Zacchaeus was a wee little man And a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree For the Lord he wanted to see
And when the Savior passed that way He looked up in the tree
And said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down! For I’m going to your house today!
For I’m going to your house today!’[1]
Anyone remember that song from your days in 
Sunday School or Vacation Bible School? They paint a nice picture of Zacchaeus don’t they. He was a short man who wanted to see Jesus and so he climbs a sycamore tree to get a better view of Jesus. And, it works! Jesus sees him and tells him to hurry and come down so that he can go stay at Zacchaeus’ house that day.
What the song fails to disclose is that Zacchaeus is a tax collector who has become wealthy by exploiting and cheating his fellow citizens who are often poor. He has not been a nice, upstanding, righteous person in the eyes of others in the crowd. No wonder there was a fair amount of grumbling in the crowd. How dare Jesus decide to invite himself over to such a sinner’s house! How dare Jesus choose this tax collector over me to spend time with! How dare Jesus be his merciful, forgiving, hospitable self! How dare Jesus be Jesus! Where would you be in this crowd?
He doesn’t call Zacchaeus out; he doesn’t condemn him; he doesn’t tell him what a horrible sinner he is; he doesn’t even ask him to repent of his sin. Jesus simply recognizes him in all of his humanity and in all of his beloved status as a child of God. Jesus offers Zacchaeus an opportunity to be in fellowship with him. He shows him mercy.
And look at what happens. Zacchaeus not only repents of his sin of exploitation and economic repression. He makes amends! He decides to repair the harm he has caused. I’ll take half of my possessions and give them to the poor (yes, he left half for himself but one must live). He’ll pay back four times what he has defrauded people of.
Jesus’ response is full of joy – the lost one has been found again! Healing and wholeness has come to Zacchaeus and his household that day. Mercy extended; repentance and reparations the result.
I wonder what Zacchaeus’ life looked like after that encounter. Did he continue on the path of repentance and repair of the harm he had caused? Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg explains this process in her book: “On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World” which is rooted in the work of the medieval philosopher Maimonides and his five stages of repentance: naming and owning harm; beginning to change; restitution and accepting consequences; apologizing; and making different choices.[2]
But why do we think Zacchaeus did this – repent and make amends? Maybe he responded to the mercy extended to him by Jesus? Maybe because that invitation was so unexpected and so filled with love? Maybe showing someone mercy who is neither righteous or merciful in our book makes a difference?
In our world today, it truly is hard not to be the grumbling crowd that sees no redeeming quality to someone we disagree with, or who stands for things we so vehemently oppose. To return hate with hate, lack of mercy with lack of mercy. How do we establish relationships with someone whose worldview we despise? Do we think that God doesn’t love them?
Rev. Jeff Chu writes this in the commentary from A Sanctified Art for Week 5: God has a really bad habit of loving people we don’t approve of. Or maybe this: God has a really bad habit of showing mercy to people we don’t approve of. Or maybe: God has a really bad habit of extending grace to people we don’t approve of.
Following Jesus is really hard work. We are asked to be loving and hospitable to people who don’t seem very loving or hospitable but when we can and when we do (and not ever if we are putting ourselves in true harm’s way), what might the difference be. I am reminded of white supremacists who have repented of that and gone on to repair the harm they have caused. I am reminded of organizations like Be The Bridge. I am reminded of marriages that survive infidelity or other indiscretions.
It is possible that by showing mercy, love and compassion and extending hospitality, by listening, by engaging in conversation, that might be a first step to someone realizing the harm they have caused and then being able to name and own it. It might lead each of us to name and own harm we have caused and then work through the steps to repair that harm.
But we have to start somewhere – maybe not up in a tree trying to see Jesus – but maybe a cup of coffee or a meal or a workshop or a Bible study. Maybe like Rev. Nadia Bolz-Webber, organizing a songfest in areas she normally wouldn’t visit. Where would you start a journey of mercy?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacchaeus_(song), accessed 4.4.25
[2] https://www.onrepentance.com/ accessed 4.4.25