Zacchaeus may have been happy to hear that Jesus was coming to his house, but it was not otherwise a popular move. Luke tells us, “All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’”
One who is a sinner. It’s well and good to talk about the Kingdom of God and loving your neighbor as yourself, not to mention your enemies – but to actually go to the home of one of the worst of the tax collectors? That’s a political “third-rail” move, guaranteed to get you in trouble with your followers. In our time, it might be choosing to work with sex offenders or drug lords to stop cycles of addiction and violence. Many people refuse to see any humanity in people who abuse others, even if many abusers are also victims. If you can categorize someone as an abuser, you can stop thinking of her as a person. He’s a [ ] – fill in the blank.
I believe Jesus would stand with persons victimized, condemn the action and the damage caused – and also reach out to the perpetrators. Jesus wasn’t interested in popularity – he was interested in the mission of God to reclaim and restore all humanity to wholeness. All humanity – even those who do their worst.
Jesus had a way of seeing past people's outward characteristics – illness, possession, greed, even violence. He did not confuse anyone with her disease or his disorder. Rather, he aligned himself with the core self within that person, and brought the power that made the universe to the person’s true self, weak as it may have been. He saw who Zacchaeus was, apart from all the wickedness he wrought. He saw a broken child of God, not just an “extortioner” or a “sinner.”
He invites us to do no less. Sometimes that true self is hard to find, buried under layers of lies, pretense and pretention. When someone is far gone on the path of addiction, for instance, the core self may be very, very faint. Yet we can trust it is there, because this person is a child of God. We are called to offer our strength and our will and our love to that core self – not the outer behavior, but the true self. In Christ, no one is beyond repair, not Zacchaeus, not anyone, unless they absolutely choose to be.
Can you think of someone who seems beyond redemption, who is so destructive to herself or others, it’s hard to see any humanity? Might be someone you know or know of; might be a category into which you’ve lumped a whole lot of people. In prayer today, hold that person or group in God’s light for a few moments, asking God to rescue them from who they are becoming, to restore them to who they truly are.
Is God calling you to some kind of action to reach out to such a person? It can be like reaching out to an angry dog – you might get nipped at. Does Jesus invite you to join him in reaching out anyway?
The baptismal covenant Episcopalians affirm asks, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” We can’t respect someone’s dignity while lumping them into a group of “others” – saints or sinners. We need the courage to see each person on her own terms. We answer that question, “I will, with God’s help.” God’s help is there for us when we’re at our worst, and God’s help is here for us to help others become their best.
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