Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Making Room: Luke 19
Sermons from Commons Church. Intellectually honest. Spiritually passionate. Jesus at the centre. Since 2014.
Talking to people is dangerous. It can change your life.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the CommonsCast. We're glad to have you here. We hope you find something meaningful in our teaching this week. Head to commons.church for more information.
Speaker 1:If haven't we met yet, my name is Yelena, and I serve the community as one of the pastors on the team here. And today, we are kicking off our new sermon series called making room. And I love it, how we make space to simplest this idea of making room right before the season of waiting, when we will be preparing to welcome the Christ child. For the next four weeks, we invite you into a conversation on hospitality. We will look at the vision for hospitality in the biblical story, how we can reimagine it for today, but most importantly, how it points us to a God that always makes room for others.
Speaker 1:And to help us with that, we will look at four snapshots in the Gospel of Luke. Starting today with the story of Zacchaeus. And for some of you, it will be a familiar story. I did not grow up in a church, so for me, it was a bit of a surprise to learn this week, while preparing for this message, that this story is apparently a Sunday school favorite. Yeah?
Speaker 1:No? Okay. I guess it is an easy story to grasp if you're a kid. And it's kind of cute. The little man Zacchaeus climbs up a tree and then hides there to sneak peek at Jesus.
Speaker 1:But it is also a pretty charged story about how cruel we can be to one another. It involves betrayal and corruption. It talks about shame and ostracism, and how a simple invitation can change someone's life. Phyllis Kayleigh, an ethicist who spent years studying the human capacity for evil and good, believes that the opposite of cruelty the opposite of cruelty is not simply freedom from the cruel relationship. It is hospitality.
Speaker 1:And as we shall see in the story today, this active work towards relational flourishing is both a gift and a challenge. But first, would you please join me in prayer? Our loving God, we thank you for the gift of this day, for the gentleness with which you come to us, walk with us, live in us, while we are hardly aware of that miracle. We think about our friends and strangers you've brought into our lives, and we thank you for how they help us come alive and be truly present to each other. And we ask you now to draw close to those of us here who need a bit of your kindness today.
Speaker 1:May we trust your words of love, and may they illuminate the dark places deep inside that tell us the opposite, where we hold pain and hurt, and where we are not yet free. May we find rest in your welcome. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Okay.
Speaker 1:Today we are talking about hospitality of assumptions, how guests become hosts, the rewriting of stories, and the cost of welcome. Now, we find the story of Zacchaeus only here in the Gospel of Luke, and chronologically, it takes place only a few days before Jesus will face his trial and crucifixion in Jerusalem. Now, the author structures the story chiastically, which is a technical term that basically means that the story has two halves. And the second half has clear parallels with the first, and that the focal point, the connecting hinge of the two sections, is found right in the middle. So we will start by looking at the first half.
Speaker 1:Now, entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed the sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
Speaker 1:Now, Jericho was within 20 kilometers of Jerusalem, and it was often described by the contemporaries as the fattest city in Palestine because it was a wealthy and an important trade center. And Jesus, as we can see, is not planning to stay there. And there's no doubt that this community has offered some local hospitality to him, and has probably selected someone who could serve as the most suitable host to this famous teacher, healer, prophet. But Jesus declines and keeps going towards Jerusalem. And the people naturally then just form a crowd to follow him through the city.
Speaker 1:But this journey is about to get interrupted. Now, the author introduces the keys to us with Kai Idu. It is omitted in our English translation, but literally says, and behold, there was a man. Which is great because the point of Kai Idu is to do exactly that, to grab your attention. It is as if someone came up to you and said, behold, there was a man.
Speaker 1:You would be pretty interested. Where is the story going? So right away, we are told a few things about Zacchaeus. And it is worth unpacking them for a bit because they are meant to show Zacchaeus to us through the eyes of that crowd that's following Jesus. So the first thing we know, he is a Jew.
Speaker 1:Zacchaeus is a Greek spelling of a Jewish name, which means clean or innocent, which is a bit ironic in light of his professional career, because he is the head of a tax collecting crew, and this also implies the source of his wealth. So Rome had this practice of selling the right to collect taxes in each particular area to the highest bidder, who would then not get paid the salary, but would live off the extra money that would be left after they'd given the assigned amount to Rome. So a tax collector would be a highly motivated fundraiser who would make sure to collect as much money as possible using all means available. Because anything over the actual tax will be theirs. So the most frustrating thing for people in this situation, as you can imagine, was that there was no way to hold these tax collectors accountable.
