Spiritual Stature

Humbling ourselves and letting Jesus raise us up  

Luke 19:1-10  

          At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.  Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.  So he ran ahead  and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”  And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”  But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.”   

          Have you ever heard of the so-called “Napoleon Complex”? It’s a psychological syndrome named for Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I of France. It’s reported that he was merely 5 feet and 2 inches tall but he over-compensated for that lack of height by seeking power, war and conquest. He rose to power, winning virtually every battle he fought, and dominated Europe and global affairs for over a decade. He was “the Man.” But do you remember where he ultimately met his demise? It was at the famous “Battle of Waterloo,” where several European countries created a coalition force to stop Napoleon. People who are said to suffer from the Napoleon Complex tend to overcompensate for their lack of height with an aggressive, domineering personality.   

          Another great leader, who you might say had the opposite of the Napoleon Complex, was George Washington, the first president of the United States. In his history of John Adams, David McCullough writes about the first meeting of Washington and Adams. They met at the beginning of the Revolutionary War – by the way, that’s when Napoleon was slowing rising to power in Europe – and Washington announced to Adams that he would gather one thousand men and form an army and he would pay for them at his own expense. Adams said, “That’s very generous of you.” To which Washington answered, “It’s not generosity; it’s duty.” Afterward, Adams said aside to Ben Franklin, “He’s a natural-born leader,” and Franklin said, “He’s always the tallest man in the room, he’s bound to end up leading something.” But you know, the difference between Napoleon and Washington didn’t really consist in their stature – being short or tall – but rather in their personalities. Napoleon was selfish, ambitious and rose to power because people feared him. Washington was generous, patriotic and rose to power because people admired and loved him. You see, the real issue was not their physical height, but rather their “spiritual height” inside each man.   

          In the gospel today, Jesus meets Zacchaeus, and it’s almost like a meeting between Washington and Napoleon. Zacchaeus is short in stature, and in order to see Jesus passing by, he climbs a sycamore tree. You see, he’s a very resourceful man, but as the chief tax-collector, he’s also selfish, greedy and ambitious. You had to be in order to get that position. But what does Jesus say to him? He says, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly.” In other words, stop trying to exalt yourself (symbolized by climbing up the tree), but rather humble yourself and come back down to earth. And that’s what Zacchaeus does by not only coming down from the tree, but also promising to no longer cheat people and instead to help the poor. Zacchaeus wanted to be more generous like George Washington. You see, Zacchaeus was still small in physical stature, but his spiritual stature had grown ten feet tall.  

 

          This weekend, Fr. Rick gave me permission to celebrate Mass, talk about Trinity Junior High, and take up a second collection. He said I could have the larger of the two collections today, so you might as well give generously to the second one, because I’ll take the big one anyway! (Just kidding.) Last week, all the 218 students at Trinity took a retreat and each class spent a day at St. Mary’s Church in Altus, AR. If you’ve never been there, the church is built on top of a mountain and it overlooks the river valley below. One student stepped off the bus, gasped at the breath-taking view, and asked: “Is this the Grand Canyon!?” Now, geography is not taught until high school, just to be clear.   

          The students heard talks by Bryan Charlton, a dynamic speaker, as well as by Jason and Michelle Wewers, who are also fabulous with teens. They learned about being a team-player, and not giving in to peer pressure, being generous to the poor (stewardship) and loving and caring for each other as classmates. And they ended the day with Mass in one of the prettiest churches in Arkansas.  You know, just take a moment and ask yourself: how many other junior high schools give their students a retreat each year to be with each other and with Jesus for a whole day? (The answer is “zero.”) That makes Trinity Junior High very special.   

          But do you know what really happened on that retreat on top of St. Mary’s Mountain? Those 7th, 8th and 9th graders tried to be a little less like Napoleon and a little more like Washington. What do I mean? Well, they learned how not to be selfish and ambitious and proud, and instead, they tried to be more generous, and kind and humble. They heard Jesus say to each of them, “Come down from that tree, because I mean to stay in your home.” You know, it doesn’t matter how short a Trinity student may be in his physical stature, because after that retreat, each student stood spiritually ten feet tall.   

          My friends, we all tend to swing back and forth in our own lives between being like Napoleon or being like Washington. Sometimes, we are selfish and ambitious and arrogant and want to conquer the world – those are our worst moments. At other times we are humble and kind and generous, and want to feed the world – those are our best moments. Every time you feel that Napoleon Complex rear its ugly head in your heart, hear Jesus voice saying to you, “Come down quickly, for today I must stay in your house.” And then open your heart and let Jesus come inside. Even if you are only 5 feet and 2 inches tall in your body, in that moment your spirit will feel ten feet tall.   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!