Don’t Want Not Short People (10/30/16)
Niels Larsen Stevns, Zacchaeus
On October 30 2016, we examined the story of Zacchaeus. I can't hear this story without thinking of Randy Newman's song, "Short People." I also can't hear this story without thinking of my Aunt Laurie. She was very short, too, but that's only one reason why I think of her. Read on to find out more.
Sermon
Good
morning! I have a question for you: How many of you recognize the title of my
sermon this morning? Of course, you’d probably have to be over 40 to catch the
reference to Randy Newman’s song, “Short People.” I’m guessing that one or two
of you are over the age of 40, even if you don’t remember the song.
Randy Newman
Every
time I hear the story of Zacchaeus, I think of this song, and not just because
Zacchaeus was short. You see, when I was a kid, my Aunt Laurie had a dog—he was
a funny looking dog. His mother was a purebred Springer spaniel and the father,
well, we’re not so sure. There were nine pups in that litter and no two of them
looked alike. Laurie’s dog had really short legs and he looked like he was part
Bassett hound. Aunt Laurie wanted to name the dog Zacchaeus, but the name
didn’t take; the dog didn’t respond to that name. Instead, he was named Dudley,
after the British actor Dudley Moore, who was also known for being very short.
I should add that Aunt Laurie was a hair over five feet tall. And she hated the song “Short People.” This is
one more reason why I think of that song when I hear the story of Zacchaeus.
My
aunt wasn’t alone. Turns out, a lot of people hated that song. Randy Newman was
totally surprised by the reaction to “Short People.” He wrote the song as a
statement about prejudice; he thought that the lyric was ridiculous and that
people would realize that he was singing the song ironically. That is, Newman
was playing a character in his song; a silly, bigoted character. And he thought
that people would see through that bigotry and recognize that it was silly and
understand that it was a song about prejudice. Most people got the joke, but
some people thought that Newman was attacking short people. My aunt got the
joke, but she still didn’t like the song.
Now,
as I think about this song, it reminds me less of the story of Zacchaeus and more
of the Pharisee in the parable that Jesus told. I think this parable helps us
to understand the story of Zacchaeus. In this parable, the Pharisee thinks that
he alone is righteous, that he is more worthy than all other Jews. And
certainly, by all outward appearances, he is. He does exactly what is expected
of him, according to the Law of Moses.
This
parable is deceptively simple. On its surface it offers a straightforward
critique of who is and who is not truly righteous. It invites us to read
ourselves into the story as the tax collector. We come to church every
Sunday—or nearly every Sunday—and we confess our sins as a congregation, and
then we assure ourselves that our sins are forgiven. It’s easy for us to admit
that we have sinned, at least in the abstract. So, hey, we must be the good guys in this
parable because we admit that we’re sinners and we know God forgives us! And
that’s the trap! The minute we identify the good guys and the bad guys in this
story, the minute we cast ourselves as the tax collector, that’s when we become
the Pharisee!
The
Pharisee is both righteous and self-righteous. He is the agent in his part of
the parable; he’s the one who is doing all the right actions. It’s all about
him: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues,
adulterers, or even like this tax collector. The Pharisee believes he is set
apart from all other people because he, he alone is righteous. Moreover,
Pharisees believed that they had to be physically separated from all of the
sinners and the unrighteous, as they could become contaminated by the sins of
others.
The
problem is that the Pharisee believes that he is the one who makes himself
righteous, rather than God. Remember the story that I told last Sunday, about
the mission trip to South Africa and Lesotho, and how bored I was on the first
day of the service project—I thought it was all about what I was doing there,
and not what God was doing with me. I was like the Pharisee. “Trusting in
oneself is obviously a posture of blindness to one’s position before God.”[1]
The
tax collector, by contrast, recognizes that he is unrighteous and there’s
nothing he can do to earn God’s mercy. So he offers a simple prayer: “God, be
merciful to me, a sinner.” That’s it. God, have mercy on me, a sinner. The tax
collector approaches God in humility and asks for mercy.
The nature of grace is
paradoxical: It can be received only by those who have learned empathy for
others. Only the merciful can receive mercy, and only those who forgive will be
forgiven. The Pharisee had enough religion to be virtuous, but not enough to be
humble. As a result, his religion drove him away from the tax collector rather
than toward him.[2]
Jesus concludes the parable by restating the paradox
of God’s grace: “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble
themselves will be exalted.”
The
story of Zacchaeus offers an example of what this looks like. In the beginning
of the story, Zacchaeus is trying to exalt himself! That is, he’s trying to
climb a sycamore tree because he’s too short to see Jesus! This is very
important. The verb, to see, has a deeper meaning in Luke’s gospel.
The
story of Zacchaeus occurs right after Jesus heals a blind man. Remember, too, a
few weeks ago, when the gospel reading told the story of Jesus healing ten
lepers. Yet after Jesus had healed the lepers, only one of them realized that
he had been healed. That is, only one leper truly saw that he had been healed. Also, in the story of the Good
Samaritan, the Samaritan is the only one who truly sees the man who is lying in
the road, and then he reaches out to help the man.
In
Luke’s gospel, “seeing means more than just physical sight—it means on the one
hand perceiving the opportunity to be merciful toward another, and on the other
hand the recognition that God’s mercy has touched one’s life.”[3] At
the beginning of this story, Zacchaeus has not yet seen Jesus. Yet it seems that Zacchaeus knows that there is
something to see, something that is missing in his own life. And then, against
all odds, Jesus sees Zacchaeus!
