Seek Out and Save the Lost

Here are a few facts for us to consider this morning:

 According to a report published in Bloomberg News last June, undocumented workers contribute nearly $100 billion dollars in local, state, and federal taxes each year. According to the American Immigration Council, "In 1980, immigrants made up 6.2 percent of the U.S. population, and the total crime rate was 5,900 crimes per 100,000 people. By 2022, the share of immigrants had more than doubled, to 13.9 percent, while the total crime rate had dropped by 60.4 percent, to 2,335 crimes per 100,000 people. Specifically, the violent crime rate fell by 34.5 percent and the property crime rate fell by 63.3 percent." Overall, the crime rate in the U.S. fell by 49% from 1993 to 2022. For American citizens, the crime rate is roughly 4,000 crimes per 100,000 people. Social Security would be forever solvent if we removed the cap of salaries which is currently $176,100, so any money made over this amount is not taxed by Social Security. In an article in the Harvard Gazette, for each dollar spent in the IRS to investigate tax fraud, the government receives $12 back, not a bad return. Wikipedia shows that it was estimated that $600 billion dollars was lost in revenue in 2020. The Guardian reports that $50 billion of wage theft each year disproportionally affecting those who make lower wages. Three men have more wealth than 170 million Americans, they are Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. 

Now, in Jesus' time, there was no capitalism, but there was hoarding of wealth. The Roman Empire where, 'all roads lead to Rome', had a pretty good system of taxes that funneled money into the leaders' pockets. Israel and all of its neighbors were under Roman occupation and had to pay taxes even though they were not free and had no say in how they were governed. So as much as we 'Americans' grumble about taxes and the IRS, imagine that they were sent not to Washington, DC, but to Beijing or Moscow. We would not like want to sit down with the tax collectors for a meal, a coffee, a beer, or in the same pew on a Sunday morning. That person and family would be universally hated. This is the life of Zacchaeus. In the Common English Version we read this morning, it is said that he is the ruler of the tax collectors. You don't get to be the ruler of the tax collectors that is a corrupt and exploitive system by doing things the right way. So we really can infer that Zacchaeus was not an upstanding individual. And maybe, just maybe, he realized that for all his power and fortune, there were things that were lacking in his life. He hears, as most of the people are talking about, this man named Jesus who has healed people, brought back people from the dead, restored people's faith and relationships, fed thousands of people, and proclaims good news for those who are poor and release of the captives. Maybe, just maybe, Zacchaeus realizes that he is captive in a prison of his own making that has separated him from his community, his nation, and his faith. So off he goes in search of this man who always draws crowds. If he is shorter than average and there are crowds lining up, who is going to help him, step aside, or offer him a spot for this may be the one time they can snub him and not suffer consequences. He goes to find a tree to climb, probably a very undignified thing to do for any adult, much less a man of stature and standing and wealth. 

And along comes Jesus, who his on his way to Jerusalem, as he tells his disciples, to be handed over, crucified, and rise on the third day. He heals a blind man who calls out to him, giving him the title, "Son of David" and enters Jericho to a crowd that is large enough to keep Zacchaeus from seeing him. Jesus sees Zacchaeus, maybe the desperation and the hope that is surrounding him, as he is up in that tree, and calls to him. "Zacchaeus come down, for I'm going to your house today, for I'm going to your house today"(sung). What isn't in the song we learned in Sunday School is the people grumbling about Jesus going to "his" house. Why would Jesus go this sinner's, this traitor's, this turncoat's house? He may have wealth and power, but Zacchaeus doesn't have the trust of anyone in this community or standing in their faith, he is 'unclean'. Zacchaeus wants to make things right, promising that he will give half of his wealth to the poor and if he cheated anyone he will repay them four times as much back as recompense. It is highly likely that he will have to do some creative accounting to find that money to return to the people in paying them back four times as much he cheated, which was probably fairly often. It just might bankrupt him, but he is happy that Jesus is coming to his house and there is a chance at redemption. 

Senator Cory Booker framed his filibuster as, "not a right or left moment, but a right or wrong moment." We are seeing this Administration's policy to divest the federal government of any type of care for the least of these in our society whether the undocumented workers, the women and their health, those who fall under DEI, the elderly and poor families helped by Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and our veterans, especially those who are wounded. There is no compassion, as Elon Musk stated it is America's greatest weakness, in the policies or workings of those in power now. I would love, love for many of the over 2,000 billionaire's to follow in the footsteps of Zacchaeus and return the $57 trillion dollars (four-fold would even be better) sucked up by them from the lower and middle classes between 1972 and 2022 as reported by the Times magazine. 

It is estimated that over 3.5 million people took to the streets yesterday, over three hundred in our community alone. Our country is not yet a dictatorship, although it may be an oligarchy that has created the policies over the past 50 years to give the rich more and more power and money. As we march and make our voices known and oppose these grabs for power, we remember that the true power of our country, and any country, rests not in wealth or armament, but in the people themselves. 

There was a rumor that was going around that fifty letters that were hand-delivered to our Representative in the House were thrown into the garbage. Yesterday at the rally, it was reported that they were delivered and some people got responses from our elected official. Our voice, our vote, our correspondence, our showing up and speaking up does make a difference. It may not happen tomorrow, but the powers and principalities that harm people do not and cannot stand. 

Yesterday I shared some ancient words from the Jewish prophet Isaiah and our Christ Jesus. It boils down to that taking care of the poor, the widow, the sick, those in prison, the hungry, the thirsty are the things that God asks of us. Let us continue to work on these as we continue to return our government to the people. This is where we find God and where God finds us, just as Zacchaeus. Amen.