Shared Wealth

Sharing is caring they say, but for a biblical Scrooge, bah humbug is the order of the day. Zacchaeus ‘s picture wouldn’t have been next to the word generous. He wasn’t just a regular tax collector. Luke makes sure to note he was a “chief” tax collector, building his bank account on the backs of the poor. Doesn’t seem like such a wee little man after all. His wealth came at a cost. Financial prosperity at the expense of social isolation and exclusion.

The gospel of Luke doesn’t have a lot of nice things to say about the wealthy so far. Laura Sugg shares how “Early in the Gospel, Jesus blesses the poor but warns the rich, saying, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation” (6:24). In chapter 12, he tells a parable of the rich farmer who hoped to build bigger barns in which to store all his crops, but that very night he was called to account by God. A few chapters later, he tells another parable, about Lazarus in heaven and the rich man in hell. In chapter 18, just before today’s reading, the rich young ruler walks away from Jesus sad.” It almost feels as if Luke is priming our reaction towards Zacchaeus. Chief tax collector? Short in stature? Boo. Hiss. Nay.

But this tax collector is eager to see Jesus. So eager that he runs and climbs a tree to get a better vantage point. Do I have any tree climbers here this morning? How many of you are still actively climibing trees as an adult? So here we have an official representative of the empire hiking up his tunic and running up ahead of the crowd and climbing a tree like he is a kid at Christmas trying to see Santa. I want you to get the true sense of eagerness here as well as the shock factor. This just wasn’t done.

Zacchaeus is looking out for Jesus only to have Jesus find him and call him by name. Just as unconventional as Zacchaeus’s climbing the tree would have been, Jesus invites himself to his house. He doesn’t wait on an invitation. He is the invitation. But everyone sees the two of these together and begins to grumble “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” “Who does he think he is?” “I’ve had enough of both of them.” If cancel culture had been a thing then, they would have surely wanted to cancel both Zacchaeus and Jesus.

As they are grumbling, Zacchaeus faces Jesus and says “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 

Here, we have the translation of what Zacchaeus says he will do. I will give. I will pay back. When we look at the text this way, we get this beautiful response to Jesus that leads to Zacchaeus living out his faith in the form of radical generosity. It leads us to consider the ways in which our discipleship and our stewardship are connected. Through this lens, we are likely to see this as a conversion text where Zacchaeus the shrewd tax collector is transformed by his encounter with Christ. G. Campbell Morgan says “ "He went in, mastered by the passion to get. He came out, swept by a compassion that gives."

The interesting thing about this text is that the verb used for “will give” and “will pay” is present tense,. The verb is flexible in a sense which means the traditional reading of the text isn’t inaccurate. It just means that another lens is also possible. Let’s consider how the story might look if Zacchaeus is speaking in the present tense.

The crowd is griping about what a sinner Zacchaeus is as Jesus says he will come to his house. Zacchaeus stands and faces the Lord and says “Look Lord, I am giving half of my possessions to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone I pay them back four times as much.” On both of these accounts, Zacchaeus is giving above and beyond what the law required at the time. When we think about it this way, it makes us wonder if Zacchaeus (the one we write off as greedy and ruthless) is actually more generous than anyone gave time to consider. Earlier in Luke 3:10-14, we are told tax collectors came to John the Baptist asking him what they must do. He told them “collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” To soldiers he said “do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation and be satisfied with your wages.” What if Zacchaeus had heard this and sought to live by it? What if he was a chief tax collector seeking to live with integrity even in the midst of an unjust system? Interestingly enough, even Zacchaeus’s name means pure. Jesus doesn’t seem to rebuke Zacchaeus for his wealth here. Wealth isn’t the focus, but our relationship with it is.

Whether you see Zacchaeus as a master of greed or a tax chief with no money, both hold us to account about our relationship to Jesus and how that impacts our relationship to wealth and therefore our relationship to our neighbors. Stewardship isn’t about hoarding or hiding but lending and sharing. Stewardship is about more than setting the church budget. Derek Penwell says “true stewardship asks ‘who are we becoming through our economic choices? Whose flourishing matters in the economy we’re building? What does our relationship with money reveal about what we actually worship?

John Wesley had some advice that was similar to what John the Baptist told the tax collectors and what Jesus shared with his disciples. He said “After reserving enough for "food to eat, raiment to put on, whatever nature moderately requires for preserving the body in health and strength" for your own family, give the rest to "do good to them that are of the household of faith" and then "as you have opportunity, do good unto all men."

John Wesley lived according to his own advice. he lived on 28 pounds a year from 1731 until his death in 1791, and as his income grew from 30 pounds to 1400 he continued to give away everything over that initial 28 pound number.  This would be the difference between living on 8,000 a year vs. 307,000 a year. It was like he lived his life without ever accounting for a cost of living increase.

Recently at the Wall Street Journal Magazine Innovator Awards, 23- year old millionaire singer/songwriter Billie Eilish took a moment to urge others to give more. She said ““We’re in a time right now where the world feels really dark, and people need empathy and help more than ever—especially in our country. If you have money, it’d be great to use it for good—maybe give some to people who need it.” In a star studded room of millionaires and billionaires, she said ““I love you all, but there are a few people here with a lot more money than me,” she said. “If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away.” Billie followed her own advice also. She pledged to donate 11.5 million from her tour to the Changemaker Project, an organization that deals with food insecurity and climate change.” Her donation totaled to roughly 22% of her net worth.

So maybe you don’t have John Wesley’s 1400 pounds or Billie’s millions, but how might God be calling you to share the wealth of your time, your money, your gifts, and your resources? Maybe we just need to start right where we are. Years ago, others started right where they were here in this fledgling congregation. Today in your bulletin you will notice many names of faithful men who helped build so much o the sanctuary furnishings, including our flower stands and even this altar. Giving of their time and their talent.

Today we have the opportunity to share our wealth with the wonderful ministry of the Wesley foundation as we prepare to receive a love offering for them. We share because we want to support their work in ministering to college students here on Delta State’s campus, reaching tout to hem and offering them the love of Christ.

Or maybe we start in our own front yard. On October 26th, Pittsburgh dad AJ Owen and his two young sons responded to the pending loss of SNAP benefits by starting their own food pantry in their front yard. It wasn’t anything fancy or organized. Just a plastic tub and two hand coolers that they filled up after a grocery run. AJ said “You don’t need a permanent building to get something to go, just a tote and two coolers, and look where it can get you.” AJ shared a video and it ended up going viral. After that happened, he received a large anonymous envelope filled with thousands of dollars in cash saying “May God prosper and bless your food pantry.” AJ said "Making a food pantry is no different than me inviting you over to my house for dinner. Come grab a meal. Come grab a drink. Come grab what you need. I’m happy to have you.”