Luke 19:1-10

14th Sunday after Trinity

Pastorin Kornelia Schauf

Luke 19:1-10

1 And he went into Jericho and passed through it.

2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, who was a ruler of the tax collectors, and was rich.

3 And he desired to see Jesus who he was, and could not do it because of the multitude; for he was small in stature.

4 And he ran ahead and climbed up a mulberry fig tree to see him; for there he was to get through.

5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly; for I must go down to your house today."

6 And he went down in haste and received him with joy.

7 When they saw this, they all murmured and said, "He has come to a sinner."

8 Zacchaeus came and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have deceived anyone, I will give it back fourfold."

9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, for he also is a son of Abraham."

10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what is lost.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be

with us all. Amen

Dear congregation,

Jesus seeks fellowship with a man who had a bad reputation.

It's no wonder that others are annoyed by it.

It is not just any man to whom Jesus invites himself to his home. It is Zacchaeus. He has an unpleasant job: collecting taxes and customs. And he is not just one of the many employees. No, Zacchaeus is high up. He belongs in the executive suite.

What's more, the customs officers worked together with the Roman occupying power.

This made them even more unpopular.

On the other side are those who are annoyed by Jesus' visit to Zacchaeus.

"He has come to a sinner!" they state disparagingly.

That doesn't suit Jesus. Jesus is a devout Jew. How can he do that?

They do not ask him, but they condemn Jesus.

They are disappointed in him.

And on the other side is Zacchaeus. He also shares the impression that Jesus does not fit into his house and is very surprised – joyfully surprised. The fact that Jesus chooses him and wants to have fellowship with him makes him a new person.

Suddenly he sees what the others see and accuse him of: Zacchaeus has deceived people.

Zacchaeus abused his influence and took more than was legal. His power gave him pleasure. He made good use of it.

Zacchaeus can suddenly admit this to himself. And it doesn't stop at insight and lip service, but he draws consequences. Zacchaeus changes and thinks about how he can make up for the damage he has caused.

Jesus confirms that his mission, his mission, has been successfully carried out: "Salvation has come to this house. The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Which side do you take when listening? On the side of the ashamed Zacchaeus, who recognizes himself anew. Who can admit that he is involved in evil. Who no longer deceives himself and inwardly justifies his guilt: "I have achieved something. I am a great man in this city, one of the superiors."

Now he admits it: I am a small man, although I have made it to the top.

This realization is already indicated when he climbs the tree. Luke does not tell us why he wants to see Jesus so badly. But something drives him to stand on this tree. He makes a fool of himself and there he finally stands by his real greatness. He is not standing in the first row on the street. He could certainly take the seat. No, he climbs a tree – a little closer to heaven.

Would we have this courage?

Or let's stay on the side of those who have an image of themselves: We are among the good guys. We know what is right.

Luke tells us with this story: In fellowship with Jesus, we become who we are. We recognize good and evil.

A small man who is a great corrupt customs collector becomes a host for Jesus and a fair fellow citizen. Zacchaeus gives Jesus space in his house and in his life. That is a life change. That's how it is in faith. We recognize and understand ourselves anew. Zacchaeus becomes a role model. A man who repents.

This requires courage. This courage is given to him in the encounter with Jesus. Because Jesus is interested in him. Because Jesus does not condemn and reject him, but because Jesus approaches him, what previously seemed impossible becomes possible for him.

Again and again I stumble over how many people this annoys. One could hope and think that everyone would be happy.

Oh, how hard and exclusionary we humans can be. "We don't want to have anything to do with him". That's how easy it is for us to label people permanently. We reduce them to their mistakes. We accuse them of what they do wrong. That's human and it's understandable.

We humans tend towards self-righteousness.

But Jesus overcomes this human exclusion. His heart is large, his love wide. A person can be healed, freed from his guilt. A person finds himself anew and it becomes possible for him to be good to his fellow human beings again.

Certainly, in individual cases this is not as easy as it sounds in this story. Sometimes it requires therapeutic support and of course corruption must also be prosecuted legally.

No, repentance is often a long way.What Luke tells us is that it can be successful. A person can change.

For me, that is the core of the story. A person does not have to remain bent and entangled in guilt. A person does not have to continue with his behavior that harms him and others.

It is told so simply and it remains so difficult.

Zacchaeus pays back, even several times. We do not know whether he will be able to make up for all the damage. But Jesus sees more in this man.

"Come down from the tree" are decisive words: Come down from your high horse. Come back to earth. Stand by what and who you are. Don't fool yourself. In Jesus' presence, all this can stop. Jesus does not make Zacchaeus small. He does not humiliate him. He frees him to stand by his littleness and accept it.

He becomes a human being and a fellow human being again. Someone who no longer uses and exploits others and abuses his power, but someone who has understood justice and, above all, what he himself can contribute to it.

Where are there such encounters today, where we are freed in the spirit of Jesus to turn away from injustice? Jesus is no longer on the road as he is on the streets of Jericho.We can climb trees, no matter how tall, we do not see Jesus there. And yet it can happen that Jesus comes into our lives today; perhaps in such a way that we suddenly realize:

Something speaks to me. Something does not let me go. Then I meet a person through whom I meet Jesus. Then I hear a word from the Bible – and suddenly it hits me. Something happens that stops me and makes me look at my own life differently. Perhaps it is then as if Jesus were to say today as well: "I must come to your house today." Jesus invites himself into our lives.

Not only when everything is already in order with us. But right into the middle of our lives, with all its dark sides. Today.

The only question is: Do we give Jesus space? What would I do differently today if I knew:

Jesus is here now? What will be different if Jesus comes to me today? Who would I meet differently? Where would I stop justifying myself? Where would I admit injustice? What would I have to give back and make amends? What would I have to ask forgiveness for?

What door would I have to open?

Not someday, but today?

Amen