Hiding in Plain Sight

Every fall in New Jersey I am mesmerized with the beauty of the outdoors. Being a southerner, we don't always experience fall, any day or every day in the fall can still be 80 degrees outside. We may have a few warm days here, but generally the weather cools down, and it is lovely. I can see all the good fall memories flooding your mind and you begin to smile a little bit just thinking about it.

Well, here's where things change. Every fall in New Jersey I begin to prepare myself for the journey ahead. I prepare for my commute to work. For those who don't know my commute is a full 60 seconds to walk across the ballfield to the social center or 120 seconds to get down to the Sanctuary. But I must prepare. I know many of you are thinking, what exactly are you preparing for?

I am preparing for the great deer migration of Metuchen, that’s what I call it. Most of the year I can walk to work, no problem. But in the fall, the deer always seem to be closer to me than I expect. If you did not realize it, the deer are always hiding in plain sight. They can be seen grazing in the front yard, walking together across the street, running freely through Roosevelt Park, even jumping the fence in my back yard. I learned this firsthand just a few Sundays ago when I was on my commute on a cool Sunday morning. I took my usual route to the social center and calmly walked to the back gate. When I looked up, I was standing face to face with three deer eating in the field along my back fence.

Somone close to me would say I’m never paying attention while walking and I walk with my head down. And he’s right, but I looked around and didn’t see anything until we were staring at each other. So, I calmly said you stay there, I’ll go this way, and we will be okay. As I power walked across the field, they slowly inched toward me. The closer I got to the social center, the closer they got to me. Just imagine the rush you would be feeling at 8am on a Sunday morning being followed by three deer. But just know I made it to the social center and they continued to eat their breakfast.

Intro

So, I have an idea this morning, to help us all get comfortable and join in the story. You have to trust me and maybe I won’t lead you astray, but either way we will have some fun today. Can you trust me? … okay.

First close your eyes and get as comfortable as you can in your seat. Try to keep your eyes closed, but if you are dying to look around it’s okay to open them. Let’s join the parable today. Its about midday on a Saturday and you are among a crowd of people in the middle of town; it is a beautiful day out. You can hear people talking all around, saying hello to neighbors, talking to good friends and greeting relatives. You can hear the wooden wheels turning on stones and farmers yelling out to sell produce. There are no cars, no cellphones, no paved streets and you are just walking around with some family and a few friends. You noticed all the buildings around made out of clay and stone. You see the priests at the doors of the temple cleaning up and welcoming a few people in to go pray. You even see people coming and going with their livestock as you look around.

It is Saturday, so you are looking to buy some produce for your family coming to town. Then you think maybe some oil or maybe even a goat. Realizing you are preparing for a family gathering you must be sure to buy the best food you can find. There’s no special occasion, but your relatives have been walking to get here for the last three days, so you want to make sure they have a nice meal when they arrive. You see a good friend with their Ox drawn carriage looking to sell some rugs. Maybe you should take a look at what they have. Can you picture this?  Maybe, just a little.

You can open your eyes now if you want, but let’s continue our story. Then all of a sudden there is this commotion. People begin to crowd around one person and it’s a frenzy. Jesus of Nazareth has entered town, and everyone is trying to get close to him. From the oldest to the youngest and everyone in between people are running, yelling out to others “it’s him, its him” and even pushing a little to speak to him. You realize you are just a little too far to really get close, so you wait in your spot for him to pass by just hoping to get a glimpse of him. Then you noticed a tiny person climbing a tree just ahead of you and you think “what is he doing up there?" That must be a kid trying to see over the crowd. Wait is that Zacchaeus?

Just as you start to point and laugh, the crowd stops moving. No way Jesus really saw him up there, he wasn’t even looking in his direction.

Okay we will pause here, everyone can open their eyes.

Jesus has entered the town of Jericho. Jericho was a town to the east of Jerusalem. Jericho has an interesting history because it was a town once destroyed back in 1600 BC and not really rebuilt. But they also were named among the few who helped to rebuild and repair the walls of Jerusalem years later. So, I would venture out to say the people of Jericho are good people.   But that is history we can explore another day.

I want to point out that we know Jesus’ ministry is nomadic. Meaning he goes where God leads him. There is no pattern or map to follow, and he simply moves through the region with his disciples. At this point in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has been moving around for quite some time, so he has a pattern or routine if you will for when he arrives in a new place. As Jesus travels, he is not moving with plans, and he often just stays with someone he sees/just met. Most often he enters, meets who he is looking for, they are not prepared for him and somehow, they open their home to him for a meal or a night’s stay. A few times he has sent the disciples ahead to prepare for his arrival.

