Another Great Sermon by Deacon Terry

​Today, the church and we remember those we loved and came before us, and have preceded us into eternal life with God.
Today is a day to reflect on the spiritual bond between the living and the Saints.
We remember their many struggles, their triumphs, their love, their faith.
Today, we like those who came before us as American Christians living in a land of abundance, are tempted to envision the abundant life that Jesus promised us as a life of more.
More money, more things, more power, more fun, more adventure, more, more, and more.
We struggle with balancing the abundant life even when we see the empty, purposeless lives of many of the rich and famous.
Today we seek balance in our relationships; balance between family, friends, and work, balance between self and others, and between getting and giving.
How does someone, like Zacchaeus so powerful, so wealthy become vulnerable?
How does a successful person become so humble, that he will climb a tree and repent?
I’ve shared some of this story in the past, but I think it worth repeating
I read of a story that recounts a meeting that took place at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago in 1923. There is debate on whether that meeting actually occurred, but what’s not in question is the actual rise and fall of the men featured in the story, who were nine of the richest men in the world at that time:
(1) Charles Schwab, President of the world's largest independent steel company, Bethlehem Steel and US Steel;
(2) Samuel Insull, President of the world's largest utility company;
(3) Howard Hopson, President of the largest gas firm;
(4) Arthur Cutten, the greatest wheat speculator;
(5) Richard Whitney, President of the New York Stock Exchange;
(6) Albert Fall, member of the President's Cabinet;
(7) Leon Frazier, President of the Bank of International Settlements;
(8) Jessie Livermore, the greatest speculator in the Stock Market;
(9) Ivar Kreuger, head of the company with the most widely distributed securities in the world.
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What happened to these rich and powerful men twenty-five years later?
(1) Charles Schwab had died in bankruptcy, having lived on borrowed money for five years before his death.
(2) Samuel Insull had died virtually penniless after spending some time as a fugitive from justice.
(3) Howard Hopson became insane.
(4) Arthur Cutten died overseas, broke.
(5) Richard Whitney had spent time in a mental asylum.
(6) Albert Fall was released from prison so he could die at home.
(7) Leon Fraizer, (8) Jessie Livermore, and (9) Ivar Kreuger each died by suicide.
An example of these seemingly successful men can be found in the suicide note left by Jessie Livermore
On Thanksgiving Day, in 1940, Livermore fatally shot himself in the cloakroom of The Sherry-Netherland hotel in Manhattan. 
The note was addressed to his wife, Harriet (nicknamed "Nina") and it read, "My dear Nina: Can't help it. Things have been bad with me. I am tired of fighting. I can’t carry on any longer. This is the only way out. I am unworthy of your love. I am a failure. I am truly sorry, but this is the only way out for me. Love Laurie"
Measured by wealth and power, these nine men achieved success, at least in the world’s eyes. But it appears it did not give them what it was cracked up to be.
Many people think of fame and fortune when they measure success.
Our world and sometimes, we often look only on the outside. We look at the fame some people achieve, we look at the fortunes some people have amassed, and we look at the power some people hold.
Our gospel character this morning, Zacchaeus, was rich and powerful, but something inside him was aching.
We never really know what’s going on behind the scenes, do we?
At one point in my life, I was very guilty of this measurement.
For whatever reason, I was impressed by all the things money seemed to be able to get you.
I can remember a conversation with my father, back when I was a teenager, when Dad and I were having a teenager rebellion conversation and I said to him, “ah, what do you know, you work in a factory, I’m going to make a lot of money someday, and have a whole lot more than this, just wait and see”.
I so wish I never said that, how wrong I was, how small I was and in those years, judgmental and shallow.
I failed to realize at that time, but now I am very aware, that my father was one of the most successful people I ever came to know. He was born into a poor family, had virtually nothing, became a Marine, married my mother, and had three children, one of whom died at the age of three of brain cancer. They all most went bankrupt because of my brother’s medical costs, yet through all of this, he (and my mother), were faithful, hardworking, loving, supporting parents. Throughout those tough times, my father supported his family through love, faith, and hard work.
The last words I heard my father echo, were the “Lord’s prayer”.
