In which I talk about helping people see Jesus
In which I talk about helping people see Jesus
Sermon for Proper 26, 2022
Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus. There were people in his way, and he was short. No one was there to make room for him—after all, he was a chief tax-collector. He extorted money and set tax rates to line his own pockets. He was a cheat and a scoundrel, and no self-respecting person would help him. Zacchaeus had no friends in that crowd in Jericho.
But he wanted to see Jesus, to see who this man was that everyone was talking about. He wanted to be in on the news, to be included in the gossip. He wanted to see Jesus like everyone else was. Desperately he formed a plan: he ran ahead of the crowd, climbed a tree, and waited for Jesus to pass by. This was how he could see Jesus, by scheming and placing himself where no one could block his view, where no one could stand in his way, where no one could stop him from seeing Jesus.
Let’s stop and think about this for a moment. In order to see Jesus, in order to see what the good news of God is all about, Zacchaeus had to plan and plot to get around the crowd that didn’t like him, that said he wasn’t one of them, that was uncomfortable with him. There was no one to help him catch a glimpse of Jesus, no one to get him close enough to find out about Jesus. All Zacchaeus had was whispers and rumors about this wandering teacher who was changing lives. There was no one to help him find out the truth about Jesus… so he had to plot, scheme, plan just to satisfy his curiosity about Jesus.
Because people were uncomfortable with him, no one would help Zacchaeus see Jesus. Instead, they kept a barrier to keep Zacchaeus from accessing Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to keep anyone from seeing Jesus. If fact, I want to help people see Jesus without having to climb a tree. But the reality is that we erect barriers to people accessing Jesus. We may not mean to, but we do. We set up hoops and gates for people to jump through. We ask people to be more like us so that we aren’t uncomfortable. We want to stay safe; we want to stay at ease; we want to stay in control, so (often unconsciously) we set standards people need to meet before we will let them into our lives.
Economic status is a big one. We get uncomfortable with people who struggle financially. Maybe they keep asking for help, again and again, and something ingrained in us says to not give a handout. Maybe they can’t give financially to the life of the church. Maybe they don’t have anything, are without a home, and just need some community. How do we treat them?
And what about the people who don’t share our spiritual beliefs? Pagans, wiccans, atheists, Buddhists… maybe people who have no spiritual home but are simply done with church all together. It’s not only Christians that are interested in Jesus. Ever heard someone say they like Jesus, but have a problem with church? Or that they are spiritual, just not religious? Both these groups will most likely not be in the pews, but they are interested in who Jesus is and what he does. They don’t look like us, but they want to see Jesus. Do we honor that desire, or shut it down, demanding their theology be correct and their religious practice be like ours before they can see Jesus?
From political affiliation to sexual orientation to clothing to race to addiction, we seem to always be able to find a reason to keep people from standing next to us to see Jesus. The more uncomfortable we are with people, the less we want to make room for them, the less we want to help them see Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t like our barriers. Jesus doesn’t care about our uncomfort with other people. Jesus is interested in one thing: telling people they are loved and accepted.
See, when Jesus saw Zacchaeus in that tree, plotting and scheming to get around the barriers that others put up to keep him from seeing Jesus, and you know what Jesus did? Jesus invited himself into Zacchaeus’ life. He didn’t chastise the crowd. He didn’t offer to have Zacchaeus follow him. He didn’t even follow the rules of propriety and wait for an invitation. No, Jesus just waltzes onto the scene and says, “Come down from that tree, because I need to stay with you tonight.” He invites himself into Zacchaeus’ hospitality.
Jesus is already at work everywhere in the world, even in the hearts, lives, and circumstances of the people we are most uncomfortable with. Jesus is in the habit of inviting himself into people’s lives, and if we pay attention, we will see him pop up in the strangest places.
The crowd didn’t like this. They had a problem with Jesus going to Zacchaeus’ house. See, Zacchaeus was a sinner. He extorted his fellow countrymen and used his position to line his pockets with wealth. The reason Zacchaeus was shunned and friendless in that crowd was because he abused his position and hurt people, working with the empire of Rome that oppressed the Jewish people. In many ways, Zacchaeus was a traitor, siding with the enemies of the Jewish people. It’s not for no reason that he was despised and friendless.
But Jesus doesn’t care.
It’s on no concern to Jesus that Zacchaeus is a chief tax-collector. What Jesus sees is someone who wanted to see him so much that they circumvented other people’s discomfort. What Jesus sees in that tree is someone hungry for the bread of heaven, for the cup of salvation. What Jesus see is someone whose life he wants to be in.
Is that what we see when we look up and down main street? As we are taking part in the lives of our city, our state, our country, are we seeing people whose lives we want to be in? Do we see people as interesting and captivating? Or are we busy looking out for our own comfort, avoiding people and places that aren’t “us”, that are too different, that are places that make us uncomfortable? Those places we don’t think about, those places we don’t like, these are the places Jesus likes to go. Jesus invites himself into these places, makes himself at home, and loves people as they are, where they are, with no expectations or conditions.
As followers of Jesus, are we willing to actually follow Jesus into these margins?
We talk about giving time, talent, and treasure to the church. Let me gently suggest that one way we embody that giving is to involve ourselves in the lives of the people around us, inviting ourselves into their lives, and inviting them into ours. Giving to the church shouldn’t be an insular thing, giving to ourselves so we can continue with the status quo. Giving should be for reasons, and one reason is to break down the barriers we construct that keep people from seeing Jesus.
Are we investing in welcoming people? Are we giving so we can learn to do good, to seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow? Are we giving to tear down our own prejudices? Or are we content being comfortable, and in doing so becoming the very barriers to Jesus other people have to scheme to get around?
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