Luke 19:1–10
Jesus is closing in on Jerusalem when he encounters Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector, in a tree. Tax collectors were pariahs in Jewish society because they collected tariffs for the Roman Empire, the occupying force. They notoriously overcharged and exploited the poor.
Though he was wealthy, Zacchaeus was outcast, and perhaps that is why no one makes space for him in the crowd so he can see “who Jesus was.” Zacchaeus runs and climbs a tree, which anticipates the cruel cross Jesus would soon encounter. As Jesus passes under the tree, he calls out to Zacchaeus by name, commands him to come down, and “voluntells” him to offer hospitality.
Jesus’ command suggests that this is not a random, curious encounter, or just Jesus’ desperation to find a comfy bed for the night! In this last act public ministry in Luke, Jesus shows the crowd (and us) something about the nature of God and God’s reign—God is the liberator of all creation and is already realizing an inclusive liberatory reign through Jesus.
Jesus could have dismissed Zacchaeus or continued the warnings about wealth that he issued in the previous chapter. Shockingly, though, he reaches out to him to draw him into relationship. This is a beautiful example of “calling in” instead of “calling out”—an important practice in abolition praxis. Jesus calls him in, humanizing him by using his name. This moment of human connection enables Zacchaeus to respond without defensiveness, and then to open up to change. Instead of calling out his sins in public, Jesus honors him and is even willing to share the intimacy of eating at table together.
We who follow Jesus share in God’s inclusive ministry of liberation, seeking freedom for all harmed in systems oppression, which is everyone—the oppressed, oppressors, and those who passively participate in the system. Included in those harmed are non-human creatures, land, and ecosystems. In the famous words of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
Of course, the moment of “calling in” is only a starting point of the truth-telling, accountability, and transformation of relationships that are necessary for restorative justice and liberation. In this passage, we see Zacchaeus begin to move in this direction, acknowledging some wrongdoing and offering reparations.He seems to recognize that the loving, liberated life that Jesus offers is far better than all the riches he could amass. Whether he follows through or not is not the point of the passage, though; the point is that all belong in God’s dream of liberation, and relationships are the pathway into it.
Leeann Culbreath is an Episcopal priest, immigrant advocate, and band mom in south-central Georgia.