Proper 26, Year C (October 30, 2022) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

Proper 26, Yr C (2022)                                                          

Luke 19:1-10                                                                              

In the name of the one, holy, and living God:

in whom we live, and move, and have our being.  Amen.

To see or not to see:

            that is the question!

Just prior to today’s gospel passage as Jesus was approaching Jericho,

            a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.

When he heard a crowd passing by,

            he asked what was going on.

He is told, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

So the blind man shouts out:

            “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!”

The folks nearby order him to be quiet,

            but he yells out all the louder:

                        “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus hears him shouting this time and stops.

He asks the man, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, let me see again.”

And Jesus restores his sight.

In today’s gospel reading we hear another story about seeing and being seen….

Jesus has now arrived in Jericho and is passing through.

Zacchaeus, just like the blind man, has heard about this man, Jesus,

            perhaps having heard about his wisdom in teaching

and his ability to heal.

Zacchaeus can hardly contain himself when he hears that Jesus is passing through.

All he wants is to just get a glimpse of this man,

            so he scrambles up a sycamore tree to get above the crowds so he can see Jesus.

Maybe the crowds have even been blocking his way!

Can you imagine his surprise and utter delight when Jesus walks beneath the tree and looks up to see Zacchaeus, a grown man, up in a tree just trying to get a glimpse of him.

Not only does Jesus see Zacchaeus, but he calls him by name!

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down;

            for I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus comes scrambling down the tree as fast as he can to welcome Jesus.

While his heart is brimming over with joy,

            everyone else seems irritated.

They begin to grumble.

“Why does Jesus go to eat with this sinner?”

“This sinner”….that is how his community refers to him,

            yet Jesus called him by his name: Zacchaeus.

Not only did Jesus call him by name,

            but he showed him honor by asking Zacchaeus to provide him hospitality.

A double dose of God’s favor!

You see, Zacchaeus was one of “them”…

                        one of “those people”…

            someone who worked for the Roman oppressors.

In their minds, they probably saw him as an enemy,

and Jesus chose to eat at his house.

What an outrage!

But then again, it seems that almost everything Jesus does is outrageous!

Again and again, Jesus sees people for who they are…

            he sees the goodness in them…

                        he sees their faith…

                                    he see the places that can change for better…

      he seems to see what no one else can, or will, see.

And to be truly seen by Jesus most often elicits healing…

            or at least the invitation to healing.

Not everyone responds positively to the invitation.

Zacchaeus stands there and says to Jesus,

            “Look, I give half my possessions to the poor,

       and if I defraud anyone of anything, I pay them back fourfold.”

The verb tense used here by Zacchaeus is the “present future.”

So, Zacchaeus is saying that this is already his way of life

            and that he will continue this way of life into the future.

He may collect taxes for the Roman government,

            but he also is generous to those in need,

        and he repays anyone he harms.

 I’m guessing no one else in that crowd saw that part of his life.

            He was condemned only on the basis of being a tax collector.

Jesus, however, sees something different.

He sees the whole man, Zacchaeus.

He sees the man who collects taxes and sometimes defrauds people;

            He also sees the man who is generous to the poor.

In his true seeing of Zacchaeus,

            he offers to sit and break bread with him in him home.

       What a gift!

Zacchaeus is gifted in seeing this Jesus who offers healing and wholeness.

Zacchaeus is gifted in being seen by Jesus,

in his full humanity,

        and receiving his love and respect.

To see or not to see,

            that is our question!

Throughout the Gospel stories, Jesus often seeks out or tends to those people who live on the margins:

            the blind man begging on the roadside…

       Zacchaeus, the tax collector.

Jesus sees everyone in their full humanity and offers them love, and respect, and healing.

When Jesus offered Zacchaeus healing,

            Zacchaeus pledged to continue to share his wealth with those in need,

      which means he would have had to first see those in need in his community

                        and then respond.

Whenever we feel unseen or lost or on the “outside,”

            The Good News is that God sees us, loves us, offers us healing, and walks us home.

And we are called to offer such “seeing” and loving and healing to the world around us.

A few years ago in Durham I went to hear a panel on gun violence.

The founder of a small grassroots organization spoke as one who used to stand behind the gun, inflicting violence on others.

He talked about how guns are used to demand and earn respect on the street.

He suggested that one way to diminish gun violence is to first offer people respect and love because that is what people are seeking. 

That is their need and their longing. 

If people feel respected and loved, then they need not demand it in violent ways.

So, every Wednesday evening a group of folks went into neighborhoods where someone had recently been killed by a gun, and they were just present in the community for a few hours.

They talked with people and listened to their stories…

            They listened to their pain, their struggles, their sadness, their hopes, their joys.

I wonder: if we are able to see everyone as a child of God,

including ourselves,

     then perhaps there will be no need for us to objectify the “other”…

we can see the collective “we.”

I also wonder…

            What are the needs in our community?

Who are the people who would do anything to see the likes of Jesus in their midst?

When I interviewed here, I asked what the two biggest needs were in Haywood County.

Without hesitation the answers I got were:

1)     Addiction

2)     Affordable housing…truly affordable housing

Are there ways that St. Andrew’s might be able to engage in efforts along these lines?

There are a few other churches who are trying to establish some Oxford Houses here in Haywood County to provide for affordable housing for folks who are in recovery from addiction.

Perhaps we could assist them in some way.

Perhaps that is not our calling at this time.

Whatever we are called to do, the point is this:

            As we come to know that God seeks us out, sees us, and offers us healing…

      we keep our eyes open to see others who need such grace and love in their lives,

                        and then I pray we have the courage to embrace them.

I pray that God will continue to work in and through us

            so that God’s healing may infuse this world.

Zacchaeus, come and hurry down;

            for I must stay at your house today.

Can you see?

Amen.