LUKE 19:1-10

19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.

2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.

3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.

4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Does the name Stella Liebeck ring a bell?  You know her although you may not know the name.  Stella Liebeck is the New Mexico woman who spilled that cup of hot coffee in her lap and then sued McDonald’s.   After the evidence was presented a jury gave her $2.86 million dollars although the judge later reduced the amount to $640,000.   A lot of people called it a frivolous lawsuit.

If it was there are others that are even better.  For example, how about the guy who had an unpleasant experience after he robbed a bank out in California.  When the teller gave him a bag of money he shoved it into his front pocket.  The bag, however, had a security pack in it and when the security pack went off the guy ended up with 2^nd and 3^rd degree burns.  So, he sued the bank and the company that made the security pack.  Or how about the woman up in Maine who had an unpleasant experience while she was out golfing.  Unfortunately her first shot of the day ricocheted off a railroad track and came back to hit her in the face.  She sued the Fort Kent Golf Club.  Here’s one more.  Did you hear about the woman out in New York state who bought one of those “Clappers” that you used to see advertised on television?  Well, the woman sued the company that makes the “Clapper” because, according to her, she had to clap so hard to turn her lights on that she hurt her hand and was unable to peel potatoes.

People today don’t take responsibility for their mistakes.  Or to put it into theological terms they don’t take responsibility for their sins.  Consider if you will the man who walked into a bar one day and ordered a beer.  When the bartender gave him the beer the man threw it into the bartender’s face.  The man quickly apologized and told the bartender that he couldn’t help it.  “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I have this compulsion to do that.  I don’t know why. I wish I knew what to do about it.”  “Well,” the bartender said, “you better do something about it.  I’m not going to serve you another drink until you do.”  A few months later the man walked into the bar again and ordered another beer.   When the bartender refused the man announced that he’d been seeing a psychiatrist and he had been cured.  So, the bartender poured him a beer.  As soon as he did though the man took the beer and again threw it into the bartender’s face.  The bartender was furious. “I thought you said you were cured,” he screamed.  “I am,” the man said.  “I still do it, but I don’t feel guilty about it anymore.”

People today don’t take responsibility for their transgressions, their mistakes or their sins if you will and the question is why?  Well, the answer to that question can be found by looking at what happened that day in Jericho.  Jesus was passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem and a crowd of people came out to see him.  Zacchaeus was one of the people who wanted to see him.

Zacchaeus had a problem though.  Zacchaeus was vertically challenged.  As the children’s song says, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man.  A wee little man was he. So he climbed up into a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.”

Zacchaeus also had another problem.  He was a man with a bad reputation.  He was a tax collector who was known to be greedy and dishonest.  That’s why people were shocked when Jesus decided to have lunch with him. “Zacchaeus,”  Jesus said, “hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

The people in the crowd, of course, didn't approve the Lord’s decision to sit down and break bread with Zacchaeus.   Luke tells us that they ALL grumbled.  So it wasn’t just a couple people here in there.  They “all grumbled” and said, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

The people in the crowd hated Zacchaeus.  Jesus, on the other hand, loved him and that love is what made it possible for Zacchaeus to pour his heart out that day.  As soon as Zacchaeus came down out of that sycamore tree he went to Jesus and said, “Lord…half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

By the way, a little side note here.  Zacchaeus didn’t promise to pay people back two fold as the law required.  He promised to pay them back four fold and he didn’t make that promise while he and Jesus were standing there in the privacy of his home. No. He made that promise while he was standing there with all of those people who hated him.

Love is what made Zacchaeus come down out of that sycamore tree and love is what made Zacchaeus take responsibility for all of his transgressions or mistakes or sins if you will.   It was love that also led to that wonderful grace filled moment that healed Zacchaeus’s troubled heart that day.   You see after Zacchaeus made his heart felt confession Jesus invited everyone there to rejoice and be glad.  Why?  Because Jesus said, “salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.”

What Jesus did that day is similar to a memory that a scientist had when he was a little boy.  The memory helped lay the foundation for him to grow up and become a research scientist.  It all started when he was two years old.  He dropped a milk bottle and the milk spilled all over the floor.  When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him she said, “Robert what a great and wonderful mess, you have made!  I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk.  Well, the damage has already been done.  Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”  Robert thought that was a wonderful idea. After that the mother helped him clean the mess up and then said, “You know what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands.  Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.”  So, that’s what they did and Robert learned that if he held the bottle at the top with both hands he could carry it without dropping it.  (Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul)

It’s simple.  Love, not anger, is what makes it possible for people to take responsibility for their transgressions, their mistakes or their sins if you will.  Love, not anger, is what makes it possible for people to do what Zacchaeus did that day. 

Consider if you will too quick husband and wife stories.  The first one is about a husband and wife who were walking through a shopping mall one day. When a beautiful woman walked by the husband smiled and turned to get a second look.  He then smiled at his wife who just shook her head and said, “I hope it was worth the trouble you’re in.”

The second husband and wife story is one that Paul Harvey shared many years ago during one of his radio broadcasts.  It seems a newlywed was driving home from work when she snagged her fender on the bumper of another car.  The woman was in tears as she told the other driver that her car was brand new.  She’d only had it a couple of days and she didn’t know how she was going to explain the damaged car to her husband.  The other driver was sympathetic by insisted that they still had to exchange registration information.  So, the woman got the papers out of the glove compartment and when she reached into the large brown envelope a piece of paper fell out.  On that piece of paper there was a note from her husband.  The note was short and to the point.  “in case of accident, remember, honey, it’s you I love, not the car!”

Now here’s a question for you.  Who do you think was more likely to take responsibility for their transgressions, their mistakes or their sins if you will?  The husband who got an earful after his wife caught him looking at that woman?  Or the wife who found that note in the glove compartment after she had that fender bender?

Love is what made it possible for Zacchaeus to come down out of that tree.  Love is what made it possible for Zacchaeus to confess his sins that day and that’s the love that is waiting for you in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup.  Oh, and wouldn’t we all be a lot happier if we shared that love with each other as we wrestle with our own transgressions, mistakes and sins?  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

November 3, 2013