Speaker 1:Because usually, they would be the only ones who would know the precise amount asked by Rome, and they would use it to set their own tariffs for people. There are actually rabbinic texts from Palestine in that time that regard this taxation practice as illegal, and consider those Jews and Gentiles who collected taxes for Rome as highway robbers and even murderers. Some rabbis even believed that it was Okay to make a false vow to fool a tax collector because the tax system was so unjust anyway. Plus, the taxes that went to support The taxes collected went to support the Roman military, which meant to perpetuate this occupation. So basically, to be a tax collector and get rich through that line of work was to intentionally position yourself against your own people.
Speaker 1:And the higher you were in the system, the more complicit you were in the injustice of it. So, as someone who was in charge of the whole tax collecting business in Jericho, Zacchaeus was very successful in his job. But in the eyes of his community, he forfeited his right to be at the family dinner table. He was a collaborator with the occupying regime, someone who actively harmed this community, and who fully disassociated himself from its values. And the community treated him as such in return.
Speaker 1:We read that the kids could not see Jesus because he was short and unable to see over the crowd, but literally, it says, on account of the crowd. And it carries a very strong causative force here. One scholar writes that the people refused Zacchaeus the privilege of seeing Jesus as he passed by. And the sense of exclusion is pretty tangible here. People are not just ignoring Zacchaeus, they are actually being mean to him in return by forming a live wall and not letting him squeeze in to take a look.
Speaker 1:He might have used his power to rise above them, but in this particular moment, they are in control. And in their mind, the meanest, richest, smallest guy, betrayer deserves to be pushed out. But I think Zacchaeus may have heard that Jesus was kind to tax collectors. So he goes all out. He outruns the crowd and quickly climbs the sycamore fig tree, which has low branches and large leaves.
Speaker 1:And first of all, adult men in The Middle East do not run-in public and never climb trees. I don't think I've seen men anywhere do that. But those two things in that particular culture for men is particularly shameful. But secondly, due to their size, sycamore fig trees were allowed some from town. Partly because aesthetically, towns preferred to have as much open space as possible, but also because people believed that if a sin occurred under a tree, it would automatically transfer to anyone who would happen to be under any section or branch of that tree.
Speaker 1:So Zacchaeus was probably hoping that, first, his neighbors would not accompany Jesus outside the city boundary, or that people would not get too close to that tree. But if they did, the foliage would hide him and let him see without being seen, and quite possibly ridiculed. And what's interesting, at this point, we are not sure where the story goes. But we do know that this particular gospel writer, this writer's imagination sees God as one who always champions the oppressed, that the good news is for the poor, and that the rich go away from Jesus empty handed, on account of their wealth most of the time. And we are told just enough about Zacchaeus not to expect things go all that well for him.
Speaker 1:And I think it's part of Luke's strategy to have us join this crowd and look at Zacchaeus through their eyes. And of course, there is a major reversal coming, but I do find it fascinating to think about the role our assumptions about others play in how we make room for people. And I think they often run along the same ancient lines we're given here: name, occupation, appearance, ethnic background, economic background. And today, we can add many, many more boxes to tick. And sure, it is a natural thing to want to locate yourself in a relationship.
Speaker 1:But what happens when those assumptions we can even call them blind spots are not generous? And what happens when they go unexamined? Who do we intentionally or unintentionally exclude, or caricature, or are reticent to welcome? The crowd here was not only accompanying Jesus as a way of offering welcome to him, they were also actively keeping Zacchaeus from participation in this communal act of hospitality. They were using this tiny moment of power to get back at him.
Speaker 1:And which makes me wonder, what kind of barriers do we create? In what kind of gatekeeping in our relationships and workplaces, or even in this community, you and I tend to engage when we leave our blind spots unchecked, or when we're not generous and hospitable in our assumptions. Do we welcome people here in a way that says, You might be a stranger, but you belong. And I hope we do. But the thing about blind spots or assumptions is that to have a chance of becoming visible so can that be examined, they need to be reflected back to us in a safe environment, in a personal welcome.
Speaker 1:And that happens when we intentionally turn to each other. When Jesus reached that 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. Now, this here is the turning point in the story, and it is the hinge structurally connects both halves.