Boy was I wrong. My father was a successful man!
Most of us, at some point in life, come to realize that inner peace and soul-deep satisfaction do not come from fame and money, but having lived a life based on integrity and noble character.
The book of Proverbs (22:1) says: "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold."
In the final analysis, living an honorable, and faith filled life is more satisfying than fame and fortune.
Jack Higgins, a famous author, was once asked what he would like to have known as a boy. His answer:
“That when you get to the top, there’s nothing there.”
Zacchaeus probably knew this better than anybody else. As the chief tax collector of the city of Jericho, he surely was wealthier and more powerful than any of his Jewish neighbors.
The chief tax collector did not a work on a fixed salary; he was the sole proprietor of a business enterprise. The Roman administration would levy a city the amount of money they expected the city to contribute each year.
The chief tax collector would pay that amount to Rome and then have the  right to impose and collect taxes from the people of the city.
He himself determined how much each person would pay. He would employ tax collection agents, like Matthew, to collect the taxes. Whatever money they collected over and above the lump sum he paid the Rome was his profit.
Through this reading it seems this wealth probably didn’t make him happy. Just like those nine rich men from 1923.
Seems to be a pattern here.
Zacchaeus was hated by everyone in the city, not only because he overtaxed the people, but also because he was helping the Romans exploit his own people.
He was regarded as a traitor and as someone unclean before God.
When Luke says that Zacchaeus was a man of short stature, he is not only referring to his physical height.
He was a small, lonely man in so many ways.
And probably fascinated with Jesus, the poor Galilean, son of a carpenter who enjoyed the goodwill and the loyalty of the people. What was his secret? Zacchaeus would love to find out.
But how would he meet him?
So, Zacchaeus decides climb a tree and hide himself up there, probably hoping that nobody would notice his presence up there.
We don’t know if anyone saw him in the tree before Jesus spotted him.
Can you imagine the shame and embarrassment he must have felt to be spotted up in that tree? This seemingly wealthy tax collector.
The people must have jeered at him. Zacchaeus must have felt even smaller than he actually was.
But then all the jeering and giggling stopped when Jesus spotted him.
“Zacchaeus, come down; for I must stay at your house today”.
Can you imagine the surprise and the joy of Zacchaeus? I am sure he immediately grew two feet taller.
To me, the most important part of this morning’s story is the transformation that happens to Zacchaeus. He suddenly opens up, confesses his excesses, and publicly announces that he was going to correct his mistakes, and pay back four times the people he cheated.
Deep down, all along Zacchaeus knew that what he was doing and how he was cheating people was wrong, but he did it anyways, he could not help himself.
The world said, more, more, more.
Did Jesus ask him to change his ways? No. Did Jesus criticize him or scold him for his sins? No. No preaching, no moralizing, no nothing. Just unconditional acceptance.
That is enough to change a person.
Zacchaeus would probably go bankrupt if he did all that he promised. But that doesn’t matter. He has found the peace and happiness that his wealth did not give him. That is all he needs.
There are probably many Zacchaeus- men and women, us- hiding in the tree tops, humiliated and unhappy because of their smallness.
What we all need to know is that we have an unconditional acceptance: that same one Jesus offered Zacchaeus.
That’s all we need to change.
Are we climbing the right tree?
Are we living in ways that we know may not be quite, right? But through the pressures of society, doing them anyways?
Are we short sighted, looking to please our immediate appetites for worldly success?
Or
Are we following Jesus’ examples of loving our neighbors as ourselves?
What tree are we climbing?
One of my hero’s – Richard Rohr, a Franciscan Friar says it this way.
“We often go through life climbing the ladder of success, only to get to the top and realize we have climbed the wrong ladder”.
I invite us all to look at the ladder leaning on the tree we are climbing, look at what truly makes us whole.
Looking back on our lives one day, will we value our success on fame and fortune or will we place our values on our relationships with others, how we served others, loved others and in our relationship with our loving God?
Take a hard look at what tree your ladder is leaning on, make sure it’s on the right tree, as our money and our possessions will one day fade away, but God’s love will never die.
AMEN