Richard Dawkins, an Oxford University evolutionary biologist, has made a career in his scientific claims of the “God delusion” and the “selfish gene.” He wrote a book, The Selfish Gene, where he argues that gene selfishness produces selfishness in organisms, including human individuals. We are selfish. Contrary to this position, there are sociobiologists, who claim an altruistic gene that provides for cooperation and made kinship possible. There is mounting research evidence that there are altruistic or compassionate genes in ourselves.

Let me give an example of the biological basis of compassion. Recently the primatologist and atheist Frantz de Waal has argued that human morality has its biological roots with our primate and mammal ancestors He writes:
Mammals have what I call an “altruistic impulse “in that respond to signs of distress in others and feel an urge to improve their situation. To recognize the need of others, and react appropriately, is really not the same as a preprogrammed tendency to sacrifice oneself for the genetic good.
He traces further altruism to the prototype of maternal care in mammals. De Waal documents in-group altruism in his observation of Bonobo apes, when an older female Bonobo can no longer move and get food and water, other Bonobos bring food and water to her. De Waal refers to Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan but calls this behavior “The Good Simian.” He comments about apes: “Clearly they are not as selfish as has been assumed, and they might actually beat the average priest or Levite when it comes to humane behavior.” There are many more documented observations of species of female mother exhibiting altruism and care for their offspring.

There is another piece that I want to add the conversation between selfish and altruistic genes. In high school, I was required to read the Russian-American novelist, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrug. I had an intense dislike for it. I would have preferred reading J. R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy or The Hobbit. Ayn Rand promotes a philosophy of rugged individualism: She writes,

There is nothing of any importance in life–except how well you do your work. Nothing only that. Whatever else you do will come from that. It is the measure of human value.

She built up a strong case for unbridled capitalism and selfish individualism. Success is the only measure of human value. And it includes not caring for anyone else but myself. Many politicians and wealthy folks follow her philosophy. This has led to income inequality and policies of removing safety nets for people experiencing tragedies and downturns in their lives.
Inequality is the basis of Rand’s philosophy. She claims that compassion, kindness, and charity are moral weaknesses. As a follower of Christ, I cannot accept such a premise. My whole being bristles at this ego-centered philosophy.

Let me quote first Jesus: “Be compassionate as God is compassionate” (Lk. 6:36). And I want to add the Dalai Lama’s assertion: “Compassion is the radicalism of our time.” Or last week I remember President Obama at his eulogy for Congressman Elijah Cummings said. “Kindness is not a weakness.”
How do we handle Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount? “Give to everyone who begs from you” (Mt. 5:42). Do you contribute money to homeless people on the sidewalks, despite the objections of friends and family members? What about when you hear a story of horrific disaster from a severe climate event of hurricanes in Puerto Rico vs. Houston?

There were Christians that place restrictions upon their charitable giving. For example, conservative Christians were reluctant to contribute to certain victims of Hurricane Kathrina when it decimated New Orleans and displaced hundreds of thousands of refugees? The PEW Research Center found that these Christians would only contribute to people like themselves and not different from themselves to the refugees. They seemed to miss the intent of Jesus’ parable of The Good Samaritan, where there is cultural enmity and racial prejudice between Samaritans and Jews, in the parable, the Samaritan puts aside all prejudices to help a Jewish man robbed, beaten, and left to die in a ditch. Compassion is the radicalism of our time, but it also was the radicalism of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus said “Be compassionate as Abba God is compassionate’ in Luke’ sermon on the plain.

The Dalai Lama instructs people that might look to think of the needs of strangers in the same way that a mother responds to the needs of her child. Buddhists have a meditational exercise of considering someone you dislike or an enemy. Buddhists believe in reincarnation. So the Dalai Lama instructs someone to view someone you dislike as your mother in your previous life. Imagine that person was your mother I a previous life and that she gave birth to yourself. Feel a sense of gratitude for the life that she gave to yourself.

What does this have to do with the reading this morning? The story of Zacchaeus is a wonderful story of compassionate breaking down of barriers. Gospel compassion tolerates no exclusions; it is inclusive and welcoming of those who are outsiders. Zacchaeus is vertically challenged, that is, he is short of stature, and he belongs to a despised class because he makes a living by collecting taxes for the Romans. His physical stature symbolizes his socio-religious status because no one will step aside to let view Jesus. Zacchaeus is doubly excluded because of his shortness and his traitorous work as a Roman tax collector. He is a symbol of double exclusion.

Zacchaeus climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus, and he catches Jesus’ attention. Jesus, I imagined, smiled as he saw him, ”Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” There is grumbling of the crowd because Jesus has gone to the house of a sinner and traitor.
Zacchaeus, aware of the grumbling, claims: “Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will back four times as much.” Jesus responds, “Today salvation has come to this house because he too is a child of Abraham.” Jesus recognizes the person that people label a sinner and traitor does not conversion. It is the grumbling crowd who are in need of conversion because of their judgmentalism and prejudice.

Zacchaeus represents the outsider trying to live a morally as he can. He cares for the poor and provides financial restitution to anyone that he has defrauded. He lives already as kin-dom disciple.

Ayn Rand’s philosophy is the world view of Richard Dawkins, the selfish gene produces self-centered or selfish people. These are people who see that the world is “all about me. Me first.” There is little room for social compassion. Let’s take all away social safety net programs for those who are poor, can’t afford medical insurance, disabled, not enough to eat, and so on. Corporate tax cuts benefited the privileged 1%, but the middle class and the poor must make it on their own. In Jesus’ time, the elite of the Roman Empire owned nearly 30% of the wealth, today 150 families in the US own 40% of the world’s wealth. Some contribute to the care of less fortunate people; others follow the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Compassion and charity are dirty words; they are socialist.

Now I want to get at the heart of Jesus message. In Mt. 10:8, Jesus tells his disciples, “freely received, freely give.” This is the heart of God’s economy of unconditional grace, it is also the heart of God’s compassionate care.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the LGBTQ church in North Hollywood that I pastored and another LGBTQ church in West Hollywood decided to pull resources for the victims of the storm. We identified an African-American church in Mississippi, devastated by the storm and off the radar of national aid. We gathered food, clean-up supplies, food for companion animals, and monies. We were aware that this black church was not supportive of LGBTQ issues. We had church discussions about giving to a church seemingly homophobia. Some church members raised the Parable of the Good Samaritan in our discernment, and it was decided that we would limit providing hurricane relief to the church. There was cultural prejudices between Jews and Samaritans, ye the Samaritan crossed those barriers to aid a fellow human being.

We loaded up the truck with supplies, and folks drove to Mississippi, and the church folks were grateful even though we were LGBTQ churches. I was proud of our unconditional giving and tearing down barriers of race and homophobia to find common ground of humanity.