Speaker 1:We are about to see the reversal of all expectations that have been set out for us, and it begins with Jesus putting his journey on hold for a day and going back to Jericho to stay with the last person this community could imagine as his host. And the beautiful thing about this is how Jesus welcomes this interruption. He honors the curiosity of Zacchaeus, and his self imposed invitation breaks this wall constructed around him. But also, because Jesus is looking straight at Zacchaeus, the crowd is kind of forced to look in his direction too, and be confronted by the humanity of someone they really want to dismiss. The Greek says here that Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus with joy, which is an interesting word choice, because by any rights, being called out while hiding in a tree should have been a humiliating moment for anyone, especially a wealthy tax collector.
Speaker 1:And yet, this invitation of Jesus upends all of it. However, all the people saw this and began to mutter. He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. And this grumbling exposes another curious thing about how hospitality works. Because Jesus here offers Zacchaeus an opportunity to be his host, to fulfill a role in that community that would have been denied to him.
Speaker 1:In their eyes, he is way below the honor that Jesus has just conferred on him. A hospitality researcher, Christine Paul, writes this: The role of host is empowering because it is an acknowledgment that one has the rightful access to a place of meaning and value, and that one has the authority to welcome other people into it. The host role affirms that what you have and what you offer are valuable. And this is an interesting angle on hospitality. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we are comfortable to receive hospitality from those with whom we can be relaxed: family, close friends, someone we can tell for sure is not going to be inconvenienced by hosting us for a meal, or like our dear friends in Vancouver, they wouldn't mind that we come and stay for as long as we want when we come for a visit.
Speaker 1:But when we cannot reciprocate someone's hospitality to the same degree, or when we think that someone overextended themselves in terms of time, money, and effort, we feel uncomfortable. We're not quite sure how to receive it, or we think, Oh, they shouldn't have bothered. But what Christine Pohl is talking about here is a good reminder that being able to receive hospitality, even in the smallest ways, can mean the world to people. Because it gives them agency, and it reminds them that they are not defined by their situation. A received and acknowledged hospitality can be a hugely empowering thing for the host, especially if, for some reason, they have been denied to be recognized in this way.
Speaker 1:Now, let's go back to our muttering crowd. They are actually no longer angry with Zacchaeus. Now, they're mad at Jesus because by accepting the dirty money hospitality, Jesus is participating in the crimes of his host. Moreover, for any devout Jew, staying overnight in the house of a tax collector and sharing a meal with him would be scandalous. In their mind, now Jesus does not only resist their assessment of Zacchaeus, he is also choosing to become ceremonially unclean a few days before the most important Jewish holiday, the Passover.
Speaker 1:So now their assumptions do not only extend to Zacchaeus, they start forming some about Jesus. What they do not see, however, is that Jesus in this situation is actually hosting a stranger. Hospitality practitioners define a stranger as someone who is disconnected from basic relationships that give them a secure place in the world, such as family, community, work, and others. And Zacchaeus is not detached from his family, but his family are the social outcasts with him. He's not detached from his work, but the way he does his work is the cause of his alienation from the community.
Speaker 1:He has some financial security, but for the Roman government, he is just a hired hand, and he has no voice. So he is technically a stranger in his own town, with minimal access to life giving relational support. And by calling Zacchaeus to come down from that tree and inviting himself over for a meal, Jesus welcomes him into that relational space. Zacchaeus is not only empowered as a host, he is also invited to be a guest and to move from being a stranger to a place of belonging. He is given a taste of what life given relationship can be like and what it feels like to be at home with yourself.
Speaker 1:Now, we are not told exactly when and where these people express their indignation. But what's interesting is that after Jesus meets Zacchaeus under that tree, the conversation goes public, and everyone in the story is now face to face. 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 because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.
Speaker 1:You know, it was really a gift to me to sit with the story for a bit this last week because it reminded me how many times my own life was set on a new trajectory because of a conversation, when someone really listened to me, and by listening, allowed me to make sense of my story. In 2006, I was working full time, managing a nonprofit. I had a part time job teaching. I had a freelance translation practice, and I was helping to pioneer and launch a student ministry. I was delighted to be so busy.
Speaker 1:No. I was doing all those things, and I felt so lost. And I remember going for a walk with my mentor one day and talking his ear off about how all those responsibilities were pulling me in so many directions. And I can still picture it in my mind today, how after a long time, he locked eyes with me, really looked at me and said, Okay, does your soul want? And at that moment, I felt so heard.
Speaker 1:And I'm sure we all had those sacred moments, those sacred questions, those times when someone really listened to us and helped us listen to ourselves. So a year later, that conversation brought me to a theology program in Vancouver. And then, two years ago, we moved to Calgary because of another conversation. You know, talking to people is dangerous. It can change your life.
