Luke 19:1-10 · Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

1 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 being a short man he could not, because of 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 what was lost."

Making a Difference
Luke 19:1-10
Sermon
by Molly F. James
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My college friend Amelia is well-off by any standard. Her parents hired a circus for her fifth birthday party. Her mother has china and place settings for one hundred people. Her father is a doctor who made a breakthrough discovery that helped millions and made a fortune for his family. There are libraries named after him on multiple college campuses.

On the surface, she might seem to be just like Zacchaeus. One of the 1% who has been aloof to the needs and concerns of the other 99%.

In our gospel today, we hear of Jesus’ encounter with the rich tax collector, Zacchaeus. And at first we all think we know where this story is going. We know what Jesus thought of the rich. He so often spoke critically or disparagingly of them. We might be expecting Jesus to be critical of Zacchaeus, to chid…

CSS Publishing Co., Inc., Ordinary gratitude: Cycle C sermons for Pentecost 23 through Christ the King based on the gospel texts, by Molly F. James