Coming Down from the Tree

The 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

Luke’s gospel today features the well-known story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector of Jericho. It’s easy to picture this as a rather quaint story: here’s this short, pudgy bad guy who scampers up a tree and then has a major conversion experience thanks to Jesus.

Zacchaeus certainly knew how to live. He had taken advantage of Roman rule as a way to further his political and financial career. Yes, he was born a Jew, but since the Romans were going to be in power anyway, why not play the game by their rules? By collecting taxes from his own people for the Roman occupiers, he could gain favor with the government and get the perks he wanted. And it definitely paid off. As the passage tells us, he became “a chief tax collector and a wealthy man.”

Was Zacchaeus just a shrewd businessman or was he a traitor to his people? How could he live with himself for collaborating with the enemy? Maybe he was no different from the Jews who collaborated with the Nazis to get special treatment or privileges.

Evidently, Zacchaeus didn’t feel any need to make a choice between the God of his people and the gods of the Roman Empire. He bent his ethical behavior to conform to the political situation of his day. And when Jesus came to Jericho, Zacchaeus was curious to see him. After all, there was a lot of buzz about him. For someone like Zacchaeus who survived and prospered by keeping his thumb on the pulse of things, it makes sense that he’d want to get a closer look at this mystery man and prophet.

But doesn’t it strike you as odd the way the story continues? A person of Zacchaeus’ importance and status wouldn’t normally scamper around, climbing trees, to see anyone. In the ordinary course of events, he would have sent for Jesus, summoning him to his house. So it’s quite remarkable that this wealthy man stepped outside of the social structures of his day the way he did in order to see Jesus. It says something about his character—namely, that his desire to see Jesus and his short stature compelled him to run ahead of the crowd and climb a tree. The irony here, this inversion of normal power relationships, highlights a theme that we find throughout Luke: those in power must renounce their ways if they desire to be part of the realm of God.

I think there’s another interesting aspect and reason for Zacchaeus climbing the tree. Remember, he couldn’t have been a terribly popular fellow. He probably needed to have a bodyguard close by so somebody who hated his guts wouldn’t bash him. Being up in a tree afforded him a little safety from the crowd, as well as giving him a good vantage point to see all the action.

Do you ever find yourself acting like Zacchaeus, watching the parade of life going by from the safety of your tree? We see unemployment, starvation, drug abuse, homelessness, and prejudice of every kind. Sure, we feel sad about all that, but maybe we just go on taking advantage of the perks of the system that does the oppressing. As long as I can pay into my IRA, or collect my Social Security check, or have my dental insurance covered, life is OK. I deafen myself to the call of Jesus to feed the hungry, care for the sick, house the homeless.

I wonder what it would be like to just once stand up for God as if I really believed that God wanted me to get involved. What if Christ called me down from my tree and asked if he could be my houseguest.

Can you imagine? Picture yourself being called by Jesus to come down from your tree to escort Christ through your life. What would you want to throw out before Jesus arrived at your door? What would you want to add to your life’s routines?

This little mental exercise isn’t meant to make you feel bad. It’s very important to remember the message from our first reading today, the Book of Wisdom. Addressing the Lord himself, the text says: For you love all things that are / and loathe nothing that you have made; / for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. In other words, God doesn’t make junk. Even with all our flaws, the Lord loves us and wants to take care of us.

It’s not always easy to come down from the security of our perch. When I lived back in New Jersey, we had a business colleague named Jim who served in the Vietnam War. We went out to lunch one day and were crossing the street. A car backfired or hit a manhole cover or something, and Jim freaked out. He lived in a world of flashbacks and post-traumatic stress, doing his best to cope in the world.

Many of us carry around other burdens, from past abuses, dysfunctional families, childhood traumas, rejections, depression, or other profound losses and painful experiences. Climbing down the tree and embracing Christ is easier said than done. But the story of Zacchaeus can give us a dose of faith and hope that maybe we can do it, too.

Zacchaeus’ conversion began by helping himself. He made the effort to climb the tree. The question for each of us is: what do I have to do to turn things around? The view from the treetop may be great, but the blessing and joy of life—and the place where we are called to work out our salvation—is found here on the ground, in the thick of things.

Let’s pray today for ourselves and each other that the Lord will open our eyes and hearts to his grace and blessings.