Out on a Limb

Luke 19:1-10

November 3, 1013

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            I’d like to begin today with a show of hands.  How many of you like to pay taxes?  How many of you in April say to yourself, “Oh goody, I get to write another check to the I.R.S., to the State of Pennsylvania, to York County, to the township, to the School District?

            If you are like me, it’s not your favorite thing, but you understand that roads do need to be built, and borders protected, and children need schools, and the elderly cared for, so you don’t mind so much doing your part.  But, then you hear another story about government waste or fraud or you discover that Congress exempts itself from some of the taxes you have to pay, or provides for itself huge subsidies for the new Affordable Healthcare Plan.  How does that make you feel?  Does it make you angry?

            As frustrating as all of that may be, it pales in comparison to the feelings people had for tax collectors in the time of Jesus.  In those days there were no complicated forms to fill out. There were no glitchy web-sites to navigate. In fact you didn’t have to figure anything out at all.  The local tax collector told you what you owed and you’d better pay up or you’re wages would be garnished, your home confiscated, or you might even be thrown into debtor’s prison.  Hiring a whiz bang tax attorney would not make any difference because there was no appeal.  There was no way to challenge the tax collector’s assessment. 

That’s the reason the Roman government did not bring in their own people, but instead hired folks from the local community because they knew everybody. They knew who was doing well and who was not.  They knew who bought a brand new donkey. They knew who just took a vacation to the Sea of Galilee because they lived there.  They were part of the community so, there was no way to shelter or hide your income and assets. And if tax collector added a little bit on the top for himself, Rome did not care as long as they got theirs.

That was Zacchaeus.  He was a hometown boy, born and raised in Jericho.  He was Bar-Mitzvaed in the local synagogue. When he was young he went swimming with his friends in the nearby Jordan River.  Growing up he had the same dreams they did: get a good job, buy a house and raise a family of his own.  

But, somehow, somewhere along the way he came to believe that if he was going to be successful he would have to do things he never thought he would do.  He would have to compromise his convictions.  He would have to go along to get along.  He learned that early on when he realized that he could get a better grade in school if he told the teacher what he thought the teacher wanted to hear.  When he started work for the government he found that he’d better do what his boss told him whether he thought it right or wrong if he wanted the next promotion.

Maybe you’ve faced the same temptation to compromise your values, following a leader you do not respect in order to get ahead; or joining in with a group gossiping about someone and you do not object because you want to be accepted and you’re afraid if you say something they might turn on you next.  Maybe you’ve always said, “Yes”, but were dying to say, “No, that’s not right.” What are you willing to do to get ahead?  How many shortcuts are you willing to take?

None of this happens overnight.  These compromises crawl into your life inch by inch, day by day, and after a while you don’t even recognize yourself anymore.  You look in the mirror and discover you’ve not become the person you always thought you’d be.  You wonder, “What happened?”

That’s where Zacchaeus was.  With every angry glare and stare he remembered, “Once he was my best friend.  We used play ball together, but now he won’t even talk to me.” Zacchaeus had more money than he ever dreamed, but he never felt more empty. He never felt more alone.  This was not how he thought his life would be.

Then he heard that Jesus was coming and everyone was excited because he had the day before healed a man born blind right.  Everyone knew this fellow so they knew the miracle was real. They wanted to see and touch and hear from this man who could make the blind see.

Now, Zacchaeus was not a tall man.  He never bumped his head on a chandelier that was hung too low in someone’s living room and said words he should not say. Hi never crammed his legs into airline seats that are too close together.  He never had to shop and the Big and Tall store.  There are some advantages to be gained when you are not 6 feet 4, but seeing over the people in front of you at a parade is not one of them.

So, he climbed the nearest Sycamore tree to see Jesus.  He did not want Jesus to pass him by.  He did not want to lose him in the crowd.

Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever thought that Jesus will only notice me if I try really hard to be good, climb really high on the ladder to success?  Jesus will only pay attention to me if I stand out from the crowd and try to be better than everyone else, rise above everyone else?