Now I
have no idea if the Pharisees would have scorned Zacchaeus for his short
stature. But certainly, Zacchaeus was a sinner and the Pharisees didn’t want to
be tainted by his sin—they didn’t want Zacchaeus around. As a tax collector, Zacchaeus had to collect
the taxes that supported the Roman Empire, and the troops that occupied
Palestine!
Collecting
taxes was an ugly business. The Romans told each tax collector what he had to
send back to Rome each year. The tax collector had broad powers to collect—or
extort—taxes from the Jewish people. He could send soldiers to collect money or
confiscate property. He could collect more in taxes than the Romans demanded
and he could pocket the difference. Keep in mind that most people couldn’t read
or write. If there was a dispute between the tax collector and an illiterate
person, who do you think would win the dispute?
So
even if Zacchaeus had been an honest tax collector, everyone would have assumed
that he was defrauding his own people. And it’s quite possible that Zacchaeus
was cheating the other Jews. He was clearly a sinner! When Zacchaeus climbs the
sycamore tree to see Jesus, Jesus
calls out to him. Jesus sees
Zacchaeus and commands Zacchaeus to welcome Him! This is how Jesus operates:
From the outset of
Luke's gospel and throughout its narrative, Jesus sides with those on the margin,
those considered down and out, those not accounted as much in the eyes of the
world. While Zacchaeus is rich, he is nevertheless despised by his neighbors,
counted as nothing, even as worse than nothing. Yet Jesus singles him out. By
seeing him, calling him, staying with him, and blessing him, Jesus declares for
all to hear that this one, even this chief tax collector, is a child of
Abraham...and child of God. Perhaps Jesus is again at work seeking out those
who are lost (whether through their own actions or those around them) in order
to find, save, and restore them.[4]
Zacchaeus was set apart from his community by his
wealth and by his sinfulness, yet Jesus reaches out to Zacchaeus and pronounces
his salvation!
Beloved,
we live in a world where we are surrounded by self-righteousness! Nowhere is
this more apparent than during our current presidential election. Now before
any of you get nervous, I promise that I will not advocate on behalf of any
candidate or political party from this pulpit. However, I do believe our
political situation provides an example of how we are separated from one
another.
It’s
very easy to see the hypocrisy that’s displayed by all of our candidates for
office. And certainly it’s fair to question the inconsistencies between what a
candidate says and how that candidate votes or acts. But it doesn’t stop with
the candidates. We question our friends and neighbors and we hurl insults at
people we don’t even know—if they support the other candidate.
How
many of you are on Facebook? Have you seen any political posts this year? Have
any of you changed your mind because of a Facebook post? I didn’t think so. Yet
that doesn’t stop anyone from posting. Most of those posts say something like:
How can you possibly be so stupid as to vote for the other candidate? In this
election season, it seems like we’re all Pharisees.
Our
broken politics isn’t the real problem. It’s merely a symptom of a deeper
problem. We are separated from one another and we’re not doing a very good job
of reconciliation. We’re separated by how much money and wealth we have, the
neighborhoods where we live, by our religions, or for some folks, having no
faith at all. And we view all these things as someone else’s shortcoming, someone
else’s sin. It’s not our responsibility. We see all these things as a Pharisee
would; we are separate, untainted by the sins of others.
Yet
we are called to participate in Christ’s work of reconciliation. As Christians,
we must not seek to be set above or apart from any others. If we are set apart,
then we cannot participate in God’s reconciling work. That’s a huge task and
it’s scary. As I said last Sunday, and as we have said together in our
corporate confessions and the affirmation of our faith, separation is sin. We
see the consequences of that separation in empty churches everywhere and we are
afraid to reach out; we are afraid to be the church in new and different ways.
The
story of Zacchaeus reminds us that there is hope! It reminds us that anything
is possible with and through Jesus! Jesus offers mercy and grace to Zacchaeus,
who is totally undeserving of mercy and grace. Jesus upends the expected order.
Zacchaeus responds in faith: he sells his possessions and gives alms to the
poor; he makes amends for his past sins. This is the exact opposite of the
righteous (or self-righteous) acts of the Pharisee in the first parable. Zacchaeus’
acts are the faithful response of one who has received God’s mercy and grace.
After Zacchaeus has been transformed by his encounter with Christ, he practices
mercy and grace. We have to offer the same faithful response in the world.
That
work begins when we come to God in prayer and acknowledge that our salvation
comes from God alone. That work continues when we reach out in the love and joy
that we feel when we experience God’s mercy and grace. When we see God’s mercy and grace in our lives,
we must act on it; we must share it with others. That starts right here in this
congregation, but the real work must continue outside of these walls. It’s a
huge task, but it’s not too big for Christ’s love! Thanks be to God. Amen!
BENEDICTION
Now, Beloved,
as you depart from this place, remember that we are all reconciled to God and
to one another through the love of Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit. So
look for the ways that you can be agents of reconciliation. Go forth and be
instruments of God’s peace and reconciliation. Do not return evil for evil to
any person, but know that we are all loved by God, and that we are called to
reflect that love to everyone we meet. This is the truth and the love in which
we were created. Go forth and live fully and abundantly into that love. In the
name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, let all God’s children say, Amen!
[1] R. Alan
Culpepper, “The Gospel of Luke: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. IX,
(1995, Nashville: Abingdon Press), p. 341.
[2] Culpepper,
p. 343.
[3]
Culpepper, p. 326.
[4] David
Lose, “Commentary on Luke 19:1-10,” retrieved from: http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2968
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