climbing a sycamore tree

This is a take your pick homily. In other words I cannot make up my mind what single topic to develop into a homily, so I put into it everything that comes to my mind. So take your pick. One or two may be right for you.
First. Have you ever climbed a tree? I believe most of us are already too old to climb trees. So all we have now are memories of the feeling and probably what we saw when we climbed a tree. The last time I climbed a tree was caused by a dog which came running after me. It came running after me and so I ran as fast as I could and climb the nearest tree. Climbing a tree you get a different perspective. You see things you don’t normally see down here. You can see your roof and what part needs repair. You can see the topmost portion of your plants and bushes that needs trimming. You can even compare what you see on your side of the fence to that of your neighbor, on the other side of your fence. It’s seeing things from a vantage point, seeing things from afar and from a different perspective.


When I was in the seminary I would from time to time recommend seminarians to go on regency - in other words they get out of the seminary for a while, find a job, experience what life is outside the seminary walls. I usually would tell them that regency is like seeing things from afar. You get to look at your life from a different perspective and assess whether that vocation, that kind of life, that way of life was really meant for you in the first place. Sometimes I would also tell sweethearts and lovers to break up for a while and see what they’re missing from each other, assessing their situation, considering what’s wrong, and weighing things from afar.
The problem however with climbing trees is, you get to see everything in your life, you get to see everything in your relationships, you get to see everything in your past decisions, but you cannot act on them unless you come down from your tree. In order to do something I have to come down from my lofty perch and do the work. I believe Zacchaeus’ experience was the same. It is well and good to see Jesus from atop a tree, to recognize him from a distance, to have a bird’s eye view of Jesus. But to follow him we have to go down, roll up our sleeves and get busy.
Hearing our readings this evening and worshipping in this church together we get a good bird’s eye view of Jesus and his teachings - but to follow him you have to go home, you have to go back to your places of work, go back to your businesses, you have to get down the tree, bring his message with you and act on it, live it. That is where most of us fail. Climbing down may look simple than going up, but it can be complicated as you and I know well.
Second pick. I admit before you that I have this bias against short people. My cultural bias tells me that short people usually compensate for their lack of height by aggressively competing with taller people. So they’re a bit more loud when they talk and they come out stronger and more aggressive in what they do to cover up their smallness, to make them look and sound big. By the way Napoleon Bonaparte was short and so was Adolph Hitler. It’s the law of compensation at work. I apologize for this bias against short people.
But something tells me that Zacchaeus, who is the most famous short person mentioned in the bible, went up the tree more than just wanting to see Jesus, more than just being curious about Jesus. Yes being small would do no good. For sure he will be pushed around by the crowd and probably people will ostracize him, call him names and even happily cover his view. However as we know Zacchaeus was not just short for added to this he was also being looked down as a hated tax collector, a traitor, and conniver to the oppressor. So why did Zacchaeus climb a tree? He climbed a tree not only because he was short man wanting to have a good view of Jesus, but also because he was small in the eyes of people, he was looked down upon. So Zacchaeus climbed the tree to see and at the same time to hide because he was ashamed. He climbed the tree to conceal and camouflage himself.
However, in Jesus, you could not hide forever. Jesus looked up to him and called out, come down Zacchaeus, “I mean to eat in your house today.” Surely when Jesus called him down all eyes were on him who meant to hide. In the end Zacchaeus has to face his shame, wrestle with it, he has to tell Jesus to everyone’s hearing what he intends to do to redress the cause of his shame as a traitor. For that Jesus told him to everyone’s hearing that salvation has to come to this house, to Zacchaeus.
How many times have we been in that same situation of shame because of what we are and what we have done? How many of us at one time would not go to church anymore for that nagging shame of being associated with the holy of which we feel we are not part of? How many of us avoid God for fear of being looked down by others?
But do you know what Jesus did? Jesus looked up on Zacchaeus. Jesus looked up when everyone else looked down on him. And later Jesus called him a son of Abraham. Never underestimate the mercy of God. Never underestimate the grace and goodness of God. Never underestimate what God can do and will do for you.
Third pick. There is something behind a Sycamore tree which adds meaning and depth to the incident of the gospel. It is said that a sycamore tree is like the local tree we call the madre de cacao. Each time you cut a sycamore tree regardless of how old it is or how low the cut may be, even if the cut is almost touching the ground the sycamore will always re-grow. Regardless I say of how old or how short, it will always grow back again.
The sycamore in the bible is the symbol of God’s love, the symbol of his grace and blessings because the sycamore God is a God of second chances. Cut it down, it will grow again. Turn your back on him and he will run after you. Hide in shame and he will search you out. Our first reading from the book of wisdom hits bull’s eye this symbol of the sycamore when it says: But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things, and you overlook people's sins, so that they may repent. You overlook, so that they may repent. Zaccaheus climb the sycamore. He who was running in shame climb the very symbol of God’s love that never gives up on us.
Let our gospel today remind us of this reality in our lives – the reality that God allows us to make mistakes, that the patience of God is always directed towards our salvation, that God will never fail us.
So there you are, three pickings this evening. Take your pick. I hope one or two may be good for you.