(rough notes of a sermon)

Luke 19:1-10

Q. – what was such a highly placed govt. official doing in such a posture? Trad. answer – size – ‘Z was a very little man, a very little man was he’ could well be, but careful reading of the text leaves this issue in doubt (v.3) – ‘HE’ = Jesus? No clues Jesus’ phys. appearance…

Deeper reasons – I see him there as a symbol of the profound ambiguity we all face in our relationship to God and to each other. Struggle going on inside Z which is why he positioned himself in so unusual a spot.

For one thing, Z was up in that tree because he didn’t want to be seen as part of what was going on that day. Hiding up there separate and apart from everyone else, and this ‘body language’ tells us a great deal about this man. Facts meagre – deeply alienated individual. Jew, ‘son of Abraham’, yet worked for Roman government as tax collector = traitor, collaborator with enemy – Benedict Arnold, Quisling, so not surprising to find Z off away from crowd. Alienation had become a way of life, so even in relation to Jesus – an unknown stranger – Z was careful to keep his distance.

How did such a cycle of estrangement ever get started, not told. Society rejected Z, and he in turn reacted by rejecting society back? Or other way around? Always difficult to know who rejected whom first, but the cycle is utterly predictable. Rejection breeds counter-rejection, alienation produces more alienation, and pretty soon the chasms and walls are so deep and high that people are utterly remote and hostile to each other. This was the case among the citizens of Jericho at that time. The city that had once been famous for its walls had notl changed much. Zs position up that tree = didn’t want to have anything to do with these people or they with him. Perch up there was a symbol of his cut-offness, apartness, his remoteness from everything that was swirling about him.

At the same time, he’d made it a point that day to come and observe things from a distance. Startling fact. Why would a hardened seculr government official have left his office to do a thing like this? Z appeared so ‘turned off by the human race’ that it’s amazing he would bother. Here a deep hunger that even alienated person can’t ignore. Try as we will to ‘go it alone’ we human beings are unable to do so. Man is relational by nature and therefore relational in need. ‘It is not good for man to be alone’ says Genesis and sooner or later this reality has to be acknowledged.

Thus I believe Z, the hidden, was there that day secretly hoping to be found. Although on the surface he acted as if he didn’t need anyone, deep down he was hungry for relationship. Perhaps he’d heard of this Jesus that he was ‘a friend of sinners’. This was flung in derision by the religious people of that day, yet it must have intrigued Z. ‘If only there were a man of God who was not judgmental and self-righteous,’ Z must have thought, ‘maybe even someone like me can get back together again’. But there were no such people in Jericho. The way they would murmur ‘sinner’ a little later in the story is an indication of the coldness and legalism of that place, which may explain why Z had ventured out to the edge of the crowd that day. So cold – so lonely – for so long. Maybe, maybe – his heart pondered, was there One to take away the sin of the world and bring people back into the warmth of God and each other again?

= profound symbol/anbiguity in us all in relation to the primal realities. Part of us wants to hide, and have nothing to do with anything or anybody. And part of us wants to be found – and get back in touch again. Z up in that tree is everyman and everywoman in a sense…

Suddenly, apart from everybody’s expectation, Jesus did an incredible thing. Passed.. stopped.. pulled back leaves… ‘Z come down, I want to have lunch with you’.

How long do you suppose it had been since Z heard such words? When, if ever in Jericho, had another reached out to the tax collector and sought his company? Words had electrifying effect. Suddnely a long-standing cycle of rejection and counter-rejection was broken. Man everyone thought hated people – wouldn’t do anything for anybody showed himself to be warm and hospitable. Luke says he hurried down that tree and welcomed him with great joy. What a different person Z was when treated differently. All those years of rejection had called forth a rejecting response – but here was something different – here was Beauty kissing the Beast – someone saying to Z: I like you just as you are.

What an explosive power the gift of acceptance can be. Gets behind the defences thaqt attack. Had Jesus followed the usual strategy and made repentance the condition of acceptance…Imagine: ‘You little pint-sized no-hoper. Come down here and repent of all your sins. Grovel here in the dirt until you are worthy, and then we respectable people might have something to do with you…’ Z would have come down sullenly, spat into the ground, walked away in disgust, alienated even more deeply and further than ever from change…

But, as He always did, Jesus reversed that sequence. It was acceptance before repentance, not repentance before acceptance … Z so delighted/opened up like a flower … Provided a basis from which to deal with his sins… You see, he didn’t need to be told about his sins and shortcomings – knew about that already, which is why he’d grown so defensive and hostile. Did need to know somebody loved him and cared for him and saw a value in his life worth salvaging. That’s what always gives one the courage to repent – knowing there is a Power and a Mercy that has not given up on us.

And look what happened – a son of Abraham moved back into the family circle. Estranged man healed of his anger. Separated brother delivered out of the cycle of rejection and counter-rejection, and out of his new-found acceptance resolved to start accepting others. Listen to the man who once stood over against the community now saying: ‘I’ll give half my belongings to the poor, and if I’ve cheated anyone, I’ll pay him back four times as much’..For the 2nd time in Bible history, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, and a deeply alienated person was incorporated back into the human family…

Christ can do that for us, here, this morning… Doesn’t wait for us to become saints then offer to eat and drink with us … Offers to eat with us as a means of setting us on the way to sainthood.

That’s how we should regard the Supper set before us. Christ’s invitation to each one of us to have a meal with Him. Comes to us just where we are … ‘I love you, and I’d like to be with you … will you come down from where you’re hiding and break bread with me…?’

Most of us like Z. Some ambivalence… Part of us wants to hide from God, because we’re angry with Him or afraid of Him; we feel guilty and unclean, and we’re not at all sure what He’ll demand of us or do with us … tendency to hide, and put distance between ourselves and Him … like Adam in the garden or Z in the tree.

Yet alongside the reluctance is an opposite force – a hunger to be close to God, to be warmed by His love, to live by His wisdom, to know the joy of doing His will.

Like Z, both hiding/waiting to be found…

It can happen this morning, believe me. From out of the blue comes the word: ‘My friend, I want to eat with you. I desire the pleasure of your company. I find the thought of sharing with you to be a delight. I want to be close to you, because I like you… Will you come and eat with me?’

That’s what this Supper is all about – His finding us, and bringing us by the hand back to the family table…

Come on then, you up the tree … you’re hiding from God because you’re not worthy… and yet you’re wishing with all your heart that somehow you could be found?

I’ve got good news for you … You’ve been found. He’s here … He’s calling for you by name…’Z, come to the table … Supper’s ready … I want to eat with you…’

Well? The Master’s here and bids you eat and drink in His company … Will you?