No Longer Invisible
Bethel UMC, Greenville, SC
Gospel Lesson: Luke 19:1-10 – Jesus and Zacchaeus
When I was growing up, I spent much of my time climbing trees. Granddad and Granny's yard had several trees that were just right for climbing, and Granny was very tolerant of children covered in pine rosin. If she hadn't learned to send us off with a little Crisco on a paper towel to work on the rosin before we washed with soap and water, she probably would have banned most of our favorite climbing trees.
We liked to climb in the Hemlock trees that lined the side walk and the big Hemlock at the side porch. That big Hemlock had been topped twice leaving two seats about as high as the peak of the roof. Those seats had a magnificent view of the valley below and the mountains rising on the other side. They also made a perfect watch tower for the garden, the road, and the side yard. It took me a long time and many years of practice to climb that high, but it was worth it for the view and to keep up with two cousins that were closest to my age. Rusty and Howard are a couple of years older than me. Keeping up with them was a great challenge for a tomboy like me.
Most of the time they were really patient and coached me along, telling me which limbs to use to go higher than I'd gone before. But there were other times that they climbed quickly to the top and left me behind. Really, I cannot blame them for wanting get away from the girl who was always tagging along. If they could get to a tree without me knowing which one they were in, it could be difficult to find them.
At least halfway up an evergreen tree is a pretty good hiding place. We grew up hearing stories about the tall white pines in the front yard being used as a hiding place. They had once been used as one of my aunt's favorite hiding places, when it was her turn to wash dishes. After the meal, she would climb a pine tree on one end of the row. Granny would call her to come wash the dishes and she would answer from that tree. The next time Granny called she would answer from the far end of the line of trees. She could work her way across the line of pines without coming down.
A generation later, those pines were not options for us to climb. They were very large and the limbs had been trimmed to high for us to reach. But the Hemlocks and a couple of Chestnut trees were still perfect for climbing. I liked to climb the Hemlocks along the sidewalk and wait for family to arrive for big family gatherings without being seen. I could watch everyone drive up the road, get out their car, and walk up the sidewalk without them knowing I was there. Those trees allowed us to choose to be invisible or at least think we were invisible.
I wonder if Zacchaeus didn't think that being invisible would have been one of the advantages of climbing the sycamore tree. The sycamore tree in the Middle East isn't a giant Sycamore that's leaves turn yellow before falling like we have around here. It is an evergreen tree with large low branches that would have made it easy to climb. As we grew up singing, Zacchaeus was a wee, little man who climbed the tree in order to see over the crowd. He didn't just run ahead to the edge of the crowd where he could get closer to the road. But the lesson states that he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed the tree. It seems like he might have been doing more than just trying to see over the crowd. He might have been trying to be invisible.
I was intrigued when a friend told me a new take on the story. Her minister had pointed out that as a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus would have been despised by those in the crowd. Being up in the tree would have put some distance between himself and the people who hated all the tax collectors because they worked for the Romans. That would certainly have been a good reason to avoid being recognized in the middle of the crowd. The evergreen sycamore tree would have provided a good place to watch what was going on, but not be seen by others.
Yet, I wonder if he was hiding from the crowd or hiding from Jesus. Zacchaeus might have heard about Jesus eating with other tax collectors. Maybe he had even heard some of them talk about their encounter with Jesus, how they had been accepted, and how something had changed when they were around him. Zacchaeus might have been curious about this strange man who "ate with sinners and tax collectors," but he might not have been so sure that he really wanted to be changed by him. He opted for what seemed like a better plan to satisfy his curiosity - run ahead, climb up in a tree, and watch from a safe distance.
A lot of people want to keep Jesus and others at a safe distance, just like Zacchaeus. One of the things that you realize in a very large church is that it is possible to be anonymous or to choose to be invisible. Many people, who visit large churches, slip in just before the service starts and don't sign the attendance pad. Even if they do, they just put their name but never include a phone number or address. You might think that others around them would notice the visitor and make them welcome, but often they assume that the person has been a part of the church and that they will be embarrassed if they act like the person that they don't recognize is a member. The congregation and the visitor make it possible for the visitor to limit their connection with the church – with the "Body of Christ".
Many times people choose to limit their connection with others in the "Body of Christ" and with Christ because they don't want to be transformed. They don't see a need to change. Maybe they feel accepted by society or financially secure or just enjoy their ability to choose for themselves. Maybe they don't think they need to be transformed because they believe that their past and current actions earn their salvation. They do the right things. They give some money to the church and to other good causes; they make it to church when it is convenient and on special days. That is enough right?
Maybe Zacchaeus thought that he was doing enough. In the translation we read, Zacchaeus told Jesus, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." However, as several commentaries point out, the Greek actually uses the present tense – "I give half my possessions to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone, I pay back four times as much." In fact there is a special grammatical tense in Greek grammars called present-future meaning a tense written in the present but meaning future action. It appears to have been developed specifically for this passage. If these verbs should be translated as truly as present tense, it means that Zacchaeus was already acting appropriately.
If Zacchaeus was already doing what was sufficient according to the Law, then his response to Jesus might have been more like the Pharisee's prayer in last week's lesson. His statement might be closer to, "Lord, look at what I already do." If so, he thought he didn't need to do any more. He was essentially asking, "I do enough, right?" Just like the Pharisee and like many people in churches this morning.
I know other people who already appear to have a deep faith but who reach a point where they are afraid to keep getting closer to God. They know that continuing to get closer to God is dangerous. Obeying and following God means that they will be called to give more of themselves. They will be required to surrender their entire life to Jesus. They might even become a radical Christian that would scare their current friends. Being that close to Jesus can cost someone their friends, a comfortable lifestyle according to our culture, and a sense of self righteousness. They will discover that everything is not right with their own life and that the rest of the world is falling apart.
