Doing the Unthinkable

Written by Herman Walde

DOING THE UNTHINKABLE   Luke 19:1-10

Herman Walde, October 31, 2010

 Today is Halloween. And just in case you have not yet given thought to it, you will, in just a few hours be reminded of it, when troops of little costumed characters, aiming to scare you, or possibly amuse you, will come ringing your doorbell, or alerting you to their presence with cries of "trick or treat" or "halloween apples" . For many of us, unless of course, if we are the parents of trick or treat age children, it is an occasion when we can enjoy the costumes and attempts at acting, guess at who is behind the mask, maybe pretend to be fearful, but above all, hand out treats to children knowing that someone else will be responsible for how much of it they will eat this evening.

 Halloween probably had it's origin in the ancient Celtic celebration of the New Year, Samhain (so-han). Their New Year was celebrated at the end of October when summer comes to an end and winter is about to begin. This day however also marked the time when they believed that the dividing line between this world, and the Otherworld became very thin, and spirits, both good and evil, could freely move from one side to the other. For that reason costumes were worn at this time to make people of this world look hideous and threatening. thereby providing protection from those spirits that may have hostile intentions.

 The name Halloween, however come from another source, actually a Christian source. Tomorrow is All Saints Day; a day set aside by the medieval Church to remember and pray for all those who have gained celestial status in the heavenly abode. The next day, November 2, is All Souls Day, a time to remember in prayer those who have departed this life, but have not yet attained enough cleansing merits to enter heaven. Thus , today is Hallowed Evening, the day prior to All Saints Day. In the course of time the term Hallowed Evening has been shortened to Halloween, and has become a secular celebration.

 But there is more. Today is Reformation Day. On October 31, 493 years ago, a monk by the name of Martin Luther, posted a document on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This document contained 95 theses, points for discussion in which Martin Luther questioned certain of the prevailing doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This marked the beginning of what has since become known as the Protestant Reformation, one of the major dividing lines in the history of the Christian Church, and unleashed protest movements in many parts of Europe. Two years later, Ullrich Zwingli started a reform movement in Zurich , Switzerland, by bringing forward a list of 67 theses, matters that he felt needed to be addressed by the Church. Together with John Calvin, this reform movement grew into what has become the Reformed, the Presbyterian and the Huguenot wings of the Protestant persuasion. In 1523, William Tyndale started a movement in England, in defiance of Church law,  to translate the Scriptures and make them accessible to the general population. The movement that we, as Anabaptists look back to started in Zurich on January 21, 1525, when during a prayer meeting, Georg Blaurock asked Conrad Grebel to baptize him.

 And what of the Roman Catholic Church? How do they relate to Reformation day. The reformation evoked a positive response, in what is called the Counter-Reformation in which many of the abuses were addressed and rectified. But for them it is not a day for celebration. Its is a sad day; a day that marks the disruption and disunity of the Christian Church. It points to a Church that has lost its ability to be truly catholic, universal, a unified body.

 Professor Stanley Hauerwas of Duke University, a devout Catholic with a deep love and understanding for the wider Church, and sorely troubled over her persistent disunity, puts it this way,"Standing as I do between these organisms, I can summarize what I would like to see this way: "I would like to see the Catholics become more Anabaptist, the Anabaptists more Catholic, and the Protestants more of both"

 Now what does this all have to do with Zacchaeus? That little man in Jericho who climbed the sycamore tree so that he would be able to see Jesus? That man who was a chief tax collector, who was very rich, and who was despised and hated by the Jewish people who resented paying taxes, especially to the Roman occupiers. The man who no longer had much of a reputation to protect and was quite willing to sit in the tree and take the laughter and catcalls of the people. So there he sat in the tree, hoping to see Jesus, and make up his own mind about who this Jesus was.

  An old story; Hose was a little Mexican boy who loved baseball. He listened to the family radio and followed Major League Baseball, especially his favourite, the St. Louis Cardinals. His dream was to one day actually see the Cardinals play in Sportsmans Park. So he saved up his pesos, until he had just enough for a bus ticket to St. Louis. He arrived just in time for a home game, but at the ticket office was told, You have to have a ticket to get in!  and besides we are completely sold out. Alas, he had used up every peso for his bus ticket, and, there was no room. Seeing the crestfallen look that came over Hose's face as he turned away, the ticket agent called him back and said, "Young man, do you see that tree next to the flagpole? If you climb up that tree you will have a great view of the entire game". So up he went and saw the game. Back home when has friends asked him about the game, Hose gave his enthusiastic report, and then added, But the greatest  and most wonderful of everything were those American people. When I was up in that tree, even before the game started, all the people stood up, thousands of them, looked right at me up in the tree and sang, 'Hose, can you see?'

