WHEN JESUS SEES YOU…
a sermon based on Luke 19:1-10
by Rev. Rick Thompson

You know what it’s like for a child trying to watch a parade.
The crowd is lined up, 4-5 rows deep, along the street. There is a child in the 6th row, three years old, eager to see the clowns and bands and floats, but she can see absolutely nothing. “I can’t see, Daddy!” she exclaims. And what does Daddy do? That’s right—he lovingly picks her up, sets her on his shoulders, and she is delighted that she, too, can watch the parade from her lofty perch on loving shoulders.

Long ago, a parade came to Jericho. People had heard about the group passing through town, on its way to Jerusalem. They had heard about the group’s leader. They had heard about his amazing teachings and his bold actions—his healings, his exorcisms, and his dealings with the outcasts of their day. They had heard about Jesus, and they lined the streets to watch as Jesus came to their town.

A man named Zacchaeus was one of them. He had heard the same stories. And the stories that especially intrigued him were the ones about Jesus and the tax collectors.
Because, as Luke reminds us, Zacchaeus was a tax collector—and a rich man. He was one of those traitors who made his fortune working for the hated Roman oppressors—made his fortune by gouging his fellow Jews. Zacchaeus was a wealthy, despised tax collector, and he wanted to see this Jesus he had heard about.

But Zacchaeus was short, and he couldn’t see. Zacchaeus was short, and he was desperate. He was searching for something—something more—in his life, and he wondered if Jesus might not have that something for him…
So Zacchaeus climbed a tree. Hoping to get just a tiny glimpse of Jesus, Zacchaeus climbed a tree.
And then the unexpected happened.
Before Zacchaeus could see Jesus, before he could get Jesus’ attention, Jesus saw him. Jesus saw Zacchaeus, and invited himself to the tax collector’s house. Zacchaeus gleefully accepted the invitation, scrambled down from his perch, raced home, and said to his wife, “Honey, you’ll never believe what happened to me today!” As he began to tell his amazing story, he instructed, “Hurry! We’re having company! Jesus and his disciples are coming to our house! Oh, I can’t believe what’s happening to me!”

And Jesus showed up at the house of Zacchaeus. They dined lavishly, and engaged in stimulating conversation. Of course, many criticized Jesus. That was not unusual! They criticized him for hanging out—once again-with the wrong kind of people! How could Jesus dare to risk his reputation—what was left of it—by spending his time with a sinful, corrupt tax collector like Zacchaeus!
What did Jesus see, anyway, when he saw Zacchaeus? Did he see a wealthy, treasonous tax collector? Did he see someone as far removed from the love and mercy of God as one could possibly be?
It doesn’t appear that way. It looks like Jesus saw Zacchaeus as one for whom God had a special, saving concern. To those who had been with Jesus throughout his long journey to Jerusalem, that should have been no surprise. But it was! It’s too much to imagine—that Jesus could be concerned about one as broken and despised as Zacchaeus!

Jesus saw Zacchaeus. Jesus saw Zacchaeus not as the world saw him—as a loser and a scoundrel. Jesus saw Zacchaeus for what he was in God’s eyes. Jesus saw Zacchaeus as a child of Abraham, a child of God. Jesus saw Zacchaeus as a sinner in need of mercy and forgiveness. Jesus saw Zacchaeus as the primary object of God’s healing love. Jesus saw Zacchaeus as a man worth dying for—as he would soon do in Jerusalem.
That’s what Jesus saw when he saw Zacchaeus.
Now, do you suppose that when Jesus saw Zacchaeus, found Zacchaeus, saved Zacchaeus, Jesus stopped looking for anyone else?

I don’t think so!
Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem. There he would complete a quest unlike any before or since. In Jerusalem, Jesus will go, willingly, to a cross and a horrible death. But from that cross he will save the world. And from that cross, God’s searching, seeking love emanates into all creation. From that cross, Jesus will go to a grave. And from that grave, he will rise up to new, abundant, glorious, eternal life. And in that cross and resurrection, Jesus seeks you, Jesus sees you, and saves you, and calls you God’s child forever. The one who first saw a man in a tree, now sees you—from a tree! Jesus sees you, and says what he said to Zacchaeus, “I’m coming to your house today. In fact, today salvation is coming to this house—to you!”

