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Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
The biblical scholar Brendan Byrne said this about Zacchaeus: "Maybe he is not such a bad tax collector after all!" Knowing the reputation of biblical publicans - or tax collectors - that may strike us as a surprising statement. But he comes to this possible conclusion based upon a careful reading of the text, specifically Lk. 19:8. That is when Zacchaeus responds to Christ's presence in his home by declaring: "Look, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor and, if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold."
The Greek behind these words make it perfectly clear that they are spoken in the present tense, and not the future tense ("I will give") found in certain translations, such as the NRSV. In other words, when Jesus saw Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree and then called him down and invited himself to his home, Zacchaeus was already acting in a way consistent with the very precepts of Christ. Of course, we do not know how long this has been going on, or the inspiration behind his own form of benevolence. But the point seems to be that his "conversion" occurred before his dramatic encounter with Jesus.
When Jesus then says with great solemnity that "Today salvation has come to this house, since he is also a son of Abraham" (v. 9), He is acknowledging that Zacchaeus is acting in such a way that his "wholeness" (one of the meanings of salvation) is already a part of his ongoing personal transformation into a righteous person even though he is a tax collector.
As an honest an even generous tax collector, Zacchaeus is a genuine son of Abraham. He is not on the outside, as tax collectors were considered to be great sinners; but rather he is on the inside of the People of God. He is included not excluded. "For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost." (v. 10). Brendan Byrne titled his commentary on the Gospel of Luke, The Hospitality of God. Here is one of the most engaging and convincing signs of God's hospitality now revealed in the presence and teaching of Christ. This is a hospitality that should ever form our own conceptions of "other people," regardless of just how sinful we consider them to be..
In this light, the people who need conversion are those described somewhat vaguely as "they," as in "And when they saw it they all murmured, 'He has gone in to be a guest of a man who is a sinner'." (v. 7) Who are these mysterious "they?" The disciples of Christ? Perhaps, but most probably the "crowd" that often witnesses the Gospel events and comments on them off to the side (like the chorus in a Greek tragedy). Thinking and reacting outside of the "new wineskins" of the Gospel, their conventional piety cannot embrace one such as Zacchaeus. We are all too familiar with such conventional thinking, because it just may be our own.
Following up on Brendan Byrne's commentary, he offers a good summary paragraph of where this episode with Zacchaeus has led us:
"If we are right to translate Zacchaeus' statement in the present tense, it would seem that he did not have to undergo a conversion to be included in the community of salvation. Whether he had to undergo a conversion in any sense is not clear. What changes for Zacchaeus is his position with respect to the community. Jesus brings him in from the margins to the center ... It challenges the community to become more effectively a beachhead of the kingdom, where lost human beings can find welcome and new life in the grasp of a hospitable God." (The Hospitality of God, p. 151-152)
The ones who desperately need a conversion experience are the "they" of this episode, those who are spiritually circumscribed by a mode of thinking that the Son of man came to challenge and transform. Our post-resurrection communities need to be ever-vigilant to those same challenges and potential transformations. Perhaps something to meditate on as we approach Great Lent.
