“Welcome the Outcast”
October 30, 2016
Margie Miller
Luke 19: 1-10
Zacchaeus
the Tax Collector
19 Jesus
entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by
the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He
wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the
crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see
him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached
the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I
must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and
welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw
this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood
up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my
possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will
pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of
Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the
lost.”
This
passage is best understood by viewing its content in the overall context. To understand the background information helps
us interpret the meaning of the passage and is a description of the Jewish tax
collectors, with whom Jesus was speaking and teaching when interrupted by the
grumbling and complaining of the Pharisees concerning these men.
Tax
collectors mentioned in the context were employed by the Roman government. They
were wealthy men, usually Jewish, who contracted with the Roman government to
be responsible for the taxes of a particular district of the imperial Roman
state. These tax collectors would often
be backed by military force.
By
sharp contrast, the tax collectors to which the New Testament refers were
employed by the Romans to do the actual collecting of monies in the restricted
areas where they lived. These men
were Jews, very wealthy, who could be seen in the Temple. And they were undoubtedly familiar to the
people from whom they collected taxes.
These
tax collectors gathered several different types of taxes. Rome levied upon the Jews a land tax, a poll
tax, even a tax for the operation of the Temple. The distinctions between the kinds of rule,
which a given province received, dictated what type of taxes its people had to
pay. Some provinces, like Galilee, were
not under an imposing form of government and therefore the taxes collected
stayed in the province, instead of being forwarded to the royal treasury at
Rome.
The
tax collectors were despised by their fellow Jews, especially the Pharisees and
scribes, whose pockets were frequently pinched because they owned land. Tax collectors were castigated by them as
“especially wicked sinners.. probably because they were allowed to
gather more than the government required and then to pocket the excess
amount. John the Baptist dealt with this
issue when he urged tax collectors to gather no more money than they should
(Luke 3:12-13). Also, tax collectors
were hated because their fellow countrymen viewed them as a para-government,
private militia, working for Rome, whom they considered to be foreign oppressor
of the Jewish people.
Jesus,
however, set a new precedent among the Jews by accepting and associating with
the tax collectors. He ate with them
(Mark 2:16), showed them mercy and compassion (Luke 19:9), and he even chose a
tax collector (Matthew) as one of His twelve disciples (Matthew 9:9). Jesus fellowshipped impartially with the tax
collectors, and he contrasted their willingness to repent of their sins to the
arrogance and pompous attitudes of the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes.
This scripture, the
story of Zacchaeus, and is one of the many stories that speak to the mission
Jesus proclaimed….welcoming what were considered “outsiders”. In Luke 4: 18 –
19, the central theme is that Jesus is the one who is sent to express God’s
salvation for all people. And the storyteller of Luke was not speaking
of an “otherworld” salvation. He was talking about salvaging and saving people
on the earth at the time of Jesus and in his culture. Jesus’ mission was
directed to the poor, women, sick people and all other “outsiders” who needed
to hear about God’s love and acceptance of them.
In this experience, we see that Jesus is
focusing on one who is an outcast among his own people….a hated tax collector.
It is a story that focuses on and reflects one of our church’s enduring
principles: “Worth of All Persons”, In this story, redemption and salvation
transform the life of Zacchaeus and release in him a radical generosity for the
welfare of others.
As the chief tax
collector Zacchaeus was likely one of the most despised people in the village. He
was despised because he profited by collecting taxes from the Jews for the
Roman government. Jews who worked for the invaders, the occupying Romans, were
viewed as traitors. Tax collectors often took advantage of the citizenry in
ways that had a crushing impact on their lives and continued the cycle of
poverty because they added taxes to the basic Roman tax to line their own
pockets.
In his enthusiasm to
meet Jesus, Zacchaeus put his self-image at risk as he ran ahead of the crowd
and climbed a tree. In that culture, grown men did not run or climb trees. So why
was he willing to make a spectacle of himself?
Zacchaeus was obviously
yearning for something more in his life than what he had. He had to be lonely
and isolated. The story reached a critical point of tension when both Zacchaeus
and Jesus made themselves vulnerable to one other when Jesus made a public
statement that he would go to Zacchaeus’ home. Everyone there must have gasped!
That was a powerful moment when once again Jesus himself lived his mission as
he engaged in a relationship with one who was considered a sinner and an
outsider.
In this expression of
love and acceptance, Zacchaeus encountered the divine redemption and grace that
Jesus reflected. The wealthy but empty life Zacchaeus lived was transformed and
a new expression of radical generosity was born. The one who contributed to
oppressing the Jews was now living generously and engaging in acts of social justice
for the poor. His life-changing discovery of a relationship with Jesus broke
open Zacchaeus’ heart and genuine generosity flowed.
The custom of providing
voluntary compensation in that culture was to return the original amount plus
20%. Compulsory compensation called for doubling the original amount. But
Zacchaeus would do more. He would return four times the original amount.
Instead of giving ten percent, Zacchaeus offers 50% of his wealth.
This story is a good
example of how Jesus’ mission made it possible for what were considered “outsiders”
to experience healing, wholeness, and a
new way of belonging. The story challenges the social mindset that having money
is what makes one happy, or is a sign of success. What makes one happy is all about
feeling God’s grace and acceptance, through the actions of loving people… which,
in turn… makes it possible for all “outsiders” to discover their fullest
potential in the mission of Jesus.
When we live from this
place of growing awareness of God in our lives, our generosity is released and
we can join in the mission Jesus illustrated for us. And when all people discover who they really
are and their true potential, then salvation in all of its dimensions ---in the
present life and in their social and spiritual lives… have the potential to
become real.
Justice for those who
are poor and disadvantaged was the mission Zacchaeus committed his life to… as
Jesus lived his mission into the heart of Zacchaeus.
So, how has our personal
encounter with God released in us a radical generosity that we can extend to
others? We can do much in little ways. Visiting a nursing home to bring some
sense of community into the lives of those who live there is one way some do
it. Sharing our friendship with those
who are lonely may be another. Mowing the yard of someone who is unable to do
it for themselves would be another. Sharing food or dessert with a lonely
person could be another. There are hundreds of ways to welcome what we may
think of as an “outcast” of our society.
Our congregation has
evidently decided that the mission of Jesus is the mission we want to adopt. We
often look for new ways to be servants for others. Our upcoming shoebox project
is just one, our ongoing food basket is another. Adopting a single mother and
her children at Christmas time can be another. Buying school supplies for low
income children in August is another of our projects. And those we choose to
share with are not always outcasts. Sometimes the smallest generosity and
acceptance is greatly appreciated.
One type of outcast we
sometimes encounter as a church is the gay member. Many people consider them to
be sinners instead of simply of a different orientation. The LDS church has considered them worthy only
of hell and their families as well. Ad Diane explained last Sunday, our World
Church has set up a group for “seekers” to welcome them into our congregations.
We are attempting to be a church to welcome the outcasts of our
day.
Our World Church is
struggling to make their budget as the membership ages and shrinks. But after
hurricane Matthew hit Haiti, they chose to send thousands of dollars to help
the people of Haiti to recover. During the 2007 flood here in Coffeyville,
right in the midst of one of the worst recessions in our history, the church
sent us several thousand dollars to help those who had been flooded out to deal
with their recovery. And sometimes the outcast is only an outcast in their own eyes. Perhaps, at times, we have been the “outcast”
ourselves.
We are a welcoming
congregation. Let us look for ways to follow Jesus’ example and welcome everyone….even
the outcast.
There are big ways we
can extend ourselves to others and there are small ways to illustrate our desire
to be even more welcoming. We only need to look around us for opportunities.
