Zacchæus Sunday

Bishop Seraphim : Homily
Remembering to turn to Christ
Zacchæus Sunday
21 January, 2007
1 Timothy 4:9-15 ; Luke 19:1-10


In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

When we hear the Gospel about Zacchæus, we know we are already on the threshold of Great Lent. It is important for us as we begin the fasting period to hear about the essence of Great Lent.

We begin with the lesson of Zacchæus. Zacchæus was a man who spent his whole life taking everything from everyone because tax collectors did that in those days. It was not like Revenue Canada which is fairly well controlled, where we more or less get our money’s worth out of our taxes. In the days of the Roman Empire, Zacchæus (and others like him) were agents of the occupying power. He was a Jewish man, a son of Abraham, and an agent of the Roman Empire which had conquered Palestine. The Jewish people were oppressed by the Roman Empire, and they considered Zacchæus to be a traitor because he was an agent of the conquering power, and was collecting taxes on behalf of the emperor.

Moreover, people like that had a free rein to collect whatever they wanted. They knew they had to collect a certain amount from the people in order to satisfy the tax requirements of the emperor who demanded that the tax collector “fleece the sheep”. He was told how much money he was supposed to collect each year, and he went about collecting it as well as he could. The tax collector in those days also had the right to collect whatever he could in order to live, and in order to do the tax collecting. They collected very much from the people, and were often considered to be extortioners. When it was tax time, the people, therefore, hid everything they had in the woods or in the ground.

That was the environment of Zacchæus, and his work until this particular time in his life. Today, we see Zacchæus very much wanting to meet our Saviour. There was something about the events of his life that made him want to encounter Christ. It could probably be said that the Holy Spirit was moving in his heart so that he wanted to encounter our Lord. He did not necessarily know everything about why, but he knew that there was something out of order hidden inside of him. He must have known that Jesus Christ was able to put things into the right order, and just that very thing happened today. Zacchæus, being short, climbed up into a sycamore tree so that he could at least see Christ. He was not expecting to encounter Him, but at least he wanted to see Him.

Jesus, who is the Knower of hearts, knows what was going on in the heart of Zacchæus. The Lord comes to the tree and tells Zacchæus to come down. Then the Lord goes to Zacchæus’ house. That He would go to Zacchæus’ house was outrageous in His day. Even though He was controversial, Christ was considered to be a respected teacher. Now we see him going to the house of a tax collector, who was considered to be a robber and a traitor to his own people. Jesus has dinner with this man. To have dinner with someone like that was also very controversial. To have dinner with someone indicated that those who were eating together were somehow in communion with each other. It was a sign of fellowship with one another. A respected person, known for teaching what is right, would not ordinarily eat with someone like Zacchæus.

What is important here is not simply obeying the letter of the Law. The Saviour, who is the Originator of the Law, also knows the spirit of the Law. In the presence of the Saviour, the heart of Zacchæus is turned about. It is not so much what is said at that dinner that touches Zacchæus. It is being with the Lord. We see it in other places in the Gospel. Often, when our Saviour is in one place or another, He does not say anything in particular to someone about something, yet things are happening around Him. His being there, wherever He is, produces a reaction. In Zacchæus’ case, it is the reaction of repentance. As we can see, Zacchaeus’ whole life is turned about, inside out and upside down. He repays fourfold the things that he had taken from people. He had a great deal of money, and he could pay back fourfold things that were taken unrighteously. However, the main point is not the restoration of everything. The main point is that Zacchæus’ life was turned about in a moment from that encounter with our Saviour : which is exactly the meaning of repentance. Just as it happened with the Apostle Paul, his life was turned about. Zacchaeus turned away from selfishness to selflessness. Even more than that, his whole way of life changed. He turned about from self-love to love of Christ and love of everyone and everything around him instead of being closed in on himself. Instead of grasping everything, he became open to meeting the needs of others.

