Zacchaeus was a government contractor with the Roman Government in charge of all transported goods into Jericho, which gave him almost a license to extort money for big commissions. Luke 19:2 says he was a "chief toll collector" and that he was "wealthy," at his job at the toll booth. Was he missing purpose and direction in his life?
To illustrate
The classic children's book, The Phantom Tollbooth (1961), tells the story of a young boy named Milo.
One dull, rainy afternoon Milo receives the anonymous gift of a cardboard fold-and-cut tollbooth. Bored, Milo builds the tollbooth and "drives through" it with his toy car.
Magically, Milo disappears from his room and finds himself traveling along a strange road in a new land. But despite this miraculous relocation, as the road continues on and on in a straight line and Milo begins to grow bored again. He spaces out and begins to be completely oblivious to his surroundings. He doesn't even notice as his car begins to go slower and slower and then finally coasts to a complete stop.
Rousing lightly from his stupor, Milo finally notices there are strange little creatures draped over the hood of his car, snoozing on his head and shoulders, and even snoring on his dashboard. When the boy demands to know what is going on the sleepy creatures inform him that they are "Lethargians" and tell Milo that he and his vehicle are now firmly stuck in a place known as "The Doldrums."
- a place where there is no wind to fill up the sails, no strong currents to guide a vessel along.
Getting out of the "doldrums" takes a purposeful expenditure of energy, a muscle-powered desire to move forward.
AA would say that, spiritually, if you are stuck in the first three steps of the 12-Steps, you won’t make much progress.
E.g. The Waltz is an elegant dance, perfect for weddings. The basic step pattern uses three counts for timing 1,2,3,1,2,3.
If you’re stuck repeating Steps 1, 2, and 3: You are doing “The program waltz.” The real spiritual recovery happens in the later steps, like Step 9, which is: “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”
That is what Zacchaeus did! He told the Lord:
“Half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."
Notice Zacchaeus let the Lord speak for him. It was Jesus who responded to the crowds for Zacchaeus. Jesus himself vindicates Zacchaeus' good name. "Salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham," Jesus told everybody there.
Zacchaeus probably thought:
“It isn’t necessary for [others] to like me to save my life, and I don’t need to like them for me to be saving their lives.”
Zacchaeus needs them to make his financial restitution.
And the poor needed him because Zaccheaus said, “Behold, half my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor.”
Zacchaeus also stood his ground in working in an occupation, which critics say is devoid of any judicial basis.
But, apparently Zacchaeus never quit his job as a tax collector; he did not have to.
Verse 8 says that Zacchaeus stood his ground. (Luke 19:8).
Luke 3:12-13 says, “Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to [John the Baptist], “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”
As Catholic Christians, we still need to be continually converted. We will always need a radical reorientation of our lives to the purposes of God, by moving forward in our faith by a plan and purpose.
Conclusion:
Examination of first-century burial remains in Galilee indicate that the average adult Jewish man was five feet five inches. Zacchaeus was probably just under five feet tall.
But he was the tallest one up there in that Sycamore Tree.
If it had not been for that other Tree at Calvary – Where would we be?
What is our Sycamore Tree that we have to climb?
