Crowding round

James Cathcart November 04, 2022 0 2

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Luke 19: 1-10 (NRSVA)

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycomore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 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 down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ 9 Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’

It can be difficult when you know a Bible story well eh? The crowd are shocked when Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’s house, but we’re not. Zacchaeus might as well have a neon sign round his neck saying “GONNA GET AN INVITE”.

Even if we’re unfamiliar with it, or are fuzzy on the details, it’s hardly a big twist. In the New Testament you quickly discover Jesus likes eating with people, and often surprising people. We may be far removed from their world but we can gather it’s a story about Zacchaeus: a rich, unpopular, short dude who wants to see Jesus and unsurprisingly Jesus reaches out to him. It’s a story about how encountering Jesus has a profound transformative effect on people…

But

RECORD SCRATCH

What if the story isn’t about Zacchaeus? What if he’s the catalyst not the protagonist? What if this is a story, not about transformation, but about the lack of it?

So how about that crowd? In verse 7 we’re told all of them begin to grumble. Here’s a group of people, some probably just milling (as crowds do) but many of them eager to see Jesus. This crowd, dense enough that Zacchaeus can’t see through, with people straining to catch a glimpse of Jesus, all begin throwing shade.

Jesus is being wonderfully Jesus, surprising and welcoming. Zacchaeus is someone open to encounter him, ready for his life to change. But the crowd — they are seeing the Word at the heart of the universe reaching out to reconcile a lost man and they… mutter. And it’s in this context that Jesus goes on to tell them a story (the Parable of the Ten Minas, in verses 11-27). Jesus doesn’t go straight to Zacchaeus’s house for dinner! That’s often what I picture: the music swells, Jesus follows him as the credits roll. But we’re not there yet. Jesus sticks around to talk to the crowd.

Because this is a story about Zacchaeus and about transformation, but it’s also a story about a muttering crowd, and about how we can refuse to transform. It’s a reminder about how encountering Jesus can change our lives, but also a reminder that we can meet Jesus and fail to see the wonder in front of us.

PRAYER:

Ever-present God,

Help us to read and re-read the Bible

with weary eyes and fresh eyes

with wounded hearts and open hearts

ready to meet you

and the hope you have for our world.

Amen.