All around the world, and in all times and situations, they are despised and ridiculed … but it is impossible to avoid them. As a profession they have been present in every culture from the earliest days of established government. Always present, always despised … openly hated and maligned — they are the “TAX COLLECTORS”.
But in all honesty .. many of the reasons folks at Revenue Canada are subject to such abuse are not really their fault. It’s the government that creates the twisted and confusing labyrinth of “fair taxation”, which makes filing our tax returns so complicated that the average person needs to hire OTHER professionals to complete the page. Then there are the folks who are rather “creative” in how they claim various sources of income that they SHOULD be afraid of a Revenue Canada audit.
If we are to have a good understanding of today’s gospel, we first need to understand not just why tax collectors are so despised in the OUR culture, but also why the citizens of Judea in the first century hated them.
So …
Imagine a tax system where there was no format that could be interpreted to figure out how much you owed, IN fact, imagine a tax system where the government had no say (or even any real concern) in the individual taxes of the taxpayer. No deductions, no personal exemptions … because the government didn’t legislate or set the laws of taxation.
Instead – the government simply sold tax-collecting responsibilities to the highest bidder. Potential tax-collectors contracted to pay the Roman treasury a certain amount each year on behalf of their particular region. Whatever they could collect over and above that was theirs …. a bonus .. a compensation for completing their task.
Obviously then, they had a real incentive to collect as much as they possibly could. Add to that, the fact that taxes paid to Rome were NOT used to provide any sort of social safety net, or benefits – but was solely used to support the military, which were occupying that region (and who were hated for that reason alone) … and you begin to see that “revenuer” wouldn’t go anywhere NEAR the colourful names these tax collectors were called.
We are told that Zaccheus was the chief tax collector in Jericho. Now that was a major region, because it was a major crossing point for goods from the Arabian peninsula into Palestine and from there onto North Africa and Europe. The tax collecting franchise here would not have come cheap, and Zacchaeus had been able to turn it into a tidy personal fortune.
I used to wonder HOW Jesus could have known the identity of a complete stranger crouching in a tree, and have known he was able to provide hospitality to him and his entire group. As a child I used to write it off as one of those “Jesus knows it all” moments .. but I have come to learn there is no mystery at all. Zacchaeus was a widely known and notorious figure … in the worst sense of the word. The surprise here is NOT that Jesus (a traveller from Galilee) knew who the Jericho tax collector is … the surprise is that he is willing to have anything to do with him.
Jesus wasn’t mocking the big-bad tax-collector (who was so tiny a person that he had to perch high up in a tree to see anything that was happening) – he WANTED him.
Jesus announced that he MUST stay at Zacchaeus’ home that very night. And while Zacchaeus was happy to do that … the rest of the town was grumbling about it (some were even furious). Surely this prophet …. In the midst of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the high holy feast of Passover, should be more concerned about his spiritual preparation than about socializing with the sinner Zacchaeus.
But it was (for Zacchaeus) a transforming moment of acceptance .. He enthusiastically promises to give HALF of his wealth to the poor … and from the remainder he promises to repay anyone he has defrauded (four times as much) … and no doubt THAT list would be long.
TODAY – Jesus announces – TODAY, SALVATION HAS COME TO THIS HOUSE !!! (but not for the reasons you or I might think …. and certainly not for the reasons the people standing near Zacchaeus might have thought). No doubt there were some (and maybe there still are some), who see this as Zacchaeus buying his way into heaven … and that he did it with THEIR money. Which in and of itself is not an uncommon practice … there are many philanthropists who believe that … that no matter what they’ve done wrong in their lives, it can all be removed with a multi-million hefty cheque to the local hospital or church or some other charity.
But notice — Jesus NEVER links Zacchaeus’ salvation to his new spending plans.
Jesus hadn’t told him to do ANY of this (as he often did with other wealthy people – sell your possessions and give them to the poor). No – the ONLY reason Zacchaeus has received salvation, Jesus tells us, is “because Zacchaeus too, is a son of Abraham”.
By coming to his house, and spending time with him, Jesus entered into relationship with Zacchaeus – and Zacchaeus came to realize that first and foremost HE had a relationship with God and the people of God. That relationship re-shaped his attitude towards his finances. The spending didn’t affect the relationship with God ! It was the relationship that affected the spending.
What WE do with our money doesn’t affect OUR relationship with God … but it does reflect how much we value that relationship. It is important for us to remember that our membership here (at St. Andrew’s, in the greater Anglican Church, in the Christian Family of God) is free.
There is NO MEMBERSHIP FEE. We are not required to pay a certain amount for the privilege of being in relationship with God, or worshipping in this sacred space. The days of pew-rentals are long gone. It comes to us as a gift …. given freely … to us all.
Gifts reflect the value we place on relationships.
And …
Tomorrow night … as we welcome several tiny costumed visitors at our front doors – we will give them gifts. Not because we HAVE to, but because we WANT to …
We do that to show our appreciation to the children in our neighbourhood. It’s a way of saying “thanks – we value your presence in our community and in our lives”.
At Christmas … we will buy nice gifts for our family and friends, and maybe even our co-workers. As a way of showing them how much we value them, and their roles in our lives.
Many will send greeting cards to others (as an acknowledgement that they are appreciated too), but the REALLY special folks get gifts .. and the extra special folks get extra special gifts. That’s the way it works.
The same is true of our gift to the church. The money and the time we offer are a reflection of the importance we place on the role of God and spirituality and this church in our lives.
Because we KNOW how important a relationship with God is … we’ve felt it. We KNOW how important our relationships are with the people we know here … we’ve experienced it.
Being faithful stewards in supporting our church is NOT about earning brownie points with God – or even about pulling our fair share of the financial load. Its about being faithful in our relationship with God … in the same way that we are faithful in our marriages and with our children.
Zacchaeus (the despised tax collector of Jericho) realized that when Jesus came into his home … That he had a special relationship with God, which took priority over everything else in his life. And he grabbed that opportunity to re-arrange his life to reflect that.
And its is that same opportunity you and I are given every week when we gather here – in this place.
To hear that same message
To come to the same realization as Zacchaeus
And to respond …
Copyright ©2016 by Rob Towler.