 Rather than concentrate only on Zacchaeus ,  analyze his character, and come to a decision just how short he was or whether it was actually Jesus who was short, let us together with Zacchaeus look at Jesus. Let us for a few moments take seat beside him in his tree and try to enter into Zacchaeus mind. It is obvious that some information about this unusual teacher had come to him. But what was he really looking for? Was it just idle curiosity? Could he have had a fleeting hope that Jesus would perform a miracle right then and there? Was he concerned that maybe Jesus had Zealot leanings and could become involved in a revolt against Rome?    Could he possibly have had hopes that this itinerant teacher would start reforming the Jewish establishment which continually gave him as a tax-collector problems? Only Luke's Gospel tells us this story, and here we have only the words "He was trying to see who Jesus was".

 We actually don't have a long time in the tree to ponder all the questions, for Jesus words came ringing over the noise of the crowd, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today". Now Zacchaeus mind was going in cartwheels. This was beyond understanding! Zacchaeus  knew Jewish law, he knew the customs that observant Jews followed, he knew the taboos about associating with sinners, and he knew that the people, and especially the leaders considered him a sinner. Maybe he himself believed he was a sinner. Why was Jesus throwing all caution to the winds? Jesus was going directly contrary to public opinion. Jesus was ignoring  one of the basic taboos that had become ingrained in the people's mind, that  of religious holiness, separateness. Besides, from a personal perspective, this Jesus was not just asking a favour of him, no, Jesus had simply stated that he must stay at Zacchaeus house! What a self-invitation! And, if Zacchaeus was shocked, can you imagine how shocked the crowd gathered around Jesus was? This was Unthinkable!

  And so so we also ask the question "Why would Jesus step so far out of line from normal  Jewish religious behaviour? His attention was likely drawn to the figure in the tree, by the flippant and caustic remarks by members of the crowd, and from them, most likely, He also learned who this man was and how the people of Jericho regarded him. He had likely picked up from the crowd that this man was  a tax collector and very rich. Did He know ahead of time how Zacchaeus would respond to Him? Did Jesus know that Zacchaeus would act on his faith decision in such a dramatic way? Did He know that going to Zacchaeus house would produce a story that would be told and re-told for the next 2000 years? I would rather think not. Jesus was taking a risk! Jesus was breaking out of the comfortable box that people were building around Him; He was doing the unthinkable!

 I believe Jesus saw what any observant, spiritually sensitive person should have been able to see. Here was a man who had lost his way. Yes , he had riches, and yes, he had a secure, well-paying job, and likely he had an above average home in the city. What Jesus saw was a lonely man. A man rejected from the life of the synagogue, from access to spiritual nurture.  A man rejected from the social life of the city:  not only rejected but despised, ostracized, demonized. The few cronies that he could visit with, were, no doubt, becoming quite tiresome, they had only one topic of conversation. And he had brought this kind of a life on himself by bidding on and winning the taxation franchise from the Roman authorities. He was a very unhappy man. Jesus perceived that this man was seeking more from life, than what he was experiencing; there should be some fulfillment. Why else would a man of his standing climb a tree in the face of derision and mockery, to see this travelling teacher that he had been hearing about?

 Jesus did the unthinkable!  "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. I must stay at your house tonight". The reaction was swift. The crowd, who had been drinking up every word that Jesus uttered, drew back in astonishment and disapproval!. This was a serious blunder, maybe it even revealed a character flaw in a Man whom they had been thinking may be the coming Messiah. Today's proverb probably had a similar ring then: "Birds of a feather flock together" or "A man is known by the company he keeps" ; and Jesus was  going to a sinner's house, and thereby  compromising Himself, polluting Himself.

 We know little of what happened in that house that night, except for one statement by Zacchaeus, and the response by Jesus. "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of any thing, I will pay back four times as much". And Jesus responded, "Today salvation has come to this house because he too is a son of Abraham".

 Does that last statement by Jesus possibly give us a clue to the reason for Jesus action? When Jesus looked up into that tree, what did He see? A tax-collector? A rich man?  A sinner? No! Jesus saw a son of Abraham who was caught up in the snares of life in this world. A man so engrossed by the pressures of riches and achievement, that he could no longer be his true self. A man who needed to be freed from the shackles in which he and his society had enslaved him.

