The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost (October 31, 2004)
Luke 19:1-10
He entered Jericho and was going through the town and suddenly a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He kept trying to see which Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at your house today.’ And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. ‘He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house,’ they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man has come to seek out and save what was lost.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
Zacchaeus (ironically, the name means "the just") was the man to whom the Romans had turned to extract all of their financial burden from the people of one of the most prosperous cities in Judaea. This was among the original uses of "outsourcing."
Zacchaeus, in turn, would hand out jobs as he saw fit to individual collectors who would keep some (or a lot) of the revenue for themselves as their pay, delivering the rest to their employer. Zacchaeus would then keep his share and send the remainder to the Romans. Fraud, greed, corruption, and theft were rampant in this system. Consequently, as a Jew who had sold out to the conquering and oppressive occupiers, Zacchaeus was a hated man.
And a brave one, to wander into the crowd to see Jesus, in whom he hoped he could repair his life and his lifestyle. The crowd would have delighted in pushing, shoving, kneeing, and elbowing this diminutive criminal, and took special glee in keeping him from seeing Jesus. Not to be outdone, he climbed a tree to watch.
Jesus, who presumably had never met him, called him by name, and then invited him down from the tree. In he manner of kings, he announced to Zacchaeus that He would stay at Zacchaeus' house. Everyone, probably including His disciples, groaned and grumbled at Jesus' mixing with this sinner-supreme.
In response to grace, Zacchaeus announces that he is making far more restitution than is required by law -- four times as much, in fact -- and will give half of his goods to the poor.
A Reflection
Jesus' words about His coming to the lost are telling. When we say something is "lost," we are speaking of something that is not where we think it is supposed to be. That is exactly the word that Jesus used. And he's describing all of us, as well. We are not where we are supposed to be in relation with God; at least I am not, and without being judgmental, I have to observe that objective evidence indicates that the rest of us are at least a bit removed from perfection.
We are given opportunities all the time to answer "Yes!" when Jesus asks us for something: feed the hungry, for example. When he asks and we dodge the question, or pretend we're not there, are we not "lost"?
Instead of climbing a tree and standing out so He can't miss us, do we hide behind busy-ness? Do we "get involved" in our jobs, our home maintenance, our sports, our hobbies? If I had a set of car keys that was always walking off by itself, that was never where I left it, what would I do?
Thankfully, Jesus never lets us get that far away that He can't see us, as hard as we try to get so far from Him that we can't see Him.
What is our response to His continual outpouring of Grace?
The Collect
Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
3:43:40 PM 
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