Being Seen By God

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Well, it seems that winter has arrived and made itself known. I pray everyone was able to dig themselves out of the snow and that you’ll all able to stay warm!

In Sunday’s Gospel reading, we were transported to a warmer climate, and we heard the story of Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree.

Zacchaeus really wanted to see Jesus. But, unlike some of us, he wasn’t snowed in . . . the crowds got in his way.

Sometimes we feel the same way. There are too many distractions and we find ourselves struggling to see Jesus, hoping for just a glimpse.

We feel like there are too many barriers in the way of our Christian walk.

And, when something good happens, we feel like the only thing others see are our sins.

As we consider the story of Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree, we’ll see that even though we may not be able to see Christ, he sees us . . . and that’s much more important!

Singing Gospel Lessons

Sunday’s gospel lesson about Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree is a well known story. For me, the story cemented itself in my mind through a children’s song:

Zacchaeus was a wee little man
And a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
And as the Savior passed that way
He looked up in that tree
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m going to your house today
For I’m going to your house to stay”

But this story is much more than a fun children’s song.

Enshrined in this story is the idea that seeing Christ is a constant struggle. We long to see him and be loved by him as he passes by.

Walking on the Christain path can be a frustrating experience. We are often ridiculed by society and, perhaps, even our friends.

The things we grabble with today are, in many ways, no different than the things Zacchaeus grabbled with.

Climbing the Sycamore Tree

Zacchaeus was a Judean who tried to arrange his own way of “seeing” Jesus. Physically, this meant overcoming his short stature to find a way to see above the crowds.

His solution? To climb the sycamore tree.

But, Zacchaeus wasn’t just physically short. As many Church Fathers and commentators have noticed, he was “short” in many other ways as well.

And, as we’ll see, he’ll overcome his shortcomings in more ways than simply climbing a tree.

Trust in Caesar

First of all, Zacchaeus wasn’t a “good” Judean. He trusted in Caeasar.

The text says he was a “chief tax-collector.” In first-century Israel, taxes were collected for Caesar, a hated political ruler who occupied the Judean’s homeland.

Anyone who worked for the “occupiers” was an extortioner. They had sold out their own people. It was betrayal, plain and simple.

Zacchaeus stole from his own people—often taking a cut—and gave their hard earned money to the enemy.

But, wait! There’s more.

Trusting in Blood Ancestry

Zacchaeus also trusted in his Abrahamic heritage as a sign that he was “saved.”

Bear with me here . . .

Luke says that Zacchaeus climbed a “sycamore” tree. However, that term doesn’t appear anywhere else in scripture.

Fr. Paul Tarazi has some insight:

Luke apparently invented the term himself, in which case it may have been a play on words created by combining syke (fig tree) and moria (foolishness, folly). The message intended by it would then be that the Jew is not saved by what he considers wisdom—that is, by trusting in his Abrahamic heritage—for that is folly in the eyes of God. (Paul Nadim Tarazi, Luke and Acts, The New Testament Introduction, vol. 2. [Crestwood: SVS Press, 2001], pg. 146.)

To push the point further, the “fig” tree is also a reference to a curse Jesus had put on a fig tree earlier in the Gospel (Luke 13:6).

The tree represents the Temple system and the Judean leaders of the first century.

Instead of caring for the poor, widowed, orphaned, sick, and underprivileged, they used their position in society to promote themselves . . . to become richer.

In other words, they weren’t bearing any fruit, and they believed they were saved simply because they were descended from Abarham.

Jesus’s curse of the fig tree is a curse on the entire system. Something needed to change.

Like them, Zacchaeus also trusted in his Abrahamic lineage.

He believed that as a literal, blood descendant of Abraham, he was a “child of God,” destined to inherit the Kingdom of God. But, along comes Jesus and says, “Nope, that’s not how this works.”

Jesus’s assertion is that one becomes a “child of God,” “a child of Abraham,” by trusting in Jesus . . . not Ceasar . . . nor in genealogy. 

Not Seeing, But Being Seen!

Because Zacchaeus put his trust in the wrong things, he couldn’t see Jesus.

But this didn’t prevent Jesus from seeing him, because He was certainly seen by God.

In response, Zacchaeus pledges, then and there, to change his life, to put all his past wrongs right, and pay back those he had defrauded.

Frustratingly, Zacchaeus’s own countrymen are not happy. They only want to point out his sinfulness.

They call him a “sinner,” which is to call to him a “dirty Gentile.”

But the joke is on them.

By trusting Jesus, Zacchaeus becomes a “child of Abraham,” and shares table fellowship with his Lord.

This was only possible because Zacchaeus had responded to Christ by correcting his life. He decided to live in a new sort of way and trust in it.

By doing this, Zacchaeus demonstrates his trust in Jesus and fulfilled the spirit of the Law.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2).

Growing Closer to Christ

Zacchaeus, like many of us, struggle to see Jesus.

Zacchaeus thought he could do it on his own.

He originally put his trust in Caesar, in his heritage, and, eventually, in his ability to climb a tree.

But none of these things worked.

They were too distracting from the sort of faith that really saves.

In fact, Zacchaeus’s false idols became barriers that blocked him from putting his faith where it really mattered: Jesus Christ.

The Good News for Zacchaeus is that he didn’t have to rely on himself in order to see God. God had already seen him and called out to him.

This, my friends, is salvation!

So, I’m wondering . . .

Instead of relying on Jesus, how have you tried to go about your Christian walk on your own?

Jesus is calling out to you, what changes do you need to make in your life for Jesus to come and eat at your house?

How can you move past the gossip and negativity of things said about you to continue to witness to Christ’s salvation in the world?

Feel free to leave a comment below.