Jesus passed through Jericho,
where Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector who was very rich, lived. He was trying
to get a glimpse of Jesus, but couldn’t because he was too short and the crowd
was too great. Determined to see, he ran on ahead, and climbed into a sycamore
tree to see Jesus as he passed that way. When Jesus came, he looked up and saw
him, and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; I must stay at your house today.”
He came down quickly, and received Jesus joyfully. When the crowd saw it, they
all murmured, saying, “Jesus has gone to the home of a man who is a sinner.”
Zacchaeus stood and said, “Lord,
half of my goods I will give to the poor. If I have wrongfully taken anything
from anyone, I will restore four times as much.”
Jesus said, “Today, salvation
has come to this house, because this man also is a son of Abraham. The Son of
Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Reflection
No one among the Jews was
more reviled than tax collectors. As a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus would
have been considered the worst of the worst, and yet Jesus wanted to see him as
much as he wanted to see Jesus. Has your spiritual journey been one of you
reaching out to God or of God reaching out to you? Have you experienced both
happening at the same time?
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for
seeking me while I was seeking you.
Both sought and seeking.
ReplyDeleteBoth, thankfully.
ReplyDeleteBoth...
ReplyDeleteand then God sometimes bringing people to me, or taking me to people, that I wasn't sure I wanted to love or could love. Sometimes, in those people, I