down the trees. There should be no need for them. We need to open clear paths to our sanctuaries with no roadblocks. We need to truly have open doors, open hearts and open minds. That is the charge of the United Methodist church. That is our charge. We need to live it, not just put it in our advertisements.
May God bless this church with a steady stream of misfits and outcasts coming to your doors!
Amen.
