Luke 19:1-10
Sermon by Rev. Caela Simmons Wood
April 6, 2025
“Zacchaeus was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t.”
How would you like to go down in history known primarily for a physical characteristic you have absolutely no control over? I mean, what’s the first thing children learn about Zacchaeus from the song? “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.”
We know so little about Zacchaeus. How strange that one of the few things we are told is that he was short. People have made up all kinds of reasons why this detail may have been included - some have said that it was more a commentary on his moral failings than his height. He was short on character. Or that he was young - short in years. But since we’re told he wanted to see Jesus and couldn’t see over the heads of the others in the crowd and climbed up in a tree - well, I’m guessing he was just….short. Nothing more, nothing less.
And perhaps this little detail was simply included as a jab at Zacchaeus, who was almost-certainly not well-liked. I’ve never understood teasing someone about their height - something we have zero control over. But we know it happens.
Making a spectacle of himself by climbing up in a tree probably didn’t help matters much. An adult climbing up in a tree? In public? With everyone watching? I mean, you can just imagine people snapping photos and posting them online, making fun of this guy.
What a mess. What do we do with a guy like Zacchaeus?
He’s just so utterly unlikeable. He’s one of us but he thinks he’s better than us. He’s a Roman boot-licker, working for the enemy and using his position of “authority” to bully the rest of us. Doesn’t he remember where he came from?
And why is he so crooked? We all know that the tax collectors skim money off of what they collect, keeping it for themselves. Have you seen his house? He’s got a five-car garage and I heard it’s filled with Teslas. Plus his wife and his daughters have obviously had a lot of work done and you know that doesn’t come cheap. I feel bad for those girls, growing up in a family with a jerk like that for a dad.
What do we do with a guy like Zacchaeus? He’s one of us….but…..not.
We don’t understand him. How could a person be so morally bankrupt as to work for the enemy? And get rich doing so? We just don’t get it. How does someone end up like that? What’s wrong with this guy?
Take a look at the art on the cover of your bulletin. Zoomers, we’ll share the image so you can see it easily.
My eye is initially drawn to Jesus. Don’t you just love his vibrant clothing? The artist, Lauren Wright Pittman, says his clothes are “patterned with suns, representing righteousness, and water, representing mercy.” My eye follows Jesus’s gaze to Zacchaeus up there in the tree. These two are usually the focal point of this story. The story is a beautiful invitation to consider the ways we might be like Zacchaeus. And the ways Jesus shows up and offers unconditional love and acceptance. When we identify with Zacchaeus, it’s a feel-good story, for sure.
But if we keep looking, we notice Jesus and Zacchaeus aren’t the only people in this painting. Did you see the other two people off to the side? Arms crossed, grumpy faces, giving Zacchaeus major side-eye. “What do we do with Zacchaeus? We don’t understand him. How does someone end up like that? What’s wrong with this guy? Did he just have bad parents? Or maybe he’s just stupid. That’s probably it. He’s probably just too stupid to know any better. What an idiot.”
What do we do with a guy like Zacchaeus?
In the artist’s rendition it’s pretty clear what the people have decided to do with Zacchaeus. Scorn. Hand-wringing. Derision. Judgment. Shunning. And I have to say, I don’t blame them. He was stealing their money. Or at least they thought he was. The text is actually kind of unclear about that. Maybe he’s just fibbing when he says he’s given half of what he has to the poor. Or maybe this encounter with Jesus is what has changed his heart and NOW he’s going to start repaying those he’s cheated. Or perhaps he’s actually a righteous man and hasn’t cheated anyone. The Greek is unclear. We’ll never know.
But what is clear is that Jesus doesn’t care. For reasons that we don’t understand, Jesus affirms Zacchaeus, pulling him down out of the tree and giving him the honor of playing host. Jesus affirms him. Loves him. Jesus says (loudly enough so everyone can hear), “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham.”
“He, too, is a son of Abraham. He’s one of you even if you don’t like it. Even if you don’t understand him. Even if you don’t know what to do with a guy like Zacchaeus, I’ve got it under control,” Jesus says, “Salvation has come to his household, too.”
We don’t know what happened to Zacchaeus after that day. We don’t know what they talked about at dinner. We don’t know what his motivations were or if he continued to collaborate with the enemy. We don’t even know if he was telling the truth when he said he wasn’t cheating anyone. There’s a lot we don’t know.
I’ll be the first to admit - I still don’t know what we do with Zacchaeus. I look at this picture and see myself back there in the crowd somewhere grumbling about injustice. Heck, some days I’m right up front yelling about it. I don’t know what we do with a guy like Zacchaeus.
But when I look at this image, my eye is drawn to Jesus. Right there in the center of it all with his beautiful, bright clothes. Robed in the sun and the water and all that is good and loving.
And I am reminded: I may not know what to do about Zacchaeus, but maybe that doesn’t matter so much. Because Jesus is handling it. Jesus knows what to do with Zacchaeus. He’s taking care of it.
And so I continue to pray, “Show us the path, Jesus. Come and handle Zacchaeus. Cause we sure don’t know how. Amen.”