Getting close to God is dangerous. The closer we are to God, the less invisible God's beloved children in need are. We see the desperate needs of the world, and we see individuals. Our hearts break with their pain. We begin to feel what God's children experience – the grief of a widow, the exhaustion of a caregiver, the fear of a teenager in trouble, the hunger of a child in a refugee camp. We stop judging and start seeing others through a lens of compassion and love. In Jesus' presence, the stone walls of our heart are turned to malleable clay that is being remolded.
Being close to God and being open and honest with God can be painful. Not only do we see others differently, but we also see ourselves in a new light. We realize that we are more like the tax collector from last week's lesson – we need God's mercy and grace. We see our own brokenness in the midst of a broken world and know that only God can clean up the mess in our own lives and in the world around us. We begin to realize that we cannot earn our salvation but must rely fully on God's grace and mercy. Ultimately we discover our own weaknesses and the greatness of God.
The closer we are to God the more likely we are to discern God calling us to action – to serve others. The call to serve others can be enough to make you want to be invisible. This call is not just a call to ordained ministry, but a call for each of us to live a new way and to minister to others. Responding to this call requires us to give up our own agendas and embrace God's agenda. God's agenda doesn't seem to acknowledge what we think we can or cannot do. God's agenda requires us to be willing to let God work through us.
There are many reasons for us to desire invisibility. We don't want God to see us as we really are; nor do we really want to see those whom we have hurt. Like Zacchaeus, we might want to find our own tree to climb, a safe place to watch Jesus go by but that doesn't require us to give up our own ways and the life we have chosen. Hiding seems like a pretty safe decision.
We hide in many ways. We get so busy that we don't have time to spend with God in prayer and devotion. We avoid coming to church or being around those who encourage and challenge us to continue growing as Christ's disciples. We minister from a distance by sending in our money, so that someone else can take care of the least and the lost. We avoid joining in with others who are on a journey of faith. We try to live in the past. We aren't that much different than Zacchaeus – we just find different ways to be invisible.
However, Zacchaeus' attempt to be invisible didn't work and neither will ours. Jesus knew where Zacchaeus was and called him down from the tree. Jesus invited himself over to dine with Zacchaeus and he invites us to come to his table. Jesus offered Zacchaeus more than a passing glimpse and stories he had heard from others. He offered his presence and a relationship to Zacchaeus and offers us the opportunity to come into his presence and be in relationship with him. Zacchaeus needed more than his own actions and the experiences of others – he needed to be in Jesus' presence and to experience the transforming power of Jesus' mercy and grace. That is what Jesus offered him and what he offers us. Zacchaeus was lost but Jesus sought him out and found him. Jesus seeks us out when we are lost and finds us, too.
Jesus will not let us hide and remain invisible any more than he did Zacchaeus. When Zacchaeus climbed down out of the tree, he entered into Jesus' presence and was exposed to the crowd. The crowd saw him, and he saw the crowd. A crowd that was jealous, confused and angry because Jesus was again going to eat with a tax collector. The crowd witnessed what Jesus was doing to Zacchaeus. They waited to see what happened to Zacchaeus. What they saw with Zacchaeus would influence how they would react to Jesus.
When we stop trying to hide from Jesus, we realize that the same is true for us. Those around us will see us as a witness to the way Jesus is transforming us. This transformation is not just about changing a few of our actions – it is a fundamental change in who we are. In other words God's grace transforms not just our outward actions but our inner core – our heart and mind. Filled with the Holy Spirit we see ourselves and the world around us in a different light. We begin to see ourselves and others as beloved children of God.
We cannot hide from Jesus – he already sees right through us and our attempts to hold him off at a safe distance. He will keep calling us until we come out of hiding and stand before him ready to acknowledge his presence in our daily life. When we acknowledge his presence in our life, we discover that abundant life Jesus promised. It isn't an easier life or as those who preach the prosperity theology claim, a life with greater riches. It is a life filled with challenges and blessings - blessings that come from being a blessing to others, blessings of peace in the midst of the trials of life, blessings of loving others and blessings of being loved.
Once we come into Jesus' presence, we are no longer invisible nor are those around us. Jesus sees us; we see ourselves; we see others; others see us; others see Jesus. Jesus sees us as beloved children of God in need of grace and mercy. We begin to see ourselves as broken vessels in need of God's mercy. By God's grace we begin to see ourselves as beloved children. The crowd around us sees how we live and the difference Jesus makes in our lives. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit and responding faithfully to Jesus' call to live according to his way, others will see Jesus through us. We are no longer invisible to God or to others.
Our hiding places and attempts to be invisible don't work any better than Zacchaeus' tree or than the Hemlocks did for me. My aunts and uncles knew where I was hiding, just as Jesus knows our hiding places. When Jesus calls to us and invites himself into our lives, will we joyfully join the party? The next step is ours – we have to choose whether we will climb down and join the party.
Let us pray:
Gracious God, you see us where we are on our journey. You don't wait for us to come seeking you, instead you send Jesus to seek us out when we are lost. Jesus found Zacchaeus and called him out of the tree. He calls us out of our hiding places, reminding us that we are not invisible no matter how much we try to hide. Grant us the courage it took for Zacchaeus to climb out of the tree so that we may come out of hiding. May we welcome you into our lives in response to your invitations with as much joy as Zacchaeus. We pray through Jesus Christ, who has found and saved us. Amen.
