The Extraordinary in All People

In his collection of essays, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis writes, “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal."

Zacchaeus by Lauren Wright Pittman, A Sanctified Art

Lewis’ words challenge his readers to see themselves, and their neighbors, as Jesus sees them. To glimpse the extraordinary in all people.

Lewis’ words are bold, and difficult. The extraordinary parts of people are very often hidden. They’re not usually the first thing we notice. Rather, we tend to get caught up other things - outward appearance, job title, reputation.

And yet, how different would our lives be if we took seriously Lewis’ idea that “there are no ordinary people?”

I think Jesus had such vision. We see a glimpse of it in the text for Sunday.

You might have learned a song about this story…

Once there was a man who wanted desperately to see Jesus, but a crowd was in his way. The man's desperation drove him ahead of the crowd and up into the branches of a sycamore tree, where he hoped to catch a glimpse of Jesus. When Jesus passed under the tree, he looked up and said, "Hurry down, Zacchaeus, for I must stay at your house today. The man scrambled out of the tree, filled with delight to take Jesus home with him. But the crowd was indignant and grumbled, “What business does Jesus have getting cozy with a sinner?” But the man stood his ground, saying, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor — and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.” Then Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For I have come to seek and to save the lost.”

The story seems so simple, yet it makes me realize how small my vision can be. When I think of Zaccheaus, I tend to first thing of his short stature, his job as a tax collector, his tendency to steal from his own people.

But when Jesus sees Zaccheaus, he sees something else. Something no one else has seen. Something extraordinary.

It’s a profound truth: there are no ordinary people in the realms of God. There are no mere mortals once salvation arrives and calls out to us. “It a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses.”

May we all have such vision.

Grace and peace,

Kimmy