Reading 1 Wis 11:22-12:2
Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people’s sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!
Reading 2 2 Thes 1:11-2:2
Brothers and sisters:
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask you, brothers and sisters,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our assembling with him,
not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed
either by a “spirit,” or by an oral statement,
or by a letter allegedly from us
to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.
Gospel Lk 19:1-10
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”
INTRODUCTION
The story narrates the encounter between Zacchaeus and Jesus. The encounter between the tax gatherer and the sin-gatherer, the meeting between a searching sinner and a seeking saviour.
The details of the story are so rich. I will try and explore just a bit of it, I shall need at least a week if I really want to touch on very vital messages in the text.
THE MAN NAMED ZACCHAEUS
We are told that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and so he was very rich. He was also a short man both in physical height and in moral height. Zacchaeus was an outcast by virtue of his job. He was unable to join in the temple worship or associate freely with his country-men. He was a disgrace to his family and a disappointment to his nation.
So we can infer that he was a rich but unhappy man.
ZACCHAEUS WANTED TO SEE JESUS
Zacchaeus heard about Jesus, a miracle worker, possibly the Messiah, he probably have heard about how Jesus transformed the life of a colleague and friend named Matthew, Zacchaeus wanted to see what Jesus looked like.
He was prepared to do anything to see Jesus, he risked being attacked and beaten by the crowd who hated tax collectors, he will not allow his defect to be an obstacle, he became like a little child, sounds like what Jesus was saying in Matthew 18:3-4. He climbed a sycamore tree, not minding what people will say, he humbled himself or do I say he exalted himself by humbling himself to climb a tree.
DETERMINATION OVER LIMITATIONS
Let me pause here and say this. Some of us have visions, goals and aspirations in life. Unfortunately, we are unable to realise it because we are not determined enough, we gave up in the face of opposition, we are not determined enough to surmount obstacles. We allow our defects, weaknesses and limitations to force us to bow and give up.
Many people have ruined their destinies and purpose in life, many are living fake and miserable lives today because they cared more than they should about what people will say or think of them. Zacchaeus is preaching to someone here and now. When you give up you lose, when you listen to wrong voices, you can never get to where you should be.
HERE COMES JESUS…
Even though so many persons from all walks of life were following Jesus, he parted the sea of spectators to get to the sycamore tree. Can you see Zacchaeus? Imagine how nervous he must have been to see Jesus coming towards him. He was hiding in a tree possibly wearing a green- colour robe, the colour of sycamore leaves, he only came to look and see what happened. Jesus stopped, looked very well at the one who came to look and like a king and a friend, he called Zacchaeus…”Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.”
Honestly, if I was Zacchaeus, I would have fallen from that tree and broken my head, an ambulance would have carried me to hospital, maybe Jesus would have to follow me to the hospital that day.
Wait a minute, how did he even know Zacchaeus was there?
Psalm 139 says “O Lord, you searched me and you know, ² you know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.”
How did he know Zacchaeus’ name? Psalm 147:4 says “He fixed the number of the stars, he gives to all of them their names.”
Jesus knows us, he even knows what no one else knows about us. He knows our names before our parents were even born.
WHY THE HOME OF ZACCHAEUS?
Of all the people, why will he choose to dine and pass the night in the house of Zacchaeus? A man rejected by society? Why will the son of God go into the house of an outcast?
No wonder people murmured when they saw him going with Zacchaeus. The criticism became louder when Jesus removed his outer garment and hung it, dropped his bag in the guest room, had a shower, nibbled on peanut, while he balanced well and waited for the main meal. It became clear that he was going to pass the night in the home of a rejected sinner.
This is the message, people may not want to associate with you, people may have rejected you or despised you, you might have disappointed yourself, your family and even your God innumerable times but hear this word- God still loves you, yes, He does. The first reading says “yes, you love all that exists, you hold nothing of what you have made in abhorrence.”
SALVATION IN THE HOME OF ZACCHAEUS
Note what happened in the house of Zacchaeus. Jesus did not condemn him (John 3:17), no accusation, no blame, no auditing of his account. Jesus only asked to stay in Zacchaeus’ house, Zacchaeus brought him in to the house as it was, no time to arrange his room, to fold the blanket on the couch, to hoover and spray air freshener.
Jesus came in as a humble guest but guess what- any home or heart that opens itself for Jesus will never remain the same. That day, something changed in Zacchaeus. For the first time he experienced joy, he experienced light, he experienced true love.
Zacchaeus stood up, something has changed in his life, joy has come into his home and his life, peace has come, something greater than wealth has come. Yes, he stood up and made an open declaration to give half of his property to the poor, to pay back in four-fold whatever he has stolen, what then will be left for him?
Do you understand what is going on here? Zacchaeus does not care about wealth again. He has found the true wealth (read Phil 3:7).
THE RESTORATION/ THE AMAZING GRACE
A transformation is taking place here, a camel is passing through the eye of a needle, a professional thief has become an instant philanthropist, a man who spent his life taking now wants to give, an outcast is being brought back into the family of Abraham. Zacchaeus is being restored.
It may interest you to know that the name Zacchaeus is from Greek Ζακχαιος (Zakchaios) which means pure or righteous, today he is being restored to righteousness, to the true meaning of his name. This is a story of grace and restoration.
THE ZACCHAEUS LISTENING TO ME
You may be in this church today, like Zacchaeus you are also looking at Jesus from afar but no relationship, may be they even begged/persuaded you to come today, or are you someone despised and rejected, broken and grief-stricken, disappointed in yourself and feeling like a disappointment to others, maybe you are someone in need of true joy and purpose in life. Maybe you are dissatisfied with the life you have been living before now.
I have news for you. Jesus is looking for you too. The first question God asked man in the bible is “where are you?” (Gen 3:9). God is asking someone today “where are you?” He is looking for you, it is time to come down from the “sycamore” of life, Jesus wants to give you life, he wants to restore you, Jesus wants to clean you up and give you a place in his kingdom. He wants to do in our lives what he did for Zacchaeus.
The call is very urgent, 2 Corinthians 6:2 says today is the day of salvation, Hebrews 13:15 “if today, you hear his voice, harden not your heart.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami on November 3, 2019