 The story is told of a university professor talking of Jesus' attitude toward sinners, when a Jewish student interrupted and said, "Jesus never saw a prostitute". The prof started to defend himself, but the student stated again "Jesus never saw a prostitute." Again the prof defended himself by pointing out the occasions when Jesus had contact with unsavoury persons but the student persisted, "Jesus never saw a prostitute" It was then that the prof caught on to the truth of the statement. Jesus may have seen a person caught up in a sinful life, living in an immoral way, but that person was still a son of Abraham, or a daughter of Abraham, called to salvation and loved by God.

 Jesus portrays God to us, John's Gospel tells us that the Word (God) became human, dwelt in our midst, and we could behold His Glory full of grace and truth. Was God not doing the unthinkable? For two thousand years the church has pondered how this could be - how could the Infinite become finite -how could God be born as human, and yet be God? We wonder and we praise Him for this wonder of all wonders.

 Moved by the Spirit of the Lord, people of God have been doing the unthinkable throughout the ages! Abraham, in the land of Mesopotamia, felt the call to go to a distant, and unknown land. Can you imagine the reaction of his father Terah and the rest of the household when he announced, I am taking my wife Sarah, and with our four camels and our goats we are leaving for the west. Unthinkable! How can you put Sarah in such danger? How can you risk your own hide in such foolishness. Stay among us, worship with us, or worship your own God as you see fit;,  we'll even give you an extra flock of goats! Settle down! But no! the call to do the unthinkable was stronger, and he left for Canaan to worship the one God who had called him,and walk faithfully before Him.

 Moses felt that God was calling him to do the unthinkable. Who am I Lord, that I should go to Pharaoh and ask for the release of the Hebrew slaves? Unthinkable Lord! Or Gideon - 300 soldiers to rout an army of tens of thousands: that cannot even be imagined!  Or Elijah, confronting the prophets of Baal, and pouring buckets of water over his sacrifice before calling for God's fire to light it, or Jeremiah, being  called to prophecy, Unthinkable Lord, I am just a boy, far too young to do what you ask me to do.

 We may also look at the many times that the crowd or the disciples stood aghast at Jesus word and actions,hearing Him denounce the religious leaders as whitewashed tombs, or having contact with people suffering from leprosy, or allowing a woman from the street to wash His feet, and that at a Pharisee's dinner table. Maybe we could refer to the time when the call came to come to Bethany on behalf of the Martha and Mary household, and the response of the disciples, " Unthinkable! Just now the authorities wanted to kill you and you are going there again? And then, in defeated resignation their feelings came out, Let us go also, that we may die with Him".

 Look again at Martin Luther. Had he discussed with his colleagues  that he was going to nail his 95 theses to the church door, what would have been the response? Unthinkable, Martin. You'll just bring the wrath of Rome down on your head!" Consider the decision and action of Georg Blaurock, a man trained in theology and the priesthood, asking for adult baptism on his faith in Christ, fully aware that both religious and state authorities had already condemned such action. See Hudson Taylor, who had committed himself to the call of God to bringing the Gospel to China, get up in a meeting  in  England to seek support for his cause, hear the remark by an elder,:Sit down young man. If God wants to save the heathen in China, He will do it in His own time and way"  Maybe a bit nearer to our day, think of David Toews in 1923, signing for the  debt of twenty thousand destitute immigrants, to travel to and settle in Canada.

 Is it still true today? I suspect we often fail to see the drama in many of of the actions of God's people today. Key decisions are often seen as commonplace. What makes a person like Kim Thiessen give up the royalties that could rightfully be hers for the CDs, commit the gain to helping the victims of Aids, and commit herself to years of work in an MCC office. Think of Alissa Bender, leaving family and friends in Ontario and, for three years, giving herself to us to bring us closer to God. I wonder if Pastor Ed and Gay heard words like "unthinkable" when their friends heard of their consideration to leave homeland and hearth for the snowy wilds of Alberta! Maybe we should also look beyond our church and see our new Mayor Naheed Nenshi. Hardly more than a month ago we would have said "Unthinkable" as his name started appearing on signs and in the media. But the unthinkable has become reality for him and for us and we owe him our prayers and support that his dreams for Calgary can bear fruit.

 To Zacchaeus Jesus said, Today salvation has come to this house, for he also is a son of Abraham. May we, as we put our faith in God and commit ourselves to follow the Way of Jesus, continue to experience the unfolding of God's salvation in our lives and in our midst.