The Sycamore Tree Series

March 6, 2024

Rev. Mary Erickson

Hope Lutheran Church

Luke 19:1-10

The Sycamore Tree

Good evening, friendly humans. Thank you for the opportunity to address you this evening. I was so honored when your pastor asked me to participate in your Lenten sermon series! Allow me to introduce myself: I am Sycamore Tree.

You might be wondering what it’s like to be a tree. One of our greatest joys is intermingling with other species. I can’t begin to tell you the thrill I feel when a bird builds its nest in my boughs! It’s such a privilege to provide the space for those eggs to incubate and be right there the moment they hatch.

There are so many animals that interact with us and even depend on us. Squirrels love us. We provide a safe refuge from enemies. And I get a real kick out of watching their crazy antics! Ants crawl all over us. They kind of tickle!

Even you humans interact with us! Although typically, it’s the younger versions of you. Your children love to climb high into our boughs. They daydream and swing from our branches. Sometimes they even build houses in us. That’s the best of all!

But as you grow, sadly, those happy days grow fewer and fewer. We miss you! Sometimes you come back to us when you’re young adults and you fall in love. You carve hearts with initials into our bark. Yes, it does hurt, but to play a part in the testimony of your love – that’s something we cherish! The hurt goes away, but the heart remains.

We sycamores live very long lives. It’s nothing for us to live 200 years, and our oldest relatives live up to 600 years! I believe last week your guest preacher was Willow Tree. Willows live a very brief life span compared to ours – compared even to yours! They live about 40 or 50 years. If they make it to 75, that’s really something!

So we sycamores are blessed with long lives. And let me tell you, we have long memories. We carry it with us over the course of our lives. The events of history are written into the rings of our wood, our memories, all the way to our core.

We carry with us one story in particular. It’s been shared from one sycamore to another on the whispers of the wind. This event happened many, many years ago, with one of my ancestors who was living in Israel.

I shared with you how we sycamores just love to interact with other species, including you humans. But like I said, as you grow up, you start leaving us alone. So when a grown man climbs into us, believe me, it’s a red letter day!

That’s what happened to my ancestor. There was a certain man living in the same city as my distant uncle, the city of Jericho. This man was scorned by his fellow citizens. He was a tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus. In fact, he was the chief tax collector, and that made him all the more despised.

Well, the holy man named Jesus was passing through Jericho. Now, Zacchaeus was accustomed to being ostracized by his neighbors. But he really wanted to see Jesus. Jesus’ ministry had made an impression on old Zee.

That’s what we sycamores call this fellow when we tell the story of our ancestor, we call him “Zee.”

Zee figured that Jesus would be passing along the main street, so he showed up there to see him. Well, so had everyone else in Jericho! People were lined up 4-deep along the street! Zee was a short fellow, and his lack of stature wouldn’t allow him to catch a glimpse of Jesus as he walked along.

Well, Zee looked up and down the street. That’s when he spotted my great, great, great, great, great grand uncle growing along Main Street. Zee ran to him and started climbing high into his boughs.

I told you, it’s quite uncommon when a full-grown, adult human climbs us, so my relative took note! And he was right there to hear everything that happened.

When Jesus passed by, he looked up into that sycamore and he spied old Zee sitting there. “Hey, Zacchaeus!” he called, “Hey, come down out of that sycamore tree! I want to come to your house!”

Pause

I’m sorry. I get a little emotional when I come to this part of the story. I told you, we sycamores consider it such an honor when someone interacts with us. It’s a privilege to have something set up house with us. So when Jesus said that to Zee, that he wanted to go to Zacchaeus’ house, well, that goes straight to my core!

Other people scorned Zee, but Jesus embraced him. And that’s what I want to leave with you tonight, dear humans. Acceptance and welcome. It’s in the heart of Jesus. It’s written all over in the story of Zacchaeus. No one is too small or insignificant for Jesus! He sees you, just like he saw Zee up in the branches! No one is too scorned and despised. Jesus fully accepts you just as you are. He wants to come to your house, to interact with you. So let him in!