“Righteousness & Mercy”

Lent Midweek

April 9, 2025

two people hugging

 Luke 19:1-10

Entering Jericho, Jesus passed through the city. There was a wealthy person there named Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. Zacchaeus was trying to see who Jesus was, but he couldn’t do so because of the crowd, since he was short.

In order to see Jesus, Zacchaeus ran on ahead, then climbed a sycamore tree that was along the route. When Jesus came to the spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry up and come on down. I’m going to stay at your house today.” Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and welcomed Jesus with delight.

When everyone saw this, they began to grumble, “Jesus has gone to a sinner’s house as a guest.”

Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to Jesus, “Here and now I give half my belongings to poor people. If I’ve defrauded anyone in the least, I’ll pay them back fourfold.”

Jesus said to the tax collector, “Today salvation has come to this house, for this is what it means to be a descendant of Sarah and Abraham. The Promised One has come to search out and save what was lost.”

Message:

Zacchaeus, both short in stature and short in character, had to climb a tree in order to see over the heads of all those he had defrauded. He wanted to see Jesus. I wonder what he thought he’d see. A miracle man? Someone of stature? Someone with influence? Someone with money? I wonder if he was disappointed.

Everyone else was disappointed when Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’ home for dinner. They were disappointed they didn’t get the same treatment. They were disappointed that a Jewish teacher would willingly spend time with a sinner—a tax collector. They were angry, and rightly so. It was a righteous anger—anger fed by years of being taken for all their worth. Anger at the unjust taxes. Anger at Rome’s power. Anger at their own helplessness. Anger at Zacchaeus.

So, what was Jesus up to when he called Zacchaeus down from that tree and tagged along to his place for a banquet? What was he thinking? What was he looking for?

Much like the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons, this too is a story about the lost being found—being saved—being redeemed. Not by righteousness, but by mercy. There is a time for righteous anger, and there is a time for divine mercy. Both have the opportunity to change systems and people. The challenge is in knowing when to use them—and when they do more harm than good.

We know Jesus used mercy well because of Zacchaeus’ response. He repented. He committed to changing his ways. His life was forever changed for the good. In that, he received salvation.

As she pondered her decision to embark on the Red State Revival Tour, Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber wrote about how people continue to view Jesus’ actions and viewpoints as a matter of being ‘soft on crime,’ to use current parlance. The people wanted him to stop letting sinners off the hook. Stop rewarding them for their bad behavior. But, she says, “our love of hooks has never healed us in the way mercy has.”

Ouch. Perhaps mercy, like forgiveness, is a reckoning. It calls evil what it is, but it offers a new path. A doorway out.

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg talks about the connection between repentance and repair, sharing the 5 steps for repentance upheld in the Talmud. It very much resembles the AA 12-step program. The process of repentance and healing begins with confession. Own what you did. Don’t white-wash it. Don’t blame the situation, your upbringing, misunderstanding, or anything else. Name it. Claim it. Own it. Be blatantly honest—with yourself, God, and others.

The second step is to start doing the work to change. Whether that means getting therapy or changing friends, do the work that’s required so that you no longer do the thing.

The third step is to make amends. Pay for the harm done in consultation with the victim. Don’t just assume you know what they need. It may be monetary. It may be a commitment of time or dedication to changing a larger system.

Only in the fourth step do you apologize. Your apology is hollow if you haven’t already addressed the first three steps. It’s like saying, “I’m sorry you feel that way.” There is no evidence of effort to change anything.

And then, make different choices the next time. Because these steps are a life-long process, and there will likely be a next time. But you don’t have to step into the same hole twice.

The most important thing about reparation and repentance is that it is done in community. Because no matter who you hurt or how badly, it impacts the community. And the community needs to know and feel the changes being made and the healing being done.

We don’t know the whole conversation between Jesus and Zacchaeus, but we do know that the process of healing had begun. He had been given mercy and another chance—not because Jesus knew he would change his ways but because he was a child of God. He was worth the effort that mercy requires—the risk that mercy requires. And that means that you are, too.

You are worth the effort and the risk. You are worth the cross. Because God doesn’t operate in an economy of blame and shame. God deals in mercy and grace, love and forgiveness, healing and salvation. And God won’t stop until all of creation is restored.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE