Jesus and Zacchaeus (Labor Day Weekend)

In many ways, the Labor Day holiday has really lost all its original meaning. For most us, Labor Day marks the end of Grange Fair, the last chance to go camping or get away for a long weekend, or the beginning of school, but Labor Day began as a holiday to remember the contributions of the American worker. From construction to education to emergency and community service personnel to those working in business, labor day began as a time to recognize all that workers have done for the strength, prosperity and well being of our nation. To celebrate labor day this year, I’d like us to think about what our jobs might look like, or what we might look like at our jobs if we take Jesus to work with us. In other words, how can God transform our work, our places of employment, and most of all, how might God want to transform us when we are at work?

Before we go any further, however, let's pray for those who are unemployed, under employed & unhappy with their jobs but not able to really find something new because of the economy. (Prayer)

Let me also say that if you are retired – don’t stop listening, the teaching of Jesus we find in Luke can also help us in those places where we might volunteer, and those places where we interact with others in ministry, services and even fellowship. So no tuning out just because you aren’t working for a paycheck anymore!

What I like about this story of Jesus and Zacchaeus (Zac) is that there are two people working in this story and they each have something to teach us about how God wants to transform us at work. It’s easy to read this story and see Zac as a worker – we are told he is a tax collector. In fact he is the chief tax collector. His job was to collect the taxes from the Jewish people and send the money to Rome. Now most tax collectors would collect more money then was required, they would cheat and steal from people and keep the excess for themselves and this is what Zac did and apparently did very well, which is why he was so despised by the people.

So Zac is clearly one of the workers here, but there is another person in this story who is working and that’s Jesus. I have to say, that I didn’t really think about that when I first read this because we don’t think about Jesus having a job, but he does. People are supporting him with resources so he can travel around the region teaching and preaching, so he is also at work in this story. In fact, Jesus is working hard because he knows he has a limited amount of time to finish his task. Talk about deadlines and stress, Jesus has had three years to teach and preach all he can about the kingdom of God and how God wants us to live in relationship to him and to one another and those three years are quickly coming to an end. Jesus is a man on a mission here and he’s working hard at that mission because in Luke 19 it’s getting down to the wire. If we keep on reading in Luke 19 we find the story of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem and we know that the following week is the Passover which brings with it the crucifixion of Jesus. So this story of Jesus passing through Jericho is leading up to the final week of Jesus life – the deadline is fast approaching and Jesus had to be feeling the stress of his work.

So there are two workers in this story and let’s start by looking at Jesus – what does he teach us about how God wants to transform our jobs and our priorities on the job. Look at 19:1 & 5. Jesus is just passing through Jericho here, there were no plans to stop and teach, there were no plans to spend the night, they were just passing through, but Jesus stopped when he saw Zac sitting in the sycamore tree. Even though Jesus was busy and on his way to the most important and what he knew was going to be the most difficult week of his life, Jesus was not too busy to take the time to stop and notice a man in need. I’ve often wondered what it was about Zac that caused Jesus to stop. Was it just seeing a man sitting in a tree, or was it that Jesus could see something in his eyes, or in his heart? It doesn’t really matter what Jesus saw, what’s important for us to learn from this is that Jesus didn’t just see the need or the problem and keep on going, he stopped to do something about it.

We live in a world that is so faced paced that if we aren’t multi-tasking at all times – we feel like we are wasting time. We face impossible schedules and demands; we work harder and longer only to find ourselves more stressed out and farther behind. I’m sure that Jesus must have felt the same way as he passed through Jericho and yet he took the time to meet the needs of this one man. One way that God might want to transform our places of work and us while we are at work might be for us to slow down enough to see those in need around us.

Think about the places you work or the places you serve as a volunteer, or the places you gather with others… who is sitting up in a tree? Who do you see around you that is in need? Who is hurting? Who is hungry for a moment of your time and attention? Who needs a listening ear or a helping hand? Can we give a coworker a few minutes of our time at lunch? Can we seek out those who might need some support because they are struggling at work – or struggling at home? Can we just stop long enough to give people the opportunity to talk and to share?