So, I’m sure the people around the region have been hearing about this Jesus of Nazareth guy who has been traveling around. And more than likely they still have no idea who he is. They would be listening to what the priests have to say and more focused on living day to day. Not on this random guy they may or may not have heard about. Yet curiosity leads them all straight to Jesus.

Back to our story. You watch as Jesus talks to Zacchaeus. Surely, they don’t know each other because everyone knows who Zacchaeus is. You watch as Jesus and Zacchaeus interact. The more they talk, the more confused you are. No one likes Zacchaeus, yet Jesus wants to eat with him? You begin to hear the people grumbling. Why him? He’s no good. He is a sinner, and Jesus chooses to eat with him.

Then all of a sudden Zacchaeus hurries away and the crowd follows Jesus as he heads toward Zacchaeus’ home. People are still confused about why he’s going there. Doesn’t he know who Zacchaeus is?

Well, who is this tiny man in the tree? Zacchaeus is the chief tax collector in their town. As the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus is the person collecting Roman taxes from his own people, even family. Meaning he was the guy in charge of all tax collection in their region and would be in charge of other tax collectors as well. In addition, whatever he says the price is, that is what the people must pay, regardless of whether it is more than what the Romans are asking for. He was known to be rich and corrupt. He was also known to be small in stature.

This kind of corruption isolates him from the people. Everyone would know who he is, his job, and many people would avoid him. So, watching Jesus go eat with him would definitely make them angry. People are not judging Zacchaeus because they misunderstand him, they are judging him because he willingly took from them. And since they judge him, they judge Jesus for wanting to spend time with him.

This is not a story of a righteous person looking for a miracle or someone in need of help. It’s the story of someone looking for something he did not know he needed. And after we read this, what are we left with. Well, I’m glad you asked. Here are three things we should pay attention to in this story:

First, hurried and happy. Verse 6 says “So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.” How happy would you have been to hear a stranger say they are coming to your home for dinner in a few hours? Would your house be ready to receive Jesus for dinner?

One thing you should know about me is that I love hosting people, I go above and beyond to make sure people are comfortable when they visit my home. But for someone to say to me they are coming over tonight for dinner, I would be panicking about preparations for their arrival. Making a shopping list for the meal and my décor. There would be some joy, but more focus on how much time I have.

Zacchaeus knows the life he has lived and is still happy to welcome Jesus into his home. I’m sure a few things didn’t cross his mind until after her realized what it meant to welcome Jesus. And Zacchaeus didn’t mope around; he moved quickly to get things prepared.  Of all the people around he chose Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus responds with gratitude.

Second, restitution. Jesus knows exactly who Zacchaeus is, what he does, how people would have treated him and how he treated others. He did not mention any of this when he asked to come to his home. Yet somehow this sparks Zacchaeus’ restitution.  

Zacchaeus is not asking for forgiveness, actually he never asks to be forgiven for what he has done. Instead, he offers to give back to any person he has wronged and even goes as far to say “I will pay back four times as much.” This is an act of generous restitution. Zacchaeus does not plead his case, does not ask for leniency and he does this of his own free will.

Third, Jesus’ response to Zacchaeus and the people. In the last two verses Jesus says something that no one was expecting. He begins with a response for Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.” Why is that important? Because it does two things for Zacchaeus, (1) he is offered salvation and (2) it restores his humanity.

His own generosity and action saved his future. Zacchaeus could have easily tried to hide himself from Jesus but instead has a revelation that leads to a generous act. But it also restores his humanity as an individual to be counted once again as one of the people. He had become an outcast because of his job and actions. So, no one wanted to welcome him into their community, nor did they even want to speak to him. Now he knows he is a son of Abraham.

Then Jesus responds to the people around by saying “ For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Jesus reminds the people of his purpose for being among them. It is not to dine with royalty and leave the least of them to suffer. Rather it is to seek out the people who have been longing for connection. To help those who are lost physically, mentally, emotionally, even spiritually find their way back to God.

At the end of this story, you can go home grumbling that Jesus went to Zacchaeus’ house instead of yours or realize the humility in someone who will eat with each of us no matter the circumstance. Someone who sees you for who you are and wants to help you return to God without judgement.

The real message to be found within the parable is that Jesus invites everyone to the table to sit and share life together. Not just Zacchaeus, but even you and me. He meets you where you are, not in a palace where you must bring your best self, but in your home. He meets you in your space, on the good days and the bad days. And what he offers is a chance for you to be yourself and to be restored.

It’s easy to hide in plain sight from the things that you’ve done, but you can’t hide in plain sight from what Christ sees in you. When Christ invites you to the table, meet him there with joy and gratitude.