What Does Zacchaeus And The Sycamore Tell Us About Ourselves?
(By Fr. Dexter Brereton)
Kevin was a member of the youth group that I remember well. He was a little shorter than six feet. But what stood out about him was the fact that he liked to dress all in black and in high boots. His hat or cap was always pulled down over his eyes and he spoke in a deliberately low, almost menacing voice. He was a bit of a joke for the other young people yet I found his case somewhat sad, since beneath this ‘tough’ exterior, this air of isolation, was a very fragile young man who did not know where his father was.
Many people take refuge into all kinds of masquerade or theatre to disguise their own deep insecurities. Kevin liked the dark clothes and the low voice, but others take refuge in authoritarianism or in intellectualism, or even in piety. Everyone it seems, at some time wears a mask, takes refuge in a role that is at the end of the day, really not their true, or perhaps their WHOLE self. I thought of Kevin and his troubles in reading the story of Zacchaeus this weekend. As the chief tax collector of his district, Zacchaeus would have been seen as a bit of a crook and a collaborator with the Roman occupiers. Of him, St Luke writes tellingly: …he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him because of the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way.” Like Zacchaeus, every person like Kevin who takes refuge in a masquerade, ‘climbs their own sycamore tree.’ From this vantage point, one hopes to encounter the Lord at a safe distance, a bystander without any real commitment, without exposing one’s insecurities without any demand for change.
Collectively I think, the entire group acted as the voice of Jesus calling him out of his pretensions, his self-imposed isolation saying to him “Kevin come down! Hurry, because we must stay at your house today.” Kevin, over time became quite a pleasant and regular human being, thanks to the love of the youth group. I would hazard a guess that even in the international arena, in the high world of politics, the bombastic and boorish behavior of some leaders is really about short men who have to climb their ‘sycamore tree.’ The detail that Zacchaeus could not see Jesus because of the crowd, symbolizes something that happens in the growth and development of all of us. There are times when there are ‘blocks’ in our spiritual life. These blocks (fear, an old resentment, self pity, unforgiveness) represent the ‘crowd’ that prevents us from seeing Jesus.
Fortunately, like Kevin, many of us are blessed to have encountered people who accepted us with all our hang-ups and insecurities so that we come to realize eventually that ‘salvation has come to our house and we too are sons (and daughters) of Abraham.
Lord Jesus, we give you praise and thanks for your word of acceptance. We remember the times in our lives when like Zacchaeus, we too took refuge in our ‘sycamore trees. Lord we bless you for the Jesus people in our lives who looked at us and said to us “come down, hurry, I must stay at your house today.” With their love and acceptance, we came to realize that indeed salvation had come to our house. Amen.
