“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”

Luke 19:1-10

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, November 9, 2025

When I think of Zacchaeus, I have to admit that the first thing that comes to mind is the little song I just taught the kids. It’s a staple of Sunday School and Vacation Bible School lore, or at least it used to be. It’s not really fair to remember him just as a “wee little man.” Imagine getting put in the Bible and people still joking about you for being short 2000 years later! But his encounter with Jesus certainly is memorable.

         As we read through the Gospel of Luke, the story of Zacchaeus falls at the end of a series of stories about people who meet Jesus as he makes his way toward Jerusalem, a journey which will end in his death and resurrection. Along this road Jesus heals ten lepers, including a Samaritan; he blesses the little children; he challenges a rich young ruler to give his possessions to the poor, and he restores sight to a blind beggar. Finally he meets Zaccheus. Each of these people encounters Jesus in his or her own way – just as we all encounter Christ in our own way.

Many of the people who meet Jesus on that road were social outcasts – the lepers, the Samaritan, the blind beggar. But Jesus treats them all equally, with love and consideration.

Zacchaeus, too, was an outcast, but of a different kind. Economically he was well off; but spiritually he was impoverished. As a tax collector for the hated Romans, he was excluded from his community and viewed as a traitor to his countrymen. His involvement with non-Jews rendered him ritually “unclean” – he could not participate in the synagogue worship with the faithful. Many in our affluent society can identify with Zaccheus – rich in material possessions, but poor in spiritual matters. Our culture teaches that “whoever dies with the most toys wins,” in other words, that accumulation of wealth and power is the main purpose of life. It seems that Zaccheaus had bought into that philosophy as well, until he met Jesus.

For some reason, when Zacchaeus heard Jesus was coming, he decided this wasn’t something he wanted to miss. Maybe it was idle curiosity to see this man so many people were talking about. Maybe he sensed he had an opportunity that might not come again. Whatever the reason, he went out that day to see Jesus as he passed through town. However, he had a problem: he was short and couldn’t see over the crowd – maybe he also wanted to remain a little aloof from them as well, so he did something many of us may have done as children – he climbed a tree for a better view.

Now think about this: Zacchaeus was a wealthy businessman, probably dressed better than most. His action would be akin to someone dressed in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase, climbing a tree. There he not only has a better view, but he is also “above it all,” a mere observer, not involved in what is going on down below. He is more “in control” of what might happen. No one will jostle him or push him aside. As long as he remains quiet, no one will converse with him, or so he thinks. How many of us prefer this perspective on life? We would rather not get involved, thank you. How many of us prefer this perspective on our faith? We would rather come in quietly, sit there anonymously and leave.

Maybe if I just kind of sit here quietly, God won’t notice me and won’t expect too much out of me and I can live my own life the way I want to and stay in control of things…  Zacchaeus was up in a sycamore tree. What kind of tree are you stuck in? 

Zacchaeus thought he could just sit up in the tree as a spectator, but Jesus had other ideas. Jesus always has other ideas. He will always challenge our way of being, our way of “doing business.” He will always challenge us to come down out of our tree and get involved. He will always challenge us to grow spiritually and to become more than we are. And when He finally coaxes us down out of our tree, we may find ourselves doing some things we had never expected to be doing.

Well, you know the story. When Jesus came by, Zacchaeus didn’t remain in safe anonymity. In fact, it was downright embarrassing. Here was dignified Zacchaeus, up in a tree, not really wanting to be noticed, when Jesus stopped right under him and called up, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” At that moment Zacchaeus had a choice.

He could have stayed in the tree, and Jesus would have gone on to Jerusalem, out of his life forever. But Zacchaeus came down. In fact, “he hurried down and was happy to welcome him,” Luke tells us. In coming down out of the sycamore tree, Zacchaeus had to give up a certain amount of control – from now on he would follow Jesus’ lead, not his own. He also had to give up some of his pride and dignity, as everyone in the crowd watched him scramble down the tree trunk. But there is no indication that Zacchaeus regretted his decision. Others complained: “Jesus has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” But Zacchaeus didn’t care. He had made his decision: he would walk with Jesus and welcome him into his home and into his heart.

Jesuit scholar Dean Brackley writes, “How do you want to spend your life? We all know you can ruin it. But what is more important to recognize is that you can sleep through it.” Or maybe spend it in a tree, watching the show go by. In coming down out of the tree, Zacchaeus’ perspective changed – he was no longer a spectator, but a participant.

He no longer looked at God from afar, but was walking beside him. He would not be eating alone that night – this was the night that God came to dinner.  

And when God comes to dinner, things happen. Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector, has a change of heart. He promises Jesus that he will give half of his possessions to the poor; and pay back four times as much to anyone he has cheated. His response to Jesus’ love and friendship is true repentance and generosity toward his neighbors. If we fellowship with Christ, if we walk with him, if we invite him into our homes and our everyday lives, our response will also be one of generosity, too – not only generosity in sharing our material blessings, but also that generosity of spirit shown in a loving, non-judgmental attitude toward others. Spending time with Jesus changes you, as Zacchaeus found out. The perspective is different, sitting at the dinner table with Jesus than from up in a tree, watching the world go by, safely isolated from anything that God might ask us to do.

Today we are celebrating “Stewardship Sunday,” a day when we all have a chance to commit ourselves to supporting our church with our prayers, presence, time, talents, and, of course, our money. Our church wouldn’t exist, much less do any ministry, without your faithful support. We don’t have any big foundations supporting us. It’s up to all of us, if we want to go on being a place of hope and light in our community.

I wonder, as we consider our commitment to our church for the coming year, if we don’t first need to commit or re-commit, ourselves to Jesus Christ, if we don’t need to come down out of our tree and walk beside Him, invite Him into our homes and lives and see what he would have us do. It might be something radical, like giving half our money to the poor or paying back anyone we have cheated four times over, or it might be something less dramatic, like forgiving someone who’s hurt us, or resolving to be less judgmental, a little kinder toward those with whom we disagree. Whatever we do, whatever we give, financially or otherwise, just like Zacchaeus, it’s our response to God’s love and grace. Zacchaeus knew it: you can never outgive God. He found that it’s not what we have to give, it’s what we get to give in joyous response to God’s love and forgiveness.

Has Jesus come to dinner at your house? Maybe it’s time to come down out of that tree, invite him over, and see what will happen. Amen.

©Deborah Troester 2025