Orthodox Sermons & Articles

“Come down, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19, 5). These words, dear brothers and sisters, were addressed to Zacchaeus the Publican who was considered to be a great sinner by the people of Israel.   He could not make any friends with ordinary citizens of the country because of his profession. Being a tax collector, Zacchaeus was under the pressure of many temptations. Usually the tax collectors were rich and proud, standing far off from the rest of the people and enjoying their close position to the citizens’ money. Most of the publicans weren’t honest with people’s money as they were taking much of it for their own purposes and use without permission from the ruler. This is why they were considered sinners.

So, Zacchaeus had no friends amongst the ordinary citizens; only other publicans were his friends but life like this wasn’t right for him. His soul had been trembling without rest because of his daily deeds. His mind could not find an explanation for his dishonest deeds with money that was not his own. He was not happy at all! How do we know this? Because of his great effort to meet or Lord, Jesus Christ.  He must have heard of him before and realized that only He could provide him help and peace. The Gospel passage perfectly illustrates Zacchaeus’ feeling; first when it speaks of Zacchaeus climbing the tree and second when it shows how he was moved by Christ’s visit. All Zacchaeus needed was understanding and compassion. His mind and soul were already ready for the help that only our Lord could provide. Jesus became that catalyst that Zacchaeus desperately needed in order to establish peace in his soul. In today’s gospel story Jesus Christ is shown very clearly as the Son of God, Who knows the heart of humans and responds to every positive change we are willing to undergo for our salvation. He never saw Zacchaeus before. Many times Jesus had to travel through Jericho to Jerusalem and He performed many miracles in surrounding areas.  He was able to make them free from various diseases and helped them to find salvation through faith in Him. Probably knowing this, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus himself, as he obviously had a hidden hope that this meeting would change his life. Because he was small in stature and could not see Jesus behind the crowd, Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus.

So we, my dear brothers and sisters, should be looking for a meeting with the Lord everywhere. Like Zacchaeus we need Him to fortify our faith and to make our desire to change the reality. Who else can help us? In this world anything can happen, as king David sings in his Psalm: “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up” (Psalm 27, 10). How many times people are betrayed by their friends and even their closest relatives? How many times people are inhibited from moving forward with their life changes, because their friends might laugh at them? Many more people would come to church to praise the Lord than we see today, but because of their friends’ and relatives’ opinions, which don’t understand the value of a good in relationship with God, they choose not to. Yes, unfortunately these so-called “friends” can make fools of anyone who desire in their hearts give thanks to God. But today’s Gospel reading carries a strong message for those that are still uncertain: “Look what Zacchaeus did! He ignored all his so-called “friends” that were dragging him down.  He ran ahead and did everything in hid power to see the Lord. Sometimes we need to make strong decisions that may not please our relatives or friends. We somehow have the ability to make quick and proper decisions about our temporary earthly life, but we often fail when we need to make a powerful choice regarding our eternal life. Look at Zacchaeus who neglected his style of life.  His heart and soul told him that he no longer waned to follow the incorrect way of the world, but instead to follow and accept the Lord’s way of life.  Zacchaeus made this powerful decision regarding the future of hid life and soul, and he rightly picked Jesus.

But there is more to learn from this hated tax collector. After Jesus told him to come down from the tree,  Zacchaeus “came down and received Him joyfully” (Luke 19, 6). He completely forgot about what the crowd was thinking about him and what his friends might say about him. Zacchaeus saw only Jesus, Who was ready to help him in his search for salvation. His thankful heart motivated repentance in him and Zacchaeus said to the Lord that he would give half of his goods to the poor and that if he had taken anything from anyone by false accusation, he would restore it fourfold (Luke 19, 8). This is true repentance!  When a person not only realizes his or her wrongdoing but also is willing to correct all previous mistakes, our Lord acknowledges this, and grants peace of mind and heart to those who have made such a positive decision. After Zacchaeus made this promise, he needed to review every single file in his tax collecting office and recalculate everything.  This is as it should be. In other words his repentance, (or ours) would never be complete if he did not fix the mistakes he had made. This is why the Church teaches us that before we go to confession we must to make peace with everyone we may have offended in any way.

Dear brothers and sisters, as you can see by Zacchaeus’ example, Jesus pronounced salvation for him only because of his sincere repentance, which included the recognition of his wrongdoing and the promise of the correction of his previous mistakes. This should teach us a lesson for our repentance. We are not far from the Great Lent when we all must go to confession; therefore let’s think about our mistakes and our wrongdoings. If before we were afraid of our friends thoughts that might drag us from Jesus Christ and His Church, let us make an effort similar to Zacchaeus’ to go forth and meet the Lord. If you’ve already done this, then take the next step – accept the Lord in the house of your heart. If you have done this as well, then correct your previous mistakes and make resolutions not to repeat them anymore. This is called the way of salvation, as Jesus Christ in the house of Zacchaeus recognized it. May we all hear the voice of the good Lord saying: “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19, 9). Amen.