If so, you may found yourself out on a limb like Zacchaeus.  You may find discover you’ve put your weight on something that cannot hold you up.  Jesus knew that.  He knew Zacchaeus was in a precarious position in more ways than one so he said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”

Now, the best I can remember, this was the only time in the gospels Jesus used the word, “hurry”.  Typically, he was not a “hurry-up” kind of guy.  Folks like him who leave thing in the hands of God are usually a bit more patient.  They have learned to “wait upon the Lord”, but on this occasion Jesus thought Zacchaeus had spent enough time out on a limb. He had wasted enough of his life pursuing things that did not satisfy. He didn’t want him to build a tree house to become more comfortable in his self-alienated life.  He wanted him to restore his relationship with God and with his community and there was no time like the present.  He wanted him to get off that limb and come down, and he want him to do it right now.

I think Jesus wants the same thing for you.  I think he wants you to come down to the place where your feet are on the ground again.  Come down to the Savior who has come down from heaven to find you.  He wants to come and stay in your home today – not tomorrow or the next day, but today.  So, today is the day to make the choice to invite Jesus into your life and into your home.

The Bible doesn’t tell us what they talked about at lunch, but who do you think did most of the talking?  Do you think Jesus used this as an opportunity to further Zacchaeus’ theological understanding, to teach a class in Bible 101?

Or do think Zacchaeus did the talking when Jesus asked him about his children, his work, and his hopes and his dreams and his faith?

Was Jesus the great inexhaustible fountain of wisdom and Zacchaeus the audience?  Or is it possible that when you are in the presence of Christ, he asks about you?

I have a feeling that when you are in the presence of ultimate love, you are the agenda.  You are the one Jesus cares about.  Your problems matter to him, and so he listens and let you lean upon him when you’re feeling weak and weary and heavy laden.

That’s what Zacchaeus did that day.  He leaned upon Jesus and then he stood on his own two feet and looked in the mirror with clear eyes.  He recognized the life he had been living, and realized that he had been climbing the ladder of success pm on the backs of people who had done him no wrong.  And he wanted to make that right.

So, with no prompting at all by Jesus he said, “Half of my possessions Lord I will give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone (which he had) I will pay back four times as much.

Zacchaeus instinctively knew that there is a connection between the soul and the flesh, between salvation and service, between the spirit and stewardship.  He understood that if his new found faith was going to mean anything at he had to express and demonstrate that to God, to himself, and to others in the ways he used and shared his time and talent and treasure.  He more than most knew talk can be cheap so he did not want to cheapen this new relationship with Christ by continuing to live a selfish, self-alienated life.  He wanted to make a difference.

 One of my favorite Peanuts comic strips is the one that came out some years ago just a few days before Thanksgiving. Lucy's feeling sorry for herself and she laments, "My life is a drag. I'm completely fed up. I've never felt so low in my life."

Her little brother Linus tries to console her and he says, "Lucy, when you're in a mood like this, you should try to think of things you have to be thankful for; in other words, count your blessings."

To that, Lucy says, "Ha! That's a good one! I could count my blessings on one finger! I've never had anything and I never will have anything. I don't get half the breaks that other people do. Nothing ever goes right for me! And you talk about counting blessings! You talk about being thankful! What do I have to be thankful for?"

Linus says, "Well, for one thing, you have a little brother who loves you."

With that, Lucy runs and hugs little brother Linus as she cries tears of joy, and while she's hugging him tightly, Linus says, "Every now and then, I say the right thing."

You can do the same. You can reach out to people like Zacchaeus who feel cut off and out on a limb.  You can speak for Jesus and bid them come down and come here to listen and lean upon the love of God and experience his peace that passes all understanding.

O God, we too need you to redeem our past, to transform our present, and to redirect our future. Call us out of the places we sit today and show us how to be the people you would have us be. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, we pray. Amen.