Speaker 1:But seriously, I am convinced that listening is one of the most loving ways we can make room for one another and call one another back to what is real. And this is what Jesus does here for Zacchaeus. And this experience of generosity, of generous welcome, does not only allow Zacchaeus to make sense of his story, it actually brings him to a posture of reconciliation and welcome towards this community. He is done with building walls. When Zacchaeus publicly announces that he will give half of his possessions to the poor and will compensate in the highest measure all those he has wronged, this is his way of saying, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:In Judaism, repentance required actions that reflected the change of heart, which in this case also required some monetary repayment. But there's more to it, because Jesus encourages this community to see Zacchaeus not just as a repentant sinner, but as a missing brother. The New Testament does not use the word lost in the same sense that our religious experience might have conditioned us to. When Jesus says that he came to seek and save the lost, it doesn't mean that Zacchaeus was doomed to eternal damnation. Lost here simply means in the wrong place.
Speaker 1:And Jesus helped him find where he belongs. And the generous restitution does not buy Zacchaeus a place at the table. It is him saying, I have a family. I have a home. And what Jesus says to Zacchaeus here is actually addressed to the community too.
Speaker 1:This man is a son of Abraham. I know, it's complicated, but he is one of you. I have come to seek and save the lost, and you, as a community, are also in the wrong place. Because by making him little, you make less of who you could be. Jean Vanier writes that every time people sense that they are wanted and loved as they are, and that they have a place, we witness a resurrection.
Speaker 1:By welcoming Zacchaeus, Jesus does not only rewrites his story and reintegrates him back into community, He also invites this community to create a new story. Zacchaeus was not the only one in Jericho who was lost. He was not the only one who needed the miracle of resurrection. Now, we're not told how the story ends, except that we know that Jesus leaves and the others stay to figure out what to do with all this now. And we also know that most likely, it will take them some time to learn how to live together again.
Speaker 1:Which brings us back to where we started, if you remember. Hospitality is not just an absence of cruelty, but an active seeking of each other's good. And that kind of commitment has a cost. For Zacchaeus to follow through with this new trajectory will probably cost him a job. By colluding with Rome, he chose to pull out his chair to the table that welcomed him based on what he could deliver.
Speaker 1:By choosing his community now, he makes a decision not only to repair the wrongs, but to treat them fairly going forward. And that will hardly be compatible with the desires of his superiors. And for the community to fully embrace Zacchaeus will mean doing what Jesus has done for him. They will need to re examine their assumptions about him. They will need to honor his hospitality and to eat with him.
Speaker 1:They will need to treat him as equal, moreover, as kin, and they will need to trust him and to believe that he will not betray that trust. Both parties will be taking a risk by committing to each other in this way. And to us, I think the story tells that doing more than just merely reframing from harming each other will cost us two. Because hospitality is about being open to interruptions and paying attention to those unscheduled, unexpected needs that our welcome can meet. Hospitality looks like intentionally creating and stepping into spaces that will allow us to be honest and open and see beyond our blind spots.
Speaker 1:And making room looks like really listening to someone so they can tell their story and reframe their story, and perhaps change their life. And all of this sounds beautiful, and it sounds like a lot of work. But don't forget that the focal point, the connecting hinge in the story, is actually about joy. There's really no hospitality happening in the story until Jesus stops under that tree, looks up, probably chuckles, and says to himself, okay, I'm going to this guy's house. He's pretty amazing if he's come up with this idea of spying the tree.
Speaker 1:And with his cover fully blown, Zacchaeus scurries down that tree in full view and welcomes Jesus with great joy. So, friends, take what you need from today, but remember that Jesus always, always welcomes you, and that hospitality, with all its complexity, is a joy of life. May you bring Christ's welcome with you this week to the people you meet, to the meals you'll share, and the conversations you'll have. And may it fill you with joy. Let's pray.
Speaker 1:Our generous God, as we go into this week with everything it will bring, come and be our host in the quiet, in the hectic, in the unknown. Find us in the places we hide, and remind us that in you, there is no fear. And as we keep learning how to be the people of welcome, would you give us courage to create honest and vulnerable spaces, to be open to meeting you in a stranger, and to trust that we can find healing in the welcome we extend? Help us to make room for those near and far with time and thanks, with welcome and warmth, with kindness and joy, because this, this is great love. In the name of the risen Christ, we pray.
Speaker 1:Amen.