Climbing Trees
A Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 30, 2022
The Rev. Robin Teasley
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." Luke 19:1-10
I’m curious – how many of you know this song, and if you do, please join in!
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.
And as the Savior passed that way, he looked up in the tree.
And he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!”
For I’m going to your house today; for I’m going to your house today.
This is a great scripture passage, assigned by the lectionary once every three years, but it almost always gets replaced with the lectionary readings for All Saints’ Sunday. This year we got lucky! Those of us who ever attended Sunday school or Vacation Bible School may remember this story, and we may think of it as a children’s story, but I want us to consider what this encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus might have to say to us as grown-ups. What if we consider how each part of this passage might or might not reflect our life with God.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way.
When was the last time you were desperate to see Jesus? What got in the way of seeing him? What was crowding out the holy presence? For that matter, how about now? What in our lives prevents us from seeing Jesus at work in the world? Maybe we are filled with angst about the world or lost in the crowd of cultural opinion. Perhaps our long-held assumptions about what Jesus looks like, how Jesus responds, and who Jesus really sees are being challenged. When do we confuse what the crowd is saying with what Jesus says? The saying goes, sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees, but maybe we cannot see the Tree of Life for the forest.
Have you ever climbed up high in a tree? I loved to climb trees when I was a child. I would climb the enormous magnolia in my grandmother’s back yard, which was like a sycamore in that it had large, widely spaced, horizontal branches, just made for climbing! The higher I climbed, the more removed I became from the world below. Sitting high in my lofty perch I observed the world going on beneath me. Everything below seemed smaller, less urgent; even the sounds were muted. Instead of worldly noise I heard the wind rustling in the leaves, the birds singing, and the crickets chirping. I noticed the fragrance my grandmother’s roses, and the mouth-watering aroma of the pork chops my mom was frying for dinner at our house next door. All things I might not have noticed in the busyness of life on the ground. In my leafy prayer closet I felt close to God. Both my physical and spiritual vision were expanded high up there in the magnolia tree. Later, I would come to understand that worship and prayer could accomplish this change in perspective, without my actually having to climb a tree.
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
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I wonder why Jesus would look up when he was surrounded by a noisy jostling crowd? Maybe because he knows that his children climb trees, that they get themselves in all kinds of crazy, unexpected places. Maybe it’s because Jesus always knows where the one lost sheep is to be found, knows when the sheep are seeking him.
When Jesus calls us, wants to be with us, to come into our home, do we respond as Zacchaeus did, hurrying down, happy to welcome Jesus? Or, would we be mortified to let Jesus into our houses, to have him see what a mess is inside, what things have been left undone, what places in our lives need straightening out, what dark corners of our hearts need some light?
All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”
The crowd can be convincing. They can lure us into much untruth. Jesus knows this, which is why he so often turns upside down the assumptions of the crowd. The Jews believed anyone who collected taxes for the Romans was a sinner. Tax collectors broke a number of Jewish laws, and many of them were indeed dishonest. It is very good news for all of us sinners that Jesus sees beyond our actions, sees what is beneath our messy lives. As followers of Jesus we are called to see in this deeper way, to see more than the labels assigned to people, to see even the sinners as children of God. We are called to climb the trees to gain a larger perspective, to notice what Jesus walks towards and what he walks away from so that we can follow him.
Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."
Zacchaeus could be the patron saint of stewards - he is the poster child for every stewardship chairman and treasurer. We should note that he is not giving a tithe, he is giving so much more. And he’s not giving because he’s expected to fill out a pledge card to the church, but because he is so filled with gratitude that it’s spilling out all around him. He’s thanking God with his generosity!
Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
These concluding words from Jesus are truly Good News. None of us is beyond the reach of Christ, none of us is unseen, unapproachable, too sinful, too removed from the crowd or too deeply imbedded in it that Christ will not find us and claim us for his own.
The next time you see a good tree, climb it! And if you are not physically able to do that, then take a few minutes to imagine yourself climbing that tree. Grab hold of the good sturdy branches and climb up until you have a good view, a higher and wider perspective of your world below. Confess to God that your vision might be too small, and ask to be shown what God would have you see, in your life, in the life of this parish, and in the world.
And then, “Zacchaeus, you come down!” Because Jesus is going to your house today.
Zacchaeus, Unknown Source, Orthodox Church in America
Title Image: Christ Calls Zacchaeus Out Of The Sycamore, 14th C Serbian Fresco
With Gratitude to Debi Thomas for helping me get up into the tree with Zacchaeus
https://www.journeywithjesus.net/essays/1156-learning-to-see
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