Overlook the Shortcomings
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | November 2, 2025
Click here to listen to the service
Read Luke 19:1 – 10 (NIV)
Today’s New Testament lesson comes from the Gospel of Luke, and it highlights something that I believe is important... but something that admittedly may be difficult for us to do... and that is to be willing to OVERLOOK THE SHORTCOMINGS when we look at other people.
It is no secret that we are living in some of the most challenging times that we have faced in many years... not counting the COVID pandemic. And at the center of much of the heartache and hardship that people are feeling right now is our inability or unwillingness to OVERLOOK THE SHORTCOMINGS that we are quick to see in others... but we are slow to see within ourselves.
And so, this morning, as our attention is focused on this story from Luke’s gospel... I want to encourage us that it really is okay for us to be willing to OVERLOOK THE SHORTCOMINGS in others as well as in ourselves... because that is exactly what Jesus would do... and what Jesus has already done for us all.
So, let’s take a look at our text for this morning, where we discover the story of a man named Zacchaeus who the scriptures tell us was a chief tax collector and was also wealthy. For many, that meant he already had two strikes against him... making it especially hard for people to OVERLOOK THE SHORTCOMINGS when it came to Zacchaeus.
Now, Zacchaeus’ wealth was clearly attributed to his position as the chief tax collector... a profession that was not exactly highly esteemed. That is because the majority of tax collectors made themselves rich by gouging the people... they were seen as traitors who had made the choice to work for Rome to collect taxes from the Jewish people... and as if that were not bad enough... adding insult to injury, the tax collectors were allowed to add their own surcharge which they kept for themselves... effectively cheating the people with the sanction of the Roman government.
And while there is much that could be said about similarities to much of what we are seeing play out in real time today... I will try to stay on track and keep our focus on the text.
Now, whenever I read this story, I can’t help but think of Kim and Eve telling us our Sunday school class about a song that they learned in church...
And while I will spare you listening to me trying to sing it myself... the lyrics go something like this:
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.This cute little song draws our attention to the fact that Zacchaeus was a short man, or small in stature as some versions of the Bible describe him.
And as the Savior passed him by, He looked up in the tree,
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down from there;
For I’m going to your house today, for I’m going to your house today”
(https://divinehymns.com/lyrics/zacchaeus-was-a-wee-little-man-song-lyrics/)
So, as we think about what it means to OVERLOOK THE SHORTCOMINGS... for Zacchaeus, one of the things that comes to mind was a physical shortcoming... he was so short (how short was he?) that the scriptures tell us, Zacchaeus literally could not see Jesus because he was not tall enough to look over the crowd.
Now the other major shortcoming that the text highlights for us is the fact that, by all accounts, Zacchaeus was a sinner. The crowd said the quiet part out loud as they began muttering among themselves, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” Or as the Message Paraphrase so eloquently puts it, “What business does [Jesus] have getting cozy with this crook?”
And Zacchaeus seemed to acknowledge it himself, saying, “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.”
In the Message, Zacchaeus’ confession reads like this, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.”
In other words, I admit that I do cheat people... but if someone catches on, I will rectify it by making generous restitution.
Some might describe that as somewhat suspect behavior... after all, what happens if the person doesn’t catch on? But Jesus does not raise that as a red flag or call a foul on the play.
Instead, Jesus does what Jesus does best.
He OVERLOOKS THE SHORTCOMINGS and says, “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.”
And that is the real lesson for us to take away from this text today... no matter how much we may dislike or disagree with someone... Jesus calls us to OVERLOOK THE SHORTCOMINGS and see that person as a child of God... just like we are.
And before you say it, YES, it is hard... but it is what we have been called to do anyhow...
Just yesterday, I was reading the daily devotional in Our Daily Bread entitled, “A Great Multitude.” The author shared the story of a gathering that had taken place back in 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa when close to four thousand believers in Jesus from 198 countries came together for a conference, said to be “the most representative meeting of the Christian church in the two thousand years since Jesus walked the earth.” (https://www.odbm.org/en/devotionals/devotional-category/a-great-multitude2)
The author then reflected on what the kingdom of heaven will be like, and the description found in Revelation 7:9a which reads, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
The author then went on to say:
Our local churches may not always reflect the diversity that exists in God’s eternal kingdom. Sometimes that’s the result of factors outside our control—other times we may be drawn to worship with those we perceive to be similar to ourselves culturally, generationally, politically, and economically.As I read this devotional, I also reflected on the lesson from today’s text... that we need to learn to OVERLOOK THE SHORTCOMINGS.
But we honor God when we embrace—and even seek out—the beautiful differences He has endowed to His children. They offer a foretaste of that diverse, heavenly gathering when all those who trust in Jesus’ sacrifice will worship Him together.
What we see as shortcomings in others can often be tied back to the perceived differences between us... the differences in cultural backgrounds, gender, age, socio-economic status, political affiliation, or even faith tradition... all the distinctions that we make to categorize and marginalize other people.
We ascribe value and worth to people based on attributes that they may have little or no control over... and we judge people based on behaviors that we define as acceptable or unacceptable... only occasionally pausing to look in the mirror to see where we fall on that spectrum.
It reminds me Jesus’ words of admonishment found in Matthew 7:1 – 5.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.Reading that same passage from the Message, we find:
Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.We need to learn to OVERLOOK THE SHORTCOMINGS of others, just as we would want someone else, most notably Jesus, to overlook ours.
Jesus looked past Zacchaeus’ wealth and questionable business practices. He looked past what others saw as Zacchaeus’ flaws, faults, and failures. And what Jesus saw when He looked past all of that was a beloved child of God.
And here’s the good news... Jesus does look past all of our flaws, faults, and failures as well... as Paul encourages us in Romans 3:23 – 24, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
When Jesus looks at each and everyone of us, He OVERLOOKS THE SHORTCOMINGS and sees the potential that lies within us... He sees the purpose that God has for us... and He sees the promise in the kingdom that awaits us...
And He invites us to look through His eyes of love so we can see who He sees when He looks at us... God’s beloved child.
And it is with that thought in mind that I want to invite us to stand now and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: Be Thou My Vision #595.
Back
