THE GUEST WHO STAYS FOR DINNER
A Sermon on Luke 19:1–10
· A Listening-Centered Homily
Introduction: Let’s Listen to the
Story
Before we begin, I
want to invite you to do something a little different.
For a few moments,
you don’t need to look at me.
You can close your
eyes, if you are comfortable doing that. You can look down at your hands. You
can simply let your eyes rest somewhere in this church.
And imagine that we
are not here.
Imagine that we are
standing in a dusty street in Jericho.
It is crowded.
People are talking. Children are running around. Everyone is trying to get
close to Jesus.
Some people want to
hear him.
Some are curious.
Some are simply
wondering what all the fuss is about.
And you are there in
the middle of the crowd.
You are not a
disciple.
You are not a
Pharisee.
You are not an
important person.
You are simply a
person from the town.
And then you notice
something strange.
There is a man
sitting in a tree.
Zacchaeus.
Everyone knows
Zacchaeus.
He is wealthy. He is
the chief tax collector. He has money, influence and power.
But he is not
exactly popular.
In fact, many people
in that crowd probably wish he wasn’t there.
But Zacchaeus wants
to see Jesus.
So he has climbed a
tree.
And now…
listen.
Listen to the noise
of the crowd.
Listen to the
murmuring.
And then imagine the
moment when Jesus stops.
The crowd stops with
him.
Jesus looks up.
And speaks.
Not to the crowd.
Not to the religious
leaders.
Not even to his
disciples.
He speaks to the man
sitting alone in the tree.
“Zacchaeus, hurry
and come down, because today I must stay at your house.”
Let us listen to the
Word of the Lord.
Luke 19:1–10.
(Read the text
slowly.)
19 Jesus
entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A
man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was
wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but
because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So
he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was
coming that way.
5 When
Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come
down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So
he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All
the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a
sinner.”
8 But
Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give
half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of
anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus
said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man,
too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man
came to seek and to save the lost.”
1. The Tree: Where Are You Hiding?
Let’s
begin with the tree.
Zacchaeus
wanted to see Jesus.
But
perhaps he didn’t want Jesus to see him.
There
is a difference.
He
found the perfect place.
High
enough to see everything.
Far
enough away not to get involved.
The
tree gave him a certain kind of safety.
He
could watch Jesus without being noticed.
And
perhaps we do something similar.
We
have our own trees.
Sometimes
we hide behind busyness.
Behind
work.
Behind
responsibilities.
Behind
money.
Behind
achievements.
Behind
the image we have carefully built of ourselves.
Sometimes
we hide behind being “fine.”
And
sometimes, strangely enough, we can even hide behind religion.
We
come to church.
We
sing.
We
pray.
We
know the right words.
But
we still keep Jesus at a safe distance.
We
want to see him.
We
just don’t necessarily want him to see us.
So
imagine Zacchaeus for a moment.
Sitting
there in the tree.
Don’t
do anything.
Just
stay there.
Where
is your tree?
[Silence]
Perhaps
an answer comes to you.
Perhaps
it doesn’t.
That’s
okay.
We
don’t need to force it.
But
notice something beautiful about this story.
Zacchaeus
thought he was looking for Jesus.
But
when Jesus finally found him, Zacchaeus discovered that Jesus had been
looking for him all along.
Zacchaeus
climbed the tree to see Jesus.
Jesus
stopped beneath the tree to find Zacchaeus.
The
Gospel is not simply about our search for God.
It
is about God coming to find us.
2. The Name: Jesus Calls Him by
Name
Now
listen again.
Jesus
looks up.
And
says:
“Zacchaeus.”
He
doesn’t say:
“Hey,
tax collector.”
He
doesn’t say:
“You
sinner, come down.”
He
doesn’t begin with a lecture.
He
says:
“Zacchaeus.”
His
name.
The
name his mother gave him.
The
name he carried as a child.
The
name that remained even after he became wealthy, powerful and despised.
Zacchaeus.
It
is as if Jesus is saying:
“I
know who you are.”
And
perhaps even more importantly:
“I
still see you as a person.”
That
matters.
Because
we have a terrible habit of reducing people to their mistakes.
“He’s
an alcoholic.”
“She
is difficult.”
“He’s
that politician.”
“She
is that troublemaker.”
“He
did that.”
“She
said that.”
We
turn people into labels.
Jesus
doesn’t.
Jesus
sees the person.
And
Jesus calls him by name.
So
listen for a moment.
In
the middle of all the voices in your life — the voice of guilt, the voice of
criticism, the voice of expectations, the voice of failure, even that harsh
voice inside your own head —
listen.
Perhaps
Christ is calling your name.
Not
your position.
Not
your reputation.
Not
your failures.
Not
your achievements.
Your
name.
[Silence]
And
listen to what Jesus says next:
“Hurry
and come down, because today I must stay at your house.”
Jesus
doesn’t say,
“Perhaps
I’ll visit sometime.”
He
doesn’t say,
“Get
your life in order and then we’ll talk.”
He
says:
“Today
I must stay at your house.”
Jesus
doesn’t want simply to pass through Zacchaeus’ life.
