For Wilshire Baptist Church
LeAnn and I have a theory about Zacchaeus, the height-challenged tax collector who heard that Jesus was coming down the street and climbed a sycamore tree for a better view. Scripture says that Jesus looked up and saw him, told him to come down from the tree, and invited himself to Zacchaeus’ home for dinner. Our theory is that Jesus didn’t just see Zacchaeus; he heard him. Jesus heard Zacchaeus sneeze, because Zacchaeus was allergic to sycamore.
We base our theory on the fact that LeAnn recently had some allergy tests – trying to get a handle on a stuffy head – and one of the culprits is sycamore. In case you aren’t familiar, the leaves on American sycamore trees (different from the Holy Land variety) are shaped sort of like maples but are as broad as a human hand and their size helps the wind carry them long distances. That fact is important because we don’t have a sycamore tree, but there is a giant sycamore a half-block north of us and its leaves are piling up in our yard and patio like scraps of brown paper grocery bags.
I sometimes say I’m going to bag the sycamore leaves and take them back where they belong – along with the red oak leaves that aren’t ours either – but there’s plenty of tongue in cheek in that threat. In fact, in a day or two I’ll rake the sycamores and red oaks out into the middle of the yard along with our pecan and hackberry leaves and mow them into mulch that will feed the soil and give the lawn a healthy boost in the spring.
I’ll probably sneeze and snort a lot while I’m doing that because I may have some allergies too. But most of my allergies have not been the physical ones; they’ve been the social, intellectual and spiritual allergies that cause a host of serious reactions. You won’t find them on WebMD.com, but here is a partial list:
Allergy Reaction
humility arrogance
restraint self-indulgence
discipline chaos
self-respect self-loathing
self-confidence self-doubt
hope despair
faith fear
grace/forgiveness guilt
I’ve struggled with some of these allergies at different times in my life. They flair up during some of life’s greatest challenges. I’ve had some of them after loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, loss of dreams, loss of focus, failures of ideas, over-reaches, not staying true to who I am. In addition to the primary reactions, there can be secondary reactions such as moaning, crying, wailing, hiding in shame, shouting in anger, whimpering in despair.
Just like Zacchaeus, however, I’ve not only been seen but I’ve been heard. Jesus has heard my whimpers and wails and has gently talked me down out of the tree – sometimes through his written words, the voice of the Holy Spirit, or the voice of those speaking in His name. And if I’ve been receptive, I’ve taken him home – home to my heart.
The good news is that when we sneeze, Jesus does more than just say, “God bless you.” He actually does bless us.