“A CHANCE ENCOUNTER”
“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
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.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house as this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
– Luke 19:1-10
The tax man cometh. Well at least Luke wrote he runneth down the street and climbed up a tree because he heard Jesus cometh. So much for the King James version language. Jesus comes all by himself without an invitation and in fact according to St. Luke’s good news… it was Jesus who came with the invitation. When was the last time a total stranger walked up to you and invited themself to dinner?
This is such a wonderful story… one full of detail and a holy surprise? Isn’t God good? All the time? Offering up one surprise after another to show how much each of us is loved? Yes! All the time… God IS good! Faith matters.
Zaccheaus here is not running for mayor of Jericho. In fact, as the ‘chief’ tax collector or the Roman IRS most folks know of his ilk and try to avoid him at all costs. Pun intended. He’s puny in stature and has skimmed off as much of the tax over time that St. Luke writes he is a wealthy man. Most folks are put off by the rich and everyone hates a cheater. Yet… enter Jesus… who calls Zaccheaus by name and while the whole crowd looks on to wait for Jesus to give him the ‘come to Jesus’ speech… telling him to ‘repent’ and to turn his life around… what the people get is Jesus sharing an act of kindness and tells the saw-offed town’s thief he’d like to have dinner… at… HIS… house. O my. When the crowd wanted revenge… Jesus offered grace and Zaccheaus a second chance. Chance taken. Whoah! Keep reading.
Of all the details … a sycamore tree… a rich guy who was short… along with a grumbling crowd… St. Luke sadly leaves out the details of the conversation Jesus had with Zaccheaus over dinner. It’s just not there… but you know Jesus was accused of eating and drinking with sinners and tax collectors so when it comes to having a conversation with Zaccheaus this was not new to Jesus… and what we do know is that when it was all said and done… Jesus inviting himself to Zaccheaus’ house and whatever words he spoke… changed a life. He said he’d be more honest in his practice and give back to all the people who he may have cheated. Maybe he even meant it! Again, another detail Luke omitted.
But, in the end Jesus made this loud proclamation… that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house… after all Jesus is the face of God’s salvation and when it came… it came in an instant… faster than Zaccheaus could climb out of the tree. And not only that… he reminded everyone else that all happened because he came to seek and save the lost. Whoah. 2.0
Around the world… Holy Week begins this Sunday… when the Christian Church recalls the last days of Jesus from his entry into Jerusalem to sharing his last supper with his friends to his arrest and crucifixion and finally Jesus being raised from the dead on that first Easter…
So… if you feel like you are up a tree and need a place to go… check out a local church to attend. It may be the chance encounter you need…
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at https://briangigee.wordpress.com/. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
