Sermon - St John's Cathedral, Winnipeg: Pente+24

            Good morning. I want to start this morning with a word of gratitude to your rector, my friend Paul, for the invitation to preach here this morning. St John's is my spiritual home; this community played an integral part of my early days in ministry and so it's great to come 'home'. Thank you.

            So I'm here on vacation. Last weekend I was at the Winnipeg Jets Heritage Classic hockey games. This is as good as it gets for a Jets fan living in southern Ontario. It was great. The energy, the enthusiasm, the crowds. Some 33,240 people in Investor's Group stadium, watching hockey. But what an experience! What a great time to be part of a big crowd, part of a big event. Part of history - people will be talking Teemu's winning goal for a long time.

            Sitting next to me was a little guy - about 4 years old - and his dad. Despite the carefully planned out stadium seating, there were times when he couldn't see. So he went onto his dad's lap, to get a better view. And sometimes, he went on his dad's shoulders - so he wouldn't miss anything. That's logical, right? Something big is happening, something for the history books, you want to be able to say "I was there! I *saw* that!"

            Sound familiar? Well, that's exactly the same mentality that we hear about in today's gospel. Zacchaeus is a short little guy, and he's in a big crowd, and he wants to see what's going on. But Zacc doesn't have the benefit of graduated seating, or someone's shoulders to stand on, so he does the best he can - and scurries ahead, right up a tree.

            Now why did he do that? Why didn't he instead just move to the front of the crowds, or ask some friends to let him through?

            Luke gives us the answer right in the description of the man. 9 words with a world of meaning: "He was a chief tax collector, and was rich." This is not just a job and a socio-economic status. This speaks about the kind of person Zacchaeus was, and how he was situated with the others in the community.

            He was a tax collector. And not just any tax collector, the CHIEF tax collector. And rich, to boot. The best tax collector in Jericho; the one with the most authority, with staff working under him, with lots of money from his job.

            Hmm. Now we know that tax collectors collected the monies that they had to, to pass along to the government - but to make their own living had to collect even more from people. So they scammed them, they overcharged, they did anything they could to live their own lives. And Zacchaeus - a rich man - was very good at taking other people's money.

            Not exactly the kind of person that average folks would want to associate with. His richness literally came from their own pockets, the clothes from their backs and the meals from their tables. Think of Tevye's song about wanting material comforts in "Fiddler on the Roof" "If I were a rich man, dubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum" - the biblical folks coming to see Jesus could have sung that with Zacchaeus in mind - not working hard, big tall house with rooms by the dozen, the long staircase going up and even longer one coming down - Zacchaeus had all that because the average person paid for it.

            So there he is, short little lonely man, sitting up in the tree, trying to just be by himself. Preferably unnoticed, without attention being drawn to him. And then Jesus walks past. And in typical Jesus style, everyone there is invited into a new way of thinking and being.

            Like a spotlight being shone, and an announcer calling out: Jesus speaks directly to Zacchaeus, and invites himself to the tax collector's for a meal.

            At best, that's presumptuous. But it's so much more than that! Jesus isn't doing this to get himself a good meal at the best place in town. He's highlighting that nothing is hidden from God - he knows exactly who and what Zacc is, and what he has done to all the people in Jericho.

            Yet - despite all this - something BIG happens here. It's simultaneously astonishing and overlooked. Zacchaeus's life is forever altered - and Luke says it this way: "so he hurried down and was happy to welcome him."

            Underwhelming, when we just hear those simple words. But the change that MUST have happened in Zacc's heart for this to take place; its something that only God can do. Zacchaeus knows he is a sinner, that his actions have hurt others, that Jesus is a teacher who is opposing the very government that Zacchaeus works so well for and benefits so greatly from. Yet he is willing to hurry down the tree, to the midst of the crowd, and happily - happily! - welcome Jesus into his home.

            And the people standing there in the crowds do not like it. Because they don't like Zacchaeus - and it's easier to stay angry with that man, that TAX COLLECTOR, than to see in him a beloved child of God who is worthy of God's grace and love and salvation. It's easier for them to judge Zacchaeus on what they know of his past, rather than to appreciate the subtle but powerful change that is happening right before them.

            Yet undeterred, Zacc decides that he wants to start making things right - as right as he can. He promises to give half his possessions to the poor. Half his possessions: imagine giving up half of your home, your clothing, your car, your bank accounts. On the spot. And then, with the half that's left, Imagine searching out everyone you've done business with, to ask if they felt your dealings were fair, and if not offering them four times the deals' value.

            That's a changed man. That's a changed attitude. That's someone who is not only acknowledging and addressing the actions of the past, but intentionally making a change for the future, too. Because Zacchaeus will never again be a tax collector. He will not have staff to do his work, he will not have the creature comforts that come from a position of power and authority. He will not be a rich man any longer - he'll need to find a new home, new employment, and develop new relationships with all the other folks in Jericho. And for any of us who have ever tried to make right relationships and heal broken trusts, we know it takes a long time and a lot of effort.

            And the people he's offended may not want restitution, they may not believe his change. So what if Zacchaeus is no longer a tax collector - someone else will be.

            But Zacchaeus, despite all the challenges and sacrifices and opposition from his neighbours, embraces the opportunity to live the rest of his life in faith. He wants to be like the people that we hear of throughout the other scriptures today - the righteous, living by their faith. Being celebrated for their faith; becoming known for their faith, being upheld in prayer as they continue to grow in faith.

            Isn't that what we all want in our walk with God?

            So I pray that we too might embrace the invitation to live a righteous life as freely as Zacchaues did - not judging others, as the crowds did, but allowing our hearts to be changed by the grace of God.

            May we reflect on our lives and actions, to see ourselves how Jesus himself sees us.

            May we recognise new and exciting opportunities to engage with the world around us to the very best of our ability.

            May we delight in being a child of God - at every age and stage of our spiritual journey - knowing that we are never so sinful that God can not love us, nor are we ever so righteous that we don't need God's redemption.

            May we come out of our own tree - whatever metaphorical tree that keeps us from doing the ministry God is calling us to - and celebrate the privilege of welcoming Christ into our lives.