Luke 19:1-10 for Sunday, November 4, 2007

Translation:
(1)And, he was entering Jericho, passing through, (2) and behold there was a man called Zacchaeus and he was a tax superintendent and he was wealthy. (2)And he was always seeking to see who Jesus was and he was never able because of the crowd, since he was short. (4)Running ahead before, he went up a sycamore tree in order that he might see him because he was about to pass by. (5)And when he came upon the place, looking up, Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Hurry! Come down! For today I must stay in your house." (6)Hurrying he came down and welcomed him, rejoicing. (7)All who saw complained saying, "He lives along side sinful men" (8)But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor. And if I cheated anyone anything I will pay four times as much." (9)And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham." (10)For the Son of Man came seeking and to save those who have been lost.

Zacchaeus is known to us as the "wee little man," but in his day he was known as more of an IRS agent. Zacchaeus was a "tax superintendent." The Roman officials contracted local people to collect the prescribed taxes and tolls from the people. These contractors signed and paid the contract before collecting the taxes. Then, they hired others to collect the taxes and hopefully they would yield a profit. Obviously, if the tax collectors took a little extra on top of the prescribed tax, the profit margin was greater. So, naturally Zacchaeus was probably not a well-loved man in Jericho. Tax collectors were usually seen as dishonest people. The fact that Zacchaeus is described as "wealthy" leads us to believe he may have been more dishonest than some.

The way the Greek story reads, Zacchaeus was very eager to see who Jesus was. The Greek says that he kept on seeking out Jesus, but was never tall enough to see through the crowd. Just as Jesus is about to leave town, Zacchaeus catches a glimpse of him from a tree. In Luke, wealthy people never make out too well, and Jesus spots Zacchaeus right away. With a tone of urgency, Jesus tells Zacchaeus to come on down because he plans to stay in his home this evening. Indeed Zacchaeus rushes down the tree and rejoices as he welcomes Jesus.

In a stunning moment, Zacchaeus announces to Jesus that he will give half of his possessions to the poor and repay four times anything he cheated anyone. This is an astounding change in character! Upon meeting Jesus for just a small time, Zacchaeus is prepared to sell his possessions! It's difficult for most of us to understand (myself included) but his response is one of joy. How could Zacchaeus be happy to give away all of his things?

As it turns out, the Gospels are pretty much right about possessions--they never really make us happy. I often read No Impact Man's blog. No Impact Man is a man who lives in New York City who has decided to live "green" for a whole year. This has changed his lifestyle and the lifestyle of his family. They only buy food from a local farmer's market, they stopped eating out, don't drive or take taxis and they agreed not to buy anything new. There are other caveats to the project, and you can read about them on his blog if you're interested. Though No Impact Man does not say that he is Christian, he does tell his readers that living "green" has made him think about the role "stuff" plays in his life. He doesn't have a TV, they've turned off the electricity in their small apartment, and he rides a bike everywhere. He says that his life is better than it ever has been. He spends more time with his family, even if they have fewer "things" to keep them busy.

The fact of the matter is that our possessions never really make us happy. If anything, they can have a tendency to isolate us. Psychologists now say that wealth only gives us momentary happiness. What we all need for long-lasting happiness is relationships. Ever since I got email, I've been less likely to call someone or even write a letter. Ever since TV, children have been less likely to play outside with friends. Sometimes owning more things means that our relationships with our families, friends, colleagues, and our WORLD suffer. What kind of possessions do you have that keep you from seeing the needs of your neighbor? Which of your possessions make it so that you don't even know what the poor need? It's worth considering because those possessions will never really make your life better anyway.