Proper 26 All Saints C The Turning Point of Faith

 Proper 26 All Saints C The Turning Point of Faith
October 30, 1983
By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell

My name is Zacchaeus. I own and manage the little winery at the edge of town, and I am a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of you will recall that for a period in my life I was employed by the Emperor of Rome as a tax collector. I can honestly say that I more-or-less fell into my first position. A friend (who knew my love for keeping personal records) had a friend who was a tax collector. When his tax collector friend needed some time off because of illness he suggested my name and they hired me on a temporary basis. They must have liked my work, because when my friend’s friend returned to work, they gave me a permanent assignment. 

I am ashamed now as I think back on those first years…. How naïve I was about the real world of greed. The Romans hired Jews to collect taxes from fellow Jews. You would think the we would have bent over backwards to be fair in our calculations. Especially to our own Jewish brothers. Instead, backed by the mighty Roman armies, we squeezed the opportunity to gouge for all we could get beyond the tax required. Everyone was in on the game. As long as we handed over the required tax, along with a percentage of our “tip” no one seemed to care. No one that is but the poor fools that we robbed daily, while the powers-that-be looked the other way.

It was mean. I mean sometimes you knew that you were taking food from their children’s mouths. You learned to steel yourself to it. If it wasn’t you taking their taxes and ripping them off it would be someone else. And, if somebody spit on you, so what! You get used to it. Though I’ll have to admit, sometimes that spit stung.

The truth is, we lived like kings, and were treated like lepers.

I worked hard. I kept good accounts and one day they promoted me to be the chief tax collector for the entire city. It not only meant a substantial pay raise, but now everyone had to share a percentage of their gouge with me. I could feel them cursing me with their eyes as they counted out my cut. I became the untouchables untouchable. No one ever smiled. 

 

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t quit, and I used to ask myself… is any amount of material wealth worth being loathed? No, let me tell you, it’s not! But how do you wash away the mark of Cain?

If you had seen me on the street then in all my finery you may have said, “Ah, the lucky rich!” But inside I was dead to everything that made life loving and kind, meaningful and worthwhile. I never smiled!

When I learned that Jesus the miracle-worker was coming through town, something beyond my reason felt drawn to seek him out. Something beyond my reason got me running down the street and climbing a tree to get a glimpse of his face. When I think about it now, I must have looked ridiculous. Here is the chief tax collector perched on the limb of a sycamore tree like a wide-eyed owl. It didn’t matter, at that moment, what my critics were thinking. When he got even with my most undignified station, he stopped, and looked right at me. then he (I still choke up when I tell it), he smiled. It wasn’t a smirk, or the frozen campaign smile of a politician, or the saccharin-sweet patronizing smile of a do-gooder. It was a real… I’m truly happy to see you Zaccheus… smile.

As the warmth of his trust washed over me. The burden of my guilt and the pain of my rejection disappeared. When he said he wanted to spend the day with me, I felt a joy well up inside that I had personally thought was dead long ago. You should have seen the faces on the crowd that was with him! They couldn’t believe that their teacher would have anything to do with scum like me.

We had a wonderful time together. Jesus wanted to see my place and I showed him every room. we talked about the weather, the economy and about some of the cities we had both visited. He had a lively interest in everything I shared. He had a way of putting everything into a deeper more profound perspective. He never said anything directly, but he got me thinking about how shallow my life really was. He could see the splendor of Heaven in a bunch of grapes hanging in my garden, while I had steeled myself to see nothing in people but the means to build-up my material security. The only happiness I enjoyed depended on my being blind to the needs and dignity of my fellow man.

At one point Jesus turned to me and said, “Zaccheus, how is your life going?” I knew after showing him my place, and telling him about my travels, that he wasn’t inquiring about my maternal well-being. I also had the feeling that he knew the answer before he asked the question. So, I told him. I told him the same thing I’ve told you. “Jesus,” I said, “You are in the presence of a rich leper who has earned his rejection. People come to my house because I serve good food and drink and because I have some influence on what the Romans see or don’t see. But I cannot name one friend.”

“Yes, I wish it were different, but people won’t let you change. If anyone were going to believe that I had changed I would have to do something very radical for Zaccheus…. Hmmm…. if I gave away half of everything, I owned to the poor….that would say something.”

Jesus just looked at me with his trusting eyes…and said, “You could do that.”

“And, I’d have to pay back all the people I have cheated with high interest!”

Jesus said, “You could do that…. and, wouldn’t it be worth it?”

“So, he believed in me, and I believed in him. Like I said at the beginning, my name is Zaccheus. I own and manage the little winery at the edge of town and I am an enthusiastic disciple of my Lord and savior…. Jesus Christ.”

Would that we all could hear him ask us. “How’s your life going?” 

Would that we could all feel His smile.