Zacchaeus Midrash Oct. 31, 2010 Page 1

Transcription

1 Zacchaeus Midrash Oct. 31, 2010 Page 1 Proper 26, Year C Isaiah 1:10-28; Psalm 32:1-8; 2 Thess. 1:1-4,11-12; Luke 19:1-10 St. John s, Sharon PA October 31, 2010 Today s sermon is a midrash on our Gospel reading. Midrash is an old tradition of imaginatively filling in the blanks of Scripture to tell the story around what was written down for us. This midrash is based on our Gospel passage, where Zacchaeus already seems to have begun his repentance by the time he meets Jesus, and on how Luke portrays tax collectors coming to see John the Baptist. Sit back and let your imagination enter into the story Zacchaeus rose when the potential new manager of his estates knocked at the door. Hopefully, he thought, this will be someone who knows what they are doing. Finding competent people to manage larger households was always difficult, but it was especially problematic for a Jewish tax collector. The qualified Greeks and Romans felt it was beneath them to work for an Israelite, and no good Jew demeaned himself by working with such an outcast. Usually only a motley crew of the dishonest and the bungling were available. But the letter of recommendation he had received about Eved showed promise. So why do you want to work for me? Zacchaeus asked him. You seemed to do well as the manager of Quintus s affairs before he died. Couldn t you stay on with his family? Well, of course, sir. Eved replied. But I had heard you needed some help, and, frankly, you remind me of myself. The youngest son of a big Jewish family with few good prospects, you managed to make yourself successful by working with the Romans. And look how well you ve done. The youngest man in memory to become the supervisor of Palestinian toll collectors. Who wouldn t want to work for you? But the real reason is that I saw the priests shouting and calling you Not a worthy child of Abraham, when you wanted to make a gift to the Temple. They wouldn t take my gifts either. So Eved got the job, and performed admirably. One day after going over receipts with Zacchaeus, he said, So have you heard about the crazy man Baptizing up by the Jordan. They say he s giving fits to the Temple leadership. Too many people are listening to him. Yes, Zacchaues replied, even the Roman officials are little bit worried. They don t like anyone who s unpredictable. It sounds like he s saying some interesting things, though. One of my men farther north, Matthew, has heard him and is quite taken with him. You know, said Eved, you haven t inspected anything in that region for some time. We could make a short business trip, then swing by on the way back to see him.

2 Zacchaeus Midrash Oct. 31, 2010 Page 2 By the time Zacchaeus and Eved reached the Jordan valley, they had been traveling most of the day. As they approached the place John was Baptizing, they saw a huge crowd. I guess others had the same idea we did, said Zacchaeus. Look closer, though, said Eved. Those people arguing with John. They are some of the Temple leaders from Jerusalem. Zacchaeus was too short to see, but he listened attentively as the leaders berated John about the proper way to worship God. John kept calling them back to repentance from even their proper worship. Then Zacchaeus heard someone in the crowd shout, Well, Abraham is our Father, so we do not need to repent as you say. John thundered back, as if his voice were booming from heaven itself, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Zacchaeus felt overwhelming dread and uncontrollable joy fighting for control of his heart. The Temple priests were wrong. They did not have a monopoly on God s salvation. They could not reject anyone from being a child of Abraham. Yet, he also knew that his life was far from worthy of God. He had made many shrewd, selfish moves to obtain his wealth and his position. Many people were impressed, and he himself had often looked with pride on his ruthlessness. But in the presence of this holy man, someone who had given up everything that society valued to preach in the desert, he felt deeply ashamed. He barely heard someone in the crowd lament, What then should we do? Then John shouted, Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise. Someone else shouted, We are toll collectors. Teacher, what should we do? Zacchaeus s heart skipped. What would be John s instruction for him? Could he live up to it? Then John s voice proclaimed, Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you. Zacchaeus s face lit up. He knew what he had to do. He pushed his way through the crowd, moving like a man possessed. He sought to get to John with all his strength. He struggled through the line of Jerusalem officials at the front of the crowd, and when he broke through, he jumped into the Jordan River. Half wading, half falling, he threw himself in front of John and said, Look, I will give half of my possessions to the poor, and whatever I have defrauded anyone I will restore fourfold. And, panting for breath, he felt himself dunked into the water as John baptized him. After a long, deeply silent journey home, a few miles from Jericho, Eved said, If John has this much power, and the authority to make us children of Abraham again, who do you think this Messiah he spoke of will be.

