Sermon, 03 Nov.

For anyone who has ever been stuck in a crowd, we know it’s a bizarre experience. A whole bunch of people all crunched together into a small space, usually for one purpose. That purpose may change from time to time, but it’s still a crowd. The shoving, the pushing, the claustrophobic feeling.Crowds can be well-behaved; you see this happening when someone like a famous author is in town – semi-orderly lines, no real pushing and shoving, general decorum. Folks recognize that everyone will get a turn, so long as they all lay nicely. It’s still comparable to the jam in the donut – squished in, waiting to burst out.Crowds can also be rather badly behaved. We’ve all heard stories of some famous actor or music star that brings out the worst in people. The pushing and shoving happens, it’s everyone for themselves. No apologies for stepping on someone else’s toes, maneuvering to get a better spot, and unfortunately the less-than-honest folks in the crowd take advantage of the diverted attention to take wallets or cameras. In worst case scenarios the crushing feeling becomes literal crushing, and people can get injured – or worse.So why do we have crowds? Why do we flock like lemmings into these behaviours?  Because we want to see someone or something spectacular. Because we want to brush up against the WOW factor that they seem to offer. We all want to see it. We all want to say ‘we were there.’ And this is normal for humans, this is not a new phenomena.Take today’s Gospel, for instance. We get a crowd pushing and shoving, everyone trying to get close to Jesus. They wanted to see him, they wanted to touch him, they wanted to have their moment with him. And who can blame them – it’s Jesus!So what happens for someone who’s known to be a bit of an outcast, an unliked person, the chief tax collector. Ick – we don’t like tax collectors – they made their money by ripping off the average person. They collected the taxes for the emperor but didn’t earn a salary that way. No, their personal salary came from what they extorted on top of the taxes they were collecting. So Zaccheus – the chief tax collector. He’s getting the money that he himself forces people to give him, plus he’s taking a little bit from each of the other tax collectors’ earnings as well. He’s rich from this – it’s very little work with considerable payout. As a result, he’s really not anyone’s favourite person, and for him to show up to a crowd could be dangerous. Harm could come to him, and no one would be able to identify who had inflicted it. He could be robbed, beaten, even killed.But – he’s curious. He wants to see Jesus just like everybody else. He wants that moment.So our curious, short, disliked tax collector does the logical thing. He climbs a tree. This not only gives him a better vantage point, it also gives him a bit of cover (and therefore safety) behind the leaves. He can see, but not really BE seen. He can feel like he’s a part of it all without exposing himself to that danger.Zaccheus is in this tree, hiding out, hanging out, seeing the person of Jesus. WOW. Exciting. Good for him.But not good enough for God.Jesus takes definitive action here, in front of the multitudes of the crowds. He calls him out – by name – and gives him a very specific ministry.By calling him by name, he reminds Zaccheus that he is known – by God, and by the community. He does not resort to an anonymous call (“Hey, you in the tree!”) ; he does not use an insulting nickname that Zaccheus no doubt was known by. He calls him by name.By calling him out of the tree, Jesus lets Zaccheus know that his actions are well known. It’s as though Jesus is saying to him “I know why you climbed that tree, I know why you want to stay in that tree, but the time has come for you to be part of the people here, not to separate yourself from them.” Jesus is challenging Zaccheus to change his stature within the community in a safe way. Come down from the tree where people can see you, and you might get hurt; come down from the tree while Jesus is watching you, you will be safe and welcomed. By calling Zaccheus out of the tree Jesus is opening a door to reconciliation within the community.By inviting himself to stay at Zaccheus’ home, Jesus is letting him know that the results of his previous actions are also known. Jesus will see the richness of Zaccheus’ possessions when he gets to the house, he will know where that money came from. And yet Zaccheus allows it. In fact, he embraces it, despite the disagreement from those gathered, despite the truth that it brings to light. He allows it because he has allowed Jesus to change his heart. In welcoming Jesus to his home, Zaccheus sees his situation as though for the first time, and is inspired to change it for the better of his community.Zaccheus has been changed by being called out of his tree of denial, by name, to a specific ministry. He pledges to give away his possessions, because he has finally realized that relationships are more important than things. And he knows what is truly important for his life from now on. If we think about it, we have all been in our own tree at some point. Metaphorically, of course. Hiding from something that we know deep down is our own doing. Avoiding something we don’t want to face, while still slightly on the sidelines so we can watch what’s happening. Our tree might be avoiding social events, refusing to answer the phone, not responding to a letter or email.In these ‘tree’ moments, we are usually avoiding our relationships: we’d rather not apologise to someone when our feelings were hurt, because we might have to admit we’re wrong about the conflict. We still want to know what’s happening though, so we’ll ask mutual friends what’s going on. We want to know, from the safety of the periphery.Sometimes our tree moment is with our neighbours, our families, our broader community.Sometimes our tree moment is with God. We know that we have sinned, and yet we don’t always want to face that sin. To face our sin means we have to be accountable for our actions and to see out reconciliation, with God and with one another. That’s hard. That’s not something we as a society are necessarily good at. And so we instead climb our spiritual tree; trying to ignore the wrong and not trying to fix the broken relationship. Just like Zaccheus, the reading today invites us to come out of our own spiritual tree. Jesus is calling us by name. He knows us, he knows what we have done, he knows where we have broken relationships with others (and with Him).So Jesus calls us by our name – a very personal and intimate call.Jesus invites us to acknowledge in our own lives what it is that is keeping us in that tree – is it sin? Fear? Arrogance?Jesus knows that when we are no longer able to hide within that tree, that we too will come out – not to a dangerous crowd, but to our neighbours.Jesus knows that we have a ministry to welcome the stranger, to extend hospitality to those who need it – whether we might want to or not – because it is what God wants us to do.And Jesus wants us to let ourselves be moved by his presence. To be changed and molded by our encounters with him. To accept the offer of community that we are being shown and promised.It’s not always easy. Sometimes we like the tree – if we’ve been there for a while we may think it’s normal. Yet we’re called to come out and be changed. We’re called to delight in the fact that God is changing not just our hearts, but the hearts of the crowd around us. We’re called to respond to the invitation of reconciliation and salvation, and to celebrate that Jesus – the Son of Man – came to seek out and save the Lost – including each and every one of us.Amen.