That’s what happens when Jesus sees Zacchaeus, when Jesus sees you, when Jesus sees me—there is salvation! Even when Jesus was a baby, old man Simeon, waiting for years and years in the Temple for the Messiah, took the baby in his feeble old arms, and proclaimed, with tears of joy streaming down his face, “I have seen my salvation!” And with that life-long wish fulfilled, Simeon was ready to die in peace. Jesus. Salvation. Wholeness. Healing. Peace. Forgiveness. Eternal life. All of that, given to Simeon, given to Zacchaeus, and given to you, when Jesus sees you!

And when Jesus sees you, when Jesus sees me, the same thing happens as happened to Zaccacheus. That one, a sinner in the eyes of the world, and lost in the eyes of God, is declared saved, a child of Abraham! Jesus even invites himself to his house! And we, though we are sinners, are declared by God in Christ “free and forgiven,” and Jesus invites himself to not only visit but to dwell with us, and we are named as children of God—now and forever!

And it’s all by grace—sheer, wonderful grace! It’s completely by God’s choice, completely at God’s initiative, that Jesus sees you. It’s fully at God’s desire that Jesus comes looking for us, and sees us, and climbs a cross for us, and bursts out of the tomb—for us! For us! FOR US! FOR YOU AND FOR ME!! PRAISE GOD!!!
And then there is the response. God doesn’t compel a response. God doesn’t threaten us into a response. God invites a response to the offer, the gift of salvation!

We noticed in our story that Zacchaeus made a response. When told he had been saved, when declared a child of Abraham, when Jesus came to dine with him and defended his concern for one like him—Zacchaeus responded!
He responded with a new commitment to living under God’s grace and mercy. He responded in a way that indicated God had re-shaped and transformed his life. Set free from the shackles of his past, set free from the spite of others, set free by God’s offer of forgiveness, Zacchaeus responds. First, he joyfully welcomes the Lord into his house, into his life. And then he makes a vow: “Half of my goods I will give to the poor, and everything I’ve taken by fraud, I will return four times over.”
In response to all that Jesus had shared with him, Zacchaeus was determined to share with others and to live a faithful, honorable life.

Is that what happens, too, when Jesus sees you? When Jesus dies for you, rises from the dead for you, and claims you as God’s own child, are you moved to respond to his love?
There are many ways to respond: by telling others about the goodness of God; with prayer and praise and worship; by serving and acting kindly toward others; by seeking to make the world a more just and peaceful place; by teaching and encouraging young and old as disciples. There are many ways to respond.
This time of year we focus on one of our responses—the response made by Zacchaeus, the response of financial commitment to honor God and serve others. This weekend, we are invited to consider how we will be faithful and generous in our financial support of God’s work through the church for next year.

You may have heard about the $20 bill and the $1 bill that found themselves side-by-side in a bank vault. While resting there, they struck up a conversation. The $1 bill said, “It feels good to take a break. My life has been too busy lately!”
“I know what you mean,” said the $20 bill. “I’ve been all over recently: in foreign countries and fine restaurants, in the world’s most glamorous casinos, at the theater and symphony, to sports games and shopping malls and ski resorts. And what about you?” the $20 bill asked.

“Well,” said the $1 bill, “I’ve been busy, too. I’ve been to the Baptist Church, the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church, and the Lutheran Church. Yes, it is nice to have a little rest.”
“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” cried the $20 bill. “Please tell me, will you—what’s a church?!”

Now, I know that a $20 bill would never have to ask that question in this congregation! I know this is a church full of generous people, who want to offer ourselves and our resources to serve the mission of God in the world. I know that, when you are asked to make a faith commitment, it will be joyful, cheerful, and generous. I know that, because I know how grateful you are—grateful that Jesus has seen you, and said to you, “Today salvation has come to this house! Today salvation has come to you!”

And when Jesus sees us, and gives us salvation, what else can we do? What else can we do, but respond with a generous offering of our substance and of ourselves? What else can we do?
AMEN.