He
wants to enter it.
He
wants to sit at the table.
He
wants to stay.
3. The Grumbling: Who Is
Speaking Inside Your Head?
Now
listen to another sound.
The
crowd.
Luke
tells us that they all began to grumble:
“He
has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
All
of them.
Isn’t
that interesting?
Jesus
finds someone who is lost.
And
the first response of the crowd is to complain.
Because
grace can be uncomfortable.
Especially
when grace is given to someone we don’t think deserves it.
And
perhaps that is why we need to listen carefully to the grumbling.
Because
sometimes that crowd is not only outside the story.
Sometimes
it is inside us.
It
is the voice that says:
“I
would never do something like that.”
“He
deserves what he gets.”
“She
should pay for what she did.”
“After
everything he’s done, he still gets grace?”
“I’m
not as bad as him.”
That
voice knows how to compare.
It
loves dividing the world into “us” and “them.”
And
above all, it loves the idea that grace should be given to people who deserve
it.
But
there is a problem with that.
If
grace were only given to people who deserved it…
it
wouldn’t be grace.
So
listen again.
What
is the grumbling voice inside you saying?
[Silence]
Jesus
doesn’t argue with the crowd.
He
doesn’t waste time defending his reputation.
He
simply goes into Zacchaeus’ house.
And
that is remarkable.
Jesus
doesn’t wait for Zacchaeus to put his life in order before entering.
He
enters.
And
it is because Jesus enters that Zacchaeus begins to change.
4. The Transformation:
Grace Changes the Way We Live
Now
we come to something we must not miss.
Zacchaeus
comes down from the tree.
He
welcomes Jesus with joy.
And
then something happens.
Zacchaeus
begins talking about money.
But
now he talks about money in a completely different way.
He
says:
“Look,
Lord! I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anybody,
I will pay back four times the amount.”
Notice
the order.
First
comes Jesus.
Then
comes transformation.
First
comes grace.
Then
comes a new way of living.
Zacchaeus
isn’t trying to buy Jesus’ love.
He
has already received it.
Jesus
has already seen him.
Called
him.
Entered
his house.
Sat
at his table.
And
now Zacchaeus’ life begins to respond to that grace.
Grace
opens his hands.
The
man who once accumulated begins to give.
The
man who may have built his life around money begins using it to repair what he
has damaged.
His
encounter with Jesus reaches into his wallet, his relationships, his conscience
and his past.
Because
grace never stays safely inside the church.
Grace
follows us home.
It
reaches Monday morning.
It
reaches our bank accounts.
It
reaches our families.
It
reaches the people we have hurt.
It
reaches the people who have hurt us.
It
changes the way we treat people.
Zacchaeus
comes down from the tree as one person.
And
he begins to live as someone new.
5. The House: Who Is Really the
Host?
And
then Jesus says those beautiful words:
“Today
salvation has come to this house.”
Not
because Zacchaeus has suddenly become perfect.
Not
because he has managed to fix everything.
But
because Jesus has entered the house.
Salvation
has come because Christ has come.
And
perhaps there is a question here for us today:
Is Jesus simply a guest in your life?
Or is he the host?
Because perhaps we
have invited Jesus into certain rooms of our lives.
“Jesus, bless my
family.”
But don’t touch my
resentment.
“Jesus, take care of
my faith.”
But don’t ask too
much of me.
“Jesus, be with me.”
But please don’t
rearrange the furniture.
Zacchaeus discovers
that when Jesus comes into the house, Jesus begins to change the house.
Not by destroying it.
Not by humiliating
him.
But by putting things
back where they belong.
And perhaps that is
what Christ wants to do with us.
Not to destroy who we
are.
But to free us to
become who we were created to be.
Conclusion: The Table Is Ready
So
perhaps we should end where we began.
Back
in that street in Jericho.
The
crowd.
The
noise.
Zacchaeus
in the tree.
Jesus
walking by.
And
then…
Jesus
stops.
He
looks up.
And
calls:
“Zacchaeus.”
Maybe
that is the word we need to hear today.
Because
the Gospel does not begin with:
“Come
down and get your life together.”
It
begins with:
“I
see you.”
“I
know you.”
“I
call you by name.”
“And
I want to stay with you.”
And
yes, Jesus changes us.
But
transformation begins with presence.
It
begins with grace.
It
begins with Christ entering the house.
In
a few moments, we will stand.
We
will sing.
And
we will gather around the Lord’s Table.
And
it is important to remember:
We
do not come because we are worthy.
We
do not come because we have finally put our lives in order.
We
do not come because we are better than the people outside.
We
come because Christ invites us.
It
is his table.
It
is his house.
And
he still calls people by name.
People
who are tired.
People
who are carrying guilt.
People
who have been hiding.
People
who feel like outsiders.
People
who wonder whether they still belong.
People
who have made mistakes.
People
who are trying to begin again.
People
like Zacchaeus.
People
like us.
So
perhaps today Christ is saying:
“Come
down from the tree.”
You
don’t have to hide anymore.
“Come.”
The
table is ready.
And
when Christ enters the house,
the
house is never quite the same again.
Amen.
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