3 Zacchaeus Midrash Oct. 31, 2010 Page 3 I do not know, said Zacchaeus. But when I am ready, I will seek to see him. First, I must bear fruit worthy of repentance. Bring in all my books tomorrow morning. We will begin to give half of it away to the poor and to make amends to those I have defrauded. Breaking with his old ways was not easy for Zacchaeus. He had used his ample wealth to put many important people in his debt. Now he was only making friends among the poor and needy, other outcasts who would never be able to repay him his generosity. As he stopped throwing lavish parties for visiting Roman officials, fewer soldiers were interested in helping him intimidate passing traders. For the most part, though, people were so grateful to be paying the actual tax and not a fraudulent amount extorted by Zacchaeus and his henchman that all the necessary collections were made. Trade even increased a bit for him, as word got out that there was a fair toll collector in the area. His family, which had thrown him out when he started acquiring his wealth dishonestly, almost totally disowned him now that he was giving it away instead of trying to buy his way back into their hearts. He still had a long way to go before he would be able to give away half his possessions, though, for his possessions were many, and giving them away seemed to take a long time. He also didn t quite know how to go about making restitution to the people he defrauded. He put it off, telling himself that most of them were traveling merchants, and he didn t know where they were. Then one day Eved ran into his office. Have you heard about him? Eved asked. About whom? Zacchaeus replied. About this Jesus everyone is talking about. Apparently he s John s cousin and is teaching with authority like John s. He could be John the Baptist back from the dead. Where is he? asked Zacchaeus. Somewhere in the villages of Galilee, said Eved. He seems quite hard to track down. He mostly preaches in the countryside and avoids the cities. Zacchaeus knew immediately he wanted to see this Jesus. But he also knew he wasn t quite ready. Later that day, a huge caravan came into the area. He recognized it while it was still a good ways down the road. More than that, he remembered the price he had extracted for their passage the previous year. In his lucrative career he had never made such a large profit in a single transaction. As the memories of that day came to him, he knew what he had to do. He sent a note to Eved, telling him to bring a large sum of money to the toll station. The cash arrived at exactly the same time as the caravan.

4 Zacchaeus Midrash Oct. 31, 2010 Page 4 Zacchaeus called the caravan leader aside privately and handed him a heavy sack. Looking into it, the trader said, What is this? Last year I had to pay you. Zacchaeus answered him, saying, My assistants will evaluate the proper toll for this year. The money is my fourfold repayment to you for what I cheated from you last year. The trader was dumbstruck. Zacchaeus ushered him quickly back to his camels and his donkeys. Over the next few months, Zacchaeus s life was turned upside down. Every couple of days he recognized someone he had wronged and made amends to them. At the same time, he kept his ears open for any rumor about this Jesus of Nazareth, hoping that he might find a way to see him in person. He heard a report that Matthew had left his job and was traveling the countryside with Jesus. Then one day Zacchaeus was sitting and figuring out how much he owed the Roman government that month when Eved came in. Congratulations, he said, You ve done it. I can t believe it, but you ve done it. Done what? Zacchaeus replied. Given away half of everything you own. It took a while, but I ve looked at your accounts and you now have given to the poor half of what you had on that day we met John the Baptist. Zacchaeus started to speak, but was interrupted by a great commotion outside. A young boy was shouting, He s here! He s here! Zacchaeus s heart jumped. Could it be? he thought. Running outside, Zacchaeus, called, Lad, who s here? What is happening? Jesus is coming. He should be in Jericho within the hour. Zacchaeus knew that this was the day. He could feel that he was ready. The despair had left him entirely, and only joy remained. He wanted to see Jesus with all his heart and soul and strength and mind. He didn t know what would happen. He only knew that today he would see Jesus. Zacchaeus looked around. Already the streets were swarming with people. The crowds were so large that he couldn t see anything. He moved down the block and the street was full there, too. He kept going, faster and faster, trying to push toward the front, looking for any hole in the wall of bodies the stood between him and the route this prophet would walk down. He could hear from the murmurings that something was happening, but there were no gaps in the crowd. He could feel that Jesus was so close now. Ahead of him, just a bit, was a sycamore tree. From a branch on the sycamore, he knew he could see. If people wanted to laugh at him, fine, but he was going to see Jesus. He climbed up the sycamore tree and saw Jesus coming down the road. Expectation and joy were washing over him so much that his body started to shake. Twice he almost slipped off the branch he was sitting on.

5 Zacchaeus Midrash Oct. 31, 2010 Page 5 Then Jesus was there, directly underneath him. And he stopped. Jesus looked up, right into his eyes, and Zacchaeus felt his own eyes opened as Jesus gazed into them. And Zacchaeus heard a voice that came all at once from the mouth of the man below him, from the very vault of heaven itself and from the depths of his own heart: Zacchaeus, come down, hurry, for it is a necessary part of God s plan that I remain with you today. Zacchaeus jumped down from the tree, so quickly did he want to meet Jesus. Beckoning Jesus to follow, he almost skipped to his house. He saw Matthew in the group surrounding Jesus and waved. At the door, he called Eved to begin preparing a feast. Then, as Jesus came to the threshold of Zacchaeus s house and Zacchaeus was about to offer him a joyful, generous welcome, a shrill voice from the crowd shouted, Look, he is going to be the guest of a sinner. Zacchaeus s heart fell. He had come so close. Standing as tall as he could, and once again looking deep into Jesus eyes, he confessed, Look, Lord, I am giving half of my goods to the poor, and whatever I have defrauded from anyone I am paying it back fourfold. Zacchaeus felt Jesus gaze burn into him until everything outside of him disappeared except for Jesus, and everything inside of him disappeared except for love, forgiveness and joy. Then he heard that voice again: Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a child of Abraham. Zacchaeus knew that as he was welcoming Jesus into his house, Jesus was welcoming him into so much more.