But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:8-10
“The story of Zacchaeus provides evidence that through actions that caused harm, through fraud, and through the thefts connected to his profession, he damaged and in fact made impossible a life of dignity for many people. The relationship with Jesus brought Zacchaeus back to his origins, restoring justice.
The fourfold return in the case of theft of means of production or of products, an act that took place during the collection, was foreseen in Exodus 21:37 (see also Numbers 5:6-7). The purpose of the return, as part of the Jewish tradition of the Jubilee, is the opportunity for the impoverished people to be rehabilitated, so that they can return to having their own independent means to produce and to live, free of processes of indebtedness! Thus, the damages can be, if not compensated, at least alleviated, and the persons who were deprived can once again have at their disposal the capital that was taken from them by fraud. They can reorganize their lives.
Moreover, Zacchaeus reclaimed a tradition of his people, namely, returning fourfold more to persons he had robbed and giving over half of his goods to persons who had entered into a process of impoverishment, perhaps even precisely because of those fraudulent actions. Zacchaeus practiced the forgiveness of debts in its full and profound sense. With that, old Jubilee traditions were revived that had been proclaimed and longed for by the suffering people.
The grace of Jesus in relation to Zacchaeus is converted into relationships of grace and commitment in the social and communal life of the people. Only in this way do rich people have a space in the ministry of Jesus and in the communities of Luke.”
Ivoni Richter Reimer in “The Forgiveness of Debts in Matthew and Luke” in God’s Economy: Biblical Studies from Latin America edited by Ross and Gloria Kinsler (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2005) 166-167.
I hope you like the new header photo of the chapel in Antigua across the street from the hotel where we are facilitating the Journey of Empowerment retreat this weekend. I also must say that am learning a lot from these Latin American authors whilst traveling with this book full of articles by Latin American scholars on God’s economy.
Today’s reading helped me see something I’ve missed in my reflections on Zacchaeus over the years. His distribution of funds must not be understood as generosity per se, as it is not portrayed as such by Jesus or Luke (though we may read it that way). Instead we must see Zacchaeus (and rich people in Luke’s narrative) as doing justice.
The giving of Zacchaeus to the poor must not be understood as generosity. His accumulation and subsequent redistribution of that which, in God’s eyes, belonged to the poor and those he cheated must be seen instead as making right the wrongs he had done. This reading is affirmed by the fact that the measure He chose linked back to justice requirements in the law.
To be generous and to do justice are different. To apply the lessons of these texts in modern times leads to two conclusions. First, sharing surplus with the poor may not be generosity after all but may, in God’s eyes, be doing justice. Two, the kind of giving Jesus celebrates demonstrates sacrificial (like the widow who put in everything) and does justice (like Zacchaeus).
So, for “salvation” to come to your house, is there a need for redistribution and justice? I am not saying that our giving can secure our eternal salvation. What I am saying is that God sees everything, that our handling of money reveals what we believe, where we place our trust, and whether or not we take seriously the teachings of Jesus regarding the handling of money.