He is our example of how things are supposed to be for us as we pass through this lenten period. We are supposed to be turning away from ourselves, turning to Christ, and turning outwards. The way Zacchæus gave away half of his goods is also part of what we are supposed to be doing in Great Lent, and not just in Lent, but all the time. We are supposed to be living our lives open-heartedly and open-handedly, sharing with people around us who are in need. Almsgiving, in other words, is a major characteristic of how we express ourselves in Great Lent. This should happen not only in Great Lent, but also in the whole course of our Christian living.

These particular words of the Apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy today are very important words for us. He is exhorting the Apostle Timothy, a young person, to be faithful to Christ, and to be a good leader in the Church. How is one to be a good leader in the Church ? Engraved on the back of most Crosses that priests are first given is the citation of these very words that the Apostle Paul gave to his disciple Timothy : “Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity”. The shepherd has to lead the flock into the Kingdom. The shepherd cannot push the flock into the Kingdom. The sheep will only follow the shepherd. If the shepherd tries to push them, they will resist in every way. However, if the sheep know that the shepherd loves them and if the shepherd walks forward in the direction they are supposed to go, the sheep will follow him. Our Saviour has told us in the Gospel according to Saint John, that He is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep. The sheep hear His voice when He calls them by name and they follow Him (see John 10:1-16). Therefore the Apostle tells the Apostle Timothy to be a good example to the people because he is ordained to be their spiritual shepherd, and they are his rational sheep. If he goes in the right direction, they will follow.

The sheep (especially rational, human sheep) know all too well when the shepherd is out of kilter and falling apart. The Tempter tempts everyone, but especially priests and bishops, because they are the leaders. He tries to distract them and pull them out of the right way so that they will get lost, and their people also. However, Big Red does not take into account that the Holy Spirit is active in the hearts of the sheep. If the shepherd gets out of focus, as sometimes happens, the sheep instinctively feel that there is something out of kilter with him.

What should the sheep do ? Often they start to do what they ought not to do – complain and grumble. That is not at all the way to make things better for a priest who is out of focus. The more the sheep grumble, the worse they make it for the shepherd, who somehow has become lost. The Desert Fathers teach us that the Christian way is to cover with our cloaks or coats the sins of our brother and sister who are slipping. What is important is that when the sheep see that something has gone wrong, they agree to pray together for the priest so that the Lord will touch the priest’s heart, and put him back into focus. They must not even try to force anything themselves. They offer their priest to the Lord and ask Him to fix it. When they do that, it becomes possible for the priest to hear what is necessary to hear, to find what is wrong, and to repent. It is very much a question of mutual responsibility, living the Christian life. Yes, we are shepherds and sheep, but we are not exactly shepherds and sheep like the animals and their keeper, because we are called “rational” sheep. Even though we behave stupidly like sheep very often, at the same time we have the advantage of having received rationality in the mind and in the heart. We do have the ability to hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us.

As we are about to enter Great Lent in a few short weeks, let us ask the Lord to keep our hearts turned about. This turning about of our hearts in repentance is a daily exercise for Orthodox Christians. Every day we have to have the determination to turn to Christ because our selfishness keeps dragging us down and Big Red keeps distracting us. We have to ask the Lord to help us to remember to keep turning to Him. We always have to ask Him for help. We need to remember to turn to Christ. We have to pay attention to His example because He is the supreme example of how we should be living. His Mother is the second supreme example after Him of how we should be living life – a life that says “Yes” to the will of God, a life that is full of love, a life that is life-giving, a life that is turned to Christ.

Let us ask the Lord to make us a good example to other people (as the Apostle directed the Apostle Timothy), so that we can encourage them to go in the right way, to see the joy, the hope, the peace and the strength that we have in Christ. Let us follow Him willingly because of this love, this joy, this peace, confidence, and hope that we have in Christ. Let us endure every sort of difficulty because of our assurance and our confidence in Christ who is with us. Let us glorify the all-holy Trinity : Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages.