Zacchaeus’ Wife

I wonder what Zacchaeus’ wife thought when Zacchaeus brought Jesus home for dinner. We just heard the story from Luke’s Gospel. Jesus was in the final steps of his journey towards Jerusalem and all that would happen there. He was passing through Jericho, and Zacchaeus was curious… somehow drawn to wonder who this man Jesus was, what all the commotion was about. As chief tax collector for the Roman government, Zacchaeus (though a Jew) would have been viewed as an absolute pariah by the Jews of Jericho… an extortionist, a Roman collaborator, a vicious mobster. But he was curious. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view of Jesus. I wonder what he thought just seeing Jesus would tell him. But Jesus saw him up there in the tree and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner and presumably a night’s lodging. Luke tells us that Zacchaeus was happy to welcome him. I wonder what Zacchaeus’ wife thought.

It makes bringing the boss home for dinner seem pretty tame. Was she anxious because she hadn’t had time to clean? Perhaps she or her home didn’t look their best, and she fretted that Jesus should see her this way. Or was she not so much anxious as angry—with Jesus or her husband—that they had sprung this on her without checking, without checking her calendar, her plans, without making sure this fit into her schedule and expectations?

We don’t know anything about her religious faith. Actually, of course, we don’t even know if Zacchaeus was married. But maybe Jesus, as the Son of God, meant nothing to her and she was just resentful at any intrusion.

On the other hand, hospitality was considered a privilege in those days. A privilege. Maybe—regardless of her religious feelings or lack thereof—maybe she was just grateful to have a guest. To have the opportunity to welcome a traveler. Given her husband’s line of business she probably didn’t get many houseguests. Maybe Jesus’ visit was a means to and end for her, helping her gain some status or sense of privilege among her neighbors.

How would you feel if Jesus showed up unexpected and uninvited on your doorstep? What would you do? What would you say? In one of the youth confirmation curricula I have used, one of the discussion questions is:  If Jesus were to come stay at your house, which room would you give him? What would you talk about at dinner? In my experience, teenagers tend to respond that they would give him the guest room and just talk about normal things at dinner. Which is not a bad answer.

But what would you say, what would you do, if Jesus stopped by on his way to Jerusalem, looking for a bit of dinner and a place to stay?

It occurs to me that if he had showed up on my doorstep yesterday afternoon, my first, instinctive reaction would have been: oh, no, not now, I don’t have time. I have a sermon to write. Hopefully, in the next moment I would have realized that he might have some helpful pointers in that regard. But I value what bits of private time I get, and I guard the space of an afternoon to work without distractions. It would not be easy to welcome the interruption of a visitor.

What about you? Would Jesus’ arrival in the flesh at your door be an intrusion? A resented inconvenience in the midst of a busy life full of other obligations? Or would his arrival evoke anxiety over the state of your home? Would you rush to close the door on the chaos in the family room? Try surreptitiously to slip an open Bible onto the cocktail table in the living room? Place the Evangelist on top of the stack of mail in the hall? And then realize with a grimace that the stewardship letter and pledge brochure are buried somewhere irretrievably at the bottom of that stack of mail, virtually unopened and unconsidered.

If you had twenty minutes in advance to prepare for his arrival, what would you do?

What would Jesus see in your home? What would you want him to see? What do you suppose he would be most pleased to see?

In your medicine cabinet? In your pantry or fridge? On the door of the fridge? On your bookshelves? In the family room? In your checkbook? In your trash? Stuffed in the back of the hall closet? What photographs would he see on display? Which mementos have pride of place? What evidence would he see of the activities that fill the spaces of your home?

What would Jesus see? What would you want him to see? What do you suppose he would be most glad to see?

Actually, I think Jesus would be overjoyed just to be there. There in your home. In mine. He would be glad simply to be invited in. He stands on the doorstep of all of our homes. The bells in heaven will peal and the angel choir rejoice if we but open the door and welcome him in.

That is the message of this story about Zacchaeus. It’s an engaging story with the details about Zacchaeus’ short stature and his perch in the sycamore tree. But remember, the story is not meant to be cute. No one in the crowd would have lifted short Zacchaeus onto his shoulders so that he could see, not Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. Probably no one would have spoken to him. And no one in that crowd in Jericho, not even Zacchaeus, would have ever, in their wildest imagination, expected Jesus to approach and speak to the tax collector.

And yet Jesus does. In the relationship between Zacchaeus and the Lord, Jesus speaks first. This is important. "Zacchaeus", Jesus says. He knows his name. He knows us all by name. "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." Zacchaeus, come to me. I have come to be with you. Jesus knows him. Acknowledges him. Accepts him. Reaches out to him with open arms, like those of the risen Christ there above our altar. Jesus loves Zacchaeus from the very beginning. Before Zacchaeus has done or said anything.

Their relationship did not depend upon anything that Jesus saw or did not see in Zacchaeus’ home. Their relationship began with Jesus’ love and offer of communion. And Zacchaeus, Luke tells us, was happy to welcome him. Happy to welcome Jesus into his home and into his life. So happy, so overwhelmed, so grateful for Jesus’ unimaginable acceptance and love that he responds with unimaginable generosity. So overwhelmed is he with what he has been offered, his is an overwhelming response—fifty percent of all of his possessions.

I wonder what his wife thought of that.

First, Jesus loves. After Jesus expresses that love to Zacchaeus, and after Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus into his heart and home, then Zacchaeus’ life is transformed. And I like to think that if Jesus were to walk around Zacchaeus’ home in later days Jesus would see a home governed by a generous spirit and a grateful heart, where love and hospitality prevailed, where prayer and praise were heard, and comfort and charity offered. Where every thing from the fridge to the checkbook to the chaos in the family room celebrated the glory of God. Where Jesus himself was a part of every moment and every activity. These are the qualities of a life and a home where Jesus dwells. Jesus does not expect or demand them before he enters, but he brings them with him when he is welcomed in.

Thinking of Zacchaeus, I do have an image of Jesus in my home. Not as someone whose knock interrupts my work and my life, but of someone with me in my home. This is Jesus who calls me by name, who wants to be with me; who stands beside me as I look out the window at the hurried, frantic life of the world; who sits with me in the darkness of the night as I struggle to pray, to see, to understand; who shares breakfast with me as each new day begins, no matter how I am feeling about the day ahead.

Listen to the words from probably my favorite of all hymns (692).

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto me and rest;
And in your weariness lay down your head upon my breast."
I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn and sad;
I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one, stoop down and drink, and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "I am this dark world’s light;
Look unto me, your morn shall rise, and all your day be bright."
I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk till pilgrim days are done.

I like to think that Zacchaeus’ wife heard those words, too. And when Jesus stood at the doorway and spoke to her by name, she welcomed him into her home with a glad and grateful heart.

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