Desire for God Luke 19:1-10

Luke tells two back to back stories about people’s desire for God and God’s desire for them.

The first (18:35-43) tells the story of Bartimaeus. He is blind and sits outside Jericho by the side of the road begging. He hears that Jesus is coming his way and cries out with a loud voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” He calling out to Jesus with a loud voice. People are annoyed with him. They try to silence him, but he just shouts louder, hoping that Jesus would hear him among the noisy crowd. Jesus hears him. He stops, calls for him, and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus is quick to respond, “Lord, I want to see!” His desire for Jesus is pure and strong and Jesus honors it - “Receive your sight, your faith has healed you.”

The second (19:1-10) tells the story of Zaccheaus. Jesus is travelling through Jericho. One man in the crowd catches our attention – Zacchaeus. Luke introduces him in a fascinating way. He is the chief tax collector and wealthy. This description is meant to trigger all kinds of suspicions. Zacchaeus is wealthy. Remember the Rich Ruler and what Jesus said about the rich and the Kingdom of God, about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God? How did Zacchaeus become rich? Zacchaeus is a tax collector and good at it. He excels in his job. He has climbed the corporate ladder. He is the chief tax collector. Another description that raises our suspicion. Tax collectors worked for the Roman government, the oppressors of the people. They were often a little less than honest. Their financial practices were not always kosher. People had little time for them.

But there is more to Zacchaeus than that. Luke says, “He wants to see who Jesus is.” He is more than a just little curious. He doesn’t want to see Jesus; he wants to see who Jesus is. That phrase describes the deep desire of his soul, his spiritual hunger, his desire to know Jesus, for deeper intimacy with Jesus. The Greek is literally “he searches to see who Jesus is.”

It is a beautiful thing to be in touch with our desire for God. We often are not. Many of us haven’t paid attention to it for years. In stead of paying attention to our God-given desire, we deny it or ignore it. We are quick to suppress it when it rises to the surface. Or, we substitute other things for our desire for God. We often allow layers of concerns, anxiety, ambition, greed, pride, disappointments and regrets to build up like plaque, blocking our access to our desire. Many of us, when asked about our deepest desire can’t even name it anymore. We are out of touch with our soul’s desire.

Zacchaeus is in touch with his desire. He is open to God. He wants to know Jesus. He is on a spiritual quest.

Where does desire like that come from? It is always the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells with our spirit. The desire for God is placed in us by God who desires to commune and communicate with us and transform us into the image of Christ.

But Zacchaeus encounters a few problems right away. There is a problem in himself. Call it his “short-coming.” He is literally too short and can’t see through the crowds. The crowd is a problem too. They are blocking the way. They just seem to be just there. They represent the realities we deal with in our lives that at times prevent us from seeing who Jesus is. They prevent Zacchaeus from getting to Jesus. It may be that they are even actively blocking his way. They grumble. Spiritual desire often encounters obstacles and resistance. Others sometimes actively discourage it in us.

What do we do when we become aware of our desire and of the obstacles to desire in ourselves or in the realities of our lives?

For Zacchaeus, seeing who Jesus is, is more important than anything else; than the opinions of others, whether they encourage it or not; than the actions of the people around him; than his own dignity and position in life; than his own limitations. Zacchaeus runs ahead and climbs in a tree, a rather undignified, childish, spontaneous thing to do for a man like him. But his desire for God is more important than anything else. It takes priority. It is also the truest thing about him. He passionately pursues it. I love his determination, his passion, his enthusiasm for seeing who Jesus is.

Then, what happens? Jesus comes to that place. He stops and looks up. Jesus sees Zacchaeus up in the tree, just as he heard the blind man’s cries by the road.

Do you see what happens? Zacchaeus wants to see who Jesus is. But Jesus is the one who sees Zacchaeus! Jesus comes to the tree and looks up at him (anablepw). Now, this could just be a description of the physical situation. Jesus is standing on the ground and Zacchaeus is up in the tree. But I wonder if there could be more to it? Could it be that Jesus is “looking up to him”? Could it be that he honors it and looks up to people where they are in touch with and respond to their God-given desire for relationship?

Jesus looks up at him. And Jesus speaks to him. This is important. Jesus doesn’t just notice him - “oh, that’s interesting, a man in a tree” – he speaks to him. Jesus reaches out to him. He starts a conversation. In Jesus’ words, we begin to recognize God’s desire for intimacy with us. In the conversation, Jesus invites him to come down. He declares his desire to have communion with Zacchaeus. “Zacchaeus, I must stay at your house today.” This is strong language; “I MUST stay at your house today.”

We sometimes think that we must climb trees, make ourselves tall enough to get his attention, prove our love for him. This is just not true. The roles in this story are reversed. Yes, Zacchaeus does what we all think we should do to get God’s attention. BUT WHO SEES WHOM?

We think it begins with us. We must work up a spiritual longing, search for the Lord, work hard, pray longer, give more to the church … Truth is, it never begins with us. Our desire for God, our longing for intimacy with God, our love for God always originates with God. Ruth Haley Barton reminds us that we love because God loved us first; we long for God because God first longed for us; we search for God because God first reached us to us.”

In grace God invites us to come down and receive him in our homes, in our lives, today. Zacchaeus must climb down from the tree first. He cannot have communion with Jesus from that lofty place of self-improvement. We must leave the stuff we rely on to improve ourselves. We must let go of all our pretentions and ego needs. For many of us, there is a lot to let go of.

Jesus invites us to come down, to have communion with him. We can know him and his love when we are where he is with his feet firmly planted on the ground among all the other people. We can know him and his love when our hearts are humble inside us.

Most of time, we are not invited to “go up” to the Lord. We’re invited to “come down” to where Jesus dwells, and walks, and talks, and listens to people as the incarnate Son of Man.

The question is, how do we respond to the invitation; to the desire for greater intimacy with Jesus that the Spirit awakens in us?

We can choose to stay safely in the tree; that pretend place where we are tall enough, strong enough, smart enough, good enough, spiritual enough to catch his attention; that space where we can watch it all from a distance, safely hidden from a real encounter with Jesus. Or, we can hear his voice and come down, risking the realities and putting our trust in Jesus’ invitation and declaration of love for us.

We know how Zacchaeus responded. Jesus didn’t have to ask him a second time. He immediately comes down. He welcomes Jesus with joy. He begins to treat people differently. He gives to the poor. He restores justice.

Now what about us?

November 6, 2016 Haney Presbyterian Church Sermon by Gerard Booy