Zacchaeus, come down from that tree!
I an attempt to see the marvellous teacher and healer, maybe even the Messiah, Zacchaeus has got himself in a difficult place. A short man, he could not see above the crowds, so he has climbed into the upper branches of a tree. For the most part, tree climbing is something children do. I certainly climbed trees as a child. But Zacchaeus was an adult with short legs; it cannot have been easy for him to be up in that tree. (Who here would be still willing to climb a tree?) But Jesus recognizes Zacchaeus’s awkward situation, indeed, he recognizes Zacchaeus’ face and knows his story and calls him by name; he calls him down to a familiar and more comfortable situation: a request to dine at his house. There the hospitable Zacchaeus proves to be less an ogre than the crowds think; he repents of his sins and promises honesty and generosity in the future; and Jesus welcomes him into salvation. Even outcasts despised by the crowds are called to repentance and accepted into God’s Reign in Jesus Christ.
Let us look at this story in three parts.
First, Zacchaeus stuck up in the tree. Partly because of his disadvantage (being short) he has tried so hard and got himself in an awkward situation. In the short term, it is a good place to be; he can see Jesus. But he cannot spend his life in the tree; it is an awkward and vulnerable position. He needs the stability of the ground, even if many around him do not like him. Perhaps some of those he has collected taxes from hope he will fall out of the tree. One can imagine people shouting, “Climb higher, Zacchaeus!” not with a good intention.
Perhaps all of us have sometime got ourselves into an awkward and vulnerable situation, for the sake of love, but a situation that is not very tenable in the long run. We sometimes use the expression. “I’m up a tree”. Perhaps we have befriended someone and it is proving to be impossible. Or we have made a commitment that cannot be sustained. Or perhaps we have simply made too many commitments. Perhaps a relationship has simply failed. Perhaps we have gone out on a limb (another tree reference) and the limb is weak. In these situations, we hope to see Christ, directing us which way to go.
Secondly, Jesus recognizes and calls Zacchaeus. Always, Jesus recognizes and calls each one of us, particularly when we are in awkward, sinful or vulnerable situations, especially trying to see him. When we are in ill health or under great family pressures, when finances are not good, when our spiritual life seems especially dry, when we find ourselves in trouble one way or another, God knows and calls us through Christ.
How do we hear? Through prayer, through the counsel and friendship of others, through reading the Bible, through the example of the saints, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Counsellor, mediated through the church and, indeed, through good people whatever their faith. The call is often away from extreme situations in which we might hurt ourselves to (at least for the moment) a more domestic and secure situation; in the case of Zacchaeus and Jesus, coming down from the tree, eating together, and talking.
Thirdly, there is that encounter with Jesus, the meeting and the sharing. Zacchaeus offers the hospitality of his home to Jesus; probably he has had his servants make them a meal, and they talk and share. Zacchaeus offers his repentance and promises to be just and honest, giving half his income to the poor and offering to make amends to anyone he has cheated four times over, well beyond the demands of the law. Repentance, honesty and generosity is all Jesus asks, and Jesus proclaims that Zacchaeus has already come into God’s salvation.
We too are invited into a daily encounter with Christ and the questions are the same. Are we honest? Do we seek justice? How well do we share, especially with the poor and others having special needs? Our encounter is through prayer, reflection and self-examination. Zacchaeus has already done some of this reflection before he hosted Jesus at his house and offered his repentance. And Jesus praises him for it, as he praises us for our honesty and generosity. With busy-ness and other commitments, sometimes it is difficult to come into that daily encounter with Christ. But day-by-day we are called to it.
Part of that encounter must also have been reconciliation and restitution. Probably even some of Jesus’ closest followers, disciples like James and John, were not so keen about Jesus’ going into the house of one hated as much as Zacchaeus. They had to accept him and realize that Jesus was calling even the socially despised to his salvation.
Some years back in the Solomons, I came across an ecumenical church organization named Sycamore Tree Ministry. Of course, its name was based on this story. The group was engaging in a process of reconciling violent ex-militants (beginning from when they were still in prison) with their victims in the villages. After the prisoners were released, they would return to the place of their crimes, offer restitution, and be reconciled with those they had harmed. They are a programme of Prison Fellowship International that encourages this reconciliation and restitution between ex-criminals and their victims. Zacchaeus’ promise of reparations must also be ours. And a willingness to be reconciled to those who have harmed us.
In our story of Jesus and Zacchaeus, what happens next? Like so many of the Gospel stories, we are left a bit up in the air. Zacchaeus’ promise of honesty and generosity has been recognized by Christ and Zacchaeus incorporated into divine salvation. Zacchaeus has had tremendous encouragement and I think it is likely he became one of the band of Jesus’ followers. Many of his old clients must have come forward and accused him of fraud; true to his word, he would have provided restitution, for times over. Perhaps, like Matthew, he gave up tax collecting and became a disciple. (The story of Matthew is the prototype of the story of Zacchaeus.) Or perhaps he simply continued about his business, now aware of Jesus’ demands for honesty, justice and generosity. But surely he was among those who stood nearby as Jesus was crucified, weeping with sorrow. Perhaps he experienced the resurrected Christ also.
But we may complain, it was easy for Zacchaeus, he was a rich man. However, we are all called by Jesus into conversation and the resolution of our messy lives, whether we are rich or poor. Jesus calls us all into his all-embracing love, not through miracles coming out of the sky but through conversation, acceptance of the help and support of others, and the resolution and actions to change our ways. We are called from the ad hoc of “being up a tree” to the stability of life in Christ, from which we can then take the risks of ministry.
Whatever happened to Zacchaeus, his story stands to remind us that Christ knows us and is ever calling us, all of us, no matter our circumstances, to a better and happier life, to a life that is rooted and grounded in Christ, one that has as its fruits generosity, honesty, love and justice. Thanks be to God.
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