There are those who are gifted in the art of restoration. While we may look at something that is broken and ruined and conclude that it has no value and should be disposed of, the restoration artisan is able to see the beauty, grace and value in something as it originally was created and works lovingly to restore it to its original grandeur. With some love and care, that which was useless and ruined can be made new again and reclaim its value. The restoration artisan looks for broken and ruined things that need to be restored to life again.
There is much that has been written about the human person’s “search for God” but our faith is in God, a merciful Father, who Jesus reveals is in search of sinful and ruined humanity. From the beginning, when through original sin and disobedience Adam, in shame, “hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden,” (Gen 3,8) God searches for Adam and calls Adam out of hiding, out of the trees and says, “Where are you?” (Gen 3,9) Humanity is broken and ruined by sin but in his mercy, God gives us an opportunity to acknowledge our sin and to be healed from our shame. God comes to seek and to find what was lost in order to restore it to its original goodness. Jesus tells us in the gospel of Luke, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19,10) The mercy of God, his love for humanity, is not just a sentimental expression of piety but is essential to the nature of God. God is a “lover of souls” (Wis 11,26) and he loves all that he has made in his image and likeness.
The gospel story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19,1-10) is a story about God’s search for sinful humanity, his merciful love and his desire for restoration, to restore what was lost and broken by sin. Jesus finds Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree and and like Adam he calls him out of the tree and into new life. Zacchaeus is in the sycamore tree because he is “short in stature”, no amount of money or power can make Zacchaeus a great man. God had created Zacchaeus for greatness, to share in his divine nature, but sin and shame has made Zacchaeus a small man. Out of the depths of Zacchaeus’ sin, Jesus calls him out of his shame and restores him to the fullness of life, to new hope and to a new covenant relationship with God. Others are only able to see Zacchaeus as a public sinner, useless and disposable, but Jesus sees Zacchaeus as a lost child of God, and calls him to open his home and invite Jesus into his life. Zacchaeus “comes down quickly” (v. 6) and receives Jesus with joy into his home and into his heart. Zachaeus is no longer just a small man but now is a great and magnanimous heart that shares his gifts and blessings with others.
Too often our shame keeps us from communion with the Lord. The shame of our sinfulness, the fear of our smallness before others and our desire to avoid judgment keeps us hidden and alone. Only in humility of spirit can we be restored to a life giving relationship with the Lord. “My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.” (Ps 51,19) If we are ashamed of our relationship with God, if we are ashamed to be a person of faith, if we are ashamed of what other people in the world might think of us, if we are too proud to admit our sins and failings before the Lord and to confess our sins, then we remain distant from the Lord who is our salvation. Paul gives us an example of reclaiming our hope and our strength in the midst of a doubting world, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” (Rom 1,16)
God does not hate us because of our sins, he loves us because we are his beloved children and he never forgets that we are his children. The humility of Zacchaeus that moves him to come down from his tree allows him to be seen by Jesus. Jesus sees him and declares, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.” (Luke 19,9) Others see Zacchaeus only as a worthless sinner but Jesus, the artisan of restoring ruined humanity, sees Zacchaeus as a child of Abraham, a child of God. Now as Jesus has restored Zacchaeus to new life, Zacchaeus must restore what he has taken from others through sin and make reparation for the harm that he has caused others. God, the loving and merciful Father, has allowed Zacchaeus to see Jesus. In seeing Jesus he has seen the merciful face of the Father, in receiving him into his heart he has allowed him to see his own image and likeness to the Father and now he must see Jesus in others, even those who look down upon him.
Like Zacchaeus, all of us are in need of restoration. Only God’s grace, in the merciful gaze of Jesus, can restore what we have lost because of sin and return us to a new life of love. Only in him can we discover our true greatness. Where are you today? God is searching for you to restore you to life.