I’m afraid that in many ways listening has become a lost art. Too many times I know I want to have all the answers and share profound words of wisdom and insight when I’m talking to someone so more times than I would care to admit, while they are talking, I’m thinking of what to say. The problem is that as long as we are thinking about what we are going to say, we fail to really hear what is being said? Jesus was a master at listening because he practiced it, and he started by listening to God. Jesus sought times away from others to simply be in prayer and my guess is that many of those quiet times of prayer were spent listening to his father. We need to learn how to listen well so we can hear the needs of those around us. So one way God can transform our work is to remind us that the most important part of our job may simply be the impact we will make in the lives of those around us.

So that’s one thing Jesus teaches us about how God can transform our work, but what about Zac? Well the first thing that Zac shows us is that there is no hiding from God at work. As we read this story from Luke 19 there is an interesting detail that we can not ignore. Whenever you read a passage and find a very specific detail included it’s usually there for a reason. Why is it important for us to know that Zac climbed up into a sycamore tree? Well beyond the fact that sycamore trees had low lying branches that meant a short man could actually climb up into the tree, sycamore trees also have big broad leaves, so they were good places to hide. While Zac wanted to see Jesus as he passed by, he didn’t necessarily want to seen by Jesus, but Jesus saw him. There is no hiding from God.

The truth is that God sees us at work. God sees what we do, he hears what we say, he knows the decisions we make and the motivations behind those decisions. God knows how we treat people and what we think of others we work with. There is no hiding from God at work. I know that sounds simple, but it’s easy sometimes for us to compartmentalize our relationship with God. We visit with Jesus on Sunday and are willing to listen to him when we are in church and we might even allow God to shape how we love our families and those around us in the church – but when it comes to our jobs we either think Jesus isn’t interested, or we might hope he isn’t interested or watching, but he is. God not only sees us, but God wants to shape us so that we reflect his grace and truth and power when we are at work. That’s clearly what Jesus does for Zac – he shapes his life.

Jesus takes Zac to his house and while we don’t know all that is said, notice that by the end of the day Jesus has not only transformed Zac heart but his job as well. Not only is Zac willing to confess his wrong doings and make amends for the ways he had cheated stolen from people, but we begin to see the emergence of a new work ethic and business practices. Not only will Zac pay back anyone he has cheated, but the assumption is that he won’t cheat anyone from this point forward. Unlike the disciple Thomas who was also a tax collector but gave up his job to follow Jesus, we have no sense that Zac did that. Every indication is that Zac remained a tax collector, he just became the most honest tax collector in all of Judea and you have to believe that people heard about this and talked about how Jesus had made a difference in this man’s life and in his business. Zac shows us that God doesn’t just call us to be ethical and faithful in our relationships with family and friends, God calls us to do the right thing at work too.

Rick Cartwright told a great story about this kind of integrity at his dad’s funeral. For those that didn’t know Whitey, for many years he ran a clothing store for men and boys here in Bellefonte, and at one point when business was not very good a salesperson came in and told Whitey that he could have the exclusive rights to sell a certain type of coat in this area because they didn’t want to do business with the Jewish businessmen in town. How easy it would have been for Whitey to accept this proposal, and how tempting it was to get the extra money at time when it was desperately needed, but Whitey was a man of faith and justice and so as a follower of Jesus and as a businessman with integrity, he said no. If they weren’t willing to work with his friends who were Jewish, they weren’t going to work with him.

Everyday we face temptations to cut corners or make decisions that are unethical, unfaithful, and just plain wrong. We are tempted in so many ways to compromise and take the easy or most lucrative way out, but God calls us to higher standards. If you find yourself in a position where you are being asked to compromise your faith or your integrity I encourage you to first of all pray and then find someone to help you work through the situation. In today’s world and with the economy that we face, there aren’t always easy answers to the problems we face and we may not have the power or the ability to make the changes that Zac did so that we can do the right things, so we need to pray for wisdom and we need to seek the support and wisdom and prayers of others. What we can’t do is hear God calling us to change and simply ignore that call. If God is opening our eyes to situations that need to be changed in our places of work – we need pray and seek the wisdom of others.

God does want to transform our jobs by transforming us on the job. The real question is, are we willing to allow God to make those changes? Zac had to be willing to get out of the tree and allow Jesus into his home, and that’s where it all begins for us. God’s transformation of our jobs and God’s transformation of us in our jobs begins when we are simply willing to ask God to enter into our lives to show us the way. As we prepare for communion this morning, let us not only ask God to enter in lives, let us give him the ability to make whatever changes he desires.