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A wee little man was he … or was he?
Undelivered sermon, Nov. 2, 2025
I had written this sermon, based on today’s Lectionary, in advance for a lay speaking assignment — which I had to back out of due to the death of a family member this past week. But I’ll share it here anyway.
Luke 19:1–10 (CEB)
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town. A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus.
Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.”
Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. The Human One came to seek and save the lost.”
Today’s lectionary passage is a very familiar Bible story, one that all of us have…
