21st Sunday of Pentecost, Proper 26: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10
When I lived in New Haven, my friend Gretchen Pritchard, who was then in charge of Children’s Ministries the Episcopal Church of St Paul and St James, taught me one of my most important lessons in ministry. She invited me to start a youth group for the middle schoolers in the church. I didn’t have a desperate need to start a youth group, but I was invited, so I said yes. I was hopelessly unprepared for the level of hormones that floated around the room sometimes, but the kids were great.
When starting up, I sent a letter to all the parents about a day retreat we were planning, asking them to get in touch so we would know how many kids were coming. Radio silence. No, she told me, you won’t hear from people. You have to call them. So I learned to make phone calls to the parents to organize events. Gretchen invited me, I invited others. And from then on, I knew that if I needed to reach people, I had to reach out to them individually.
I thought of that lesson when I re-read the story of Zacchaeus in today’s gospel. He was rich, the chief tax collector, and was curious about Jesus. He was short, so the only way he could see Jesus was by climbing a tree. And Jesus calls him. He needs a place to stay. Zacchaeus is happy to oblige. It doesn’t look good: everyone knows that Zacchaeus got rich off the backs of everyone else. But in inviting himself to Zacchaeus’ house, Jesus changed his life.
Jesus knew what he was doing. Zacchaeus welcomed him and announced that he is giving half his possessions to the poor, and will make right anyone he has defrauded. When Jesus affirms his salvation, he observes that Zacchaeus too “is a son of Abraham”, and that he had come “to save the lost”. The very fact that Zacchaeus was a surprising host was the point. When invited, he answered.
I try to remember the power of a non-judgmental invitation. People like to help. People like to be invited. So for us, as a small congregation what can we invite people to that is manageable for us but enjoyable for others? Where can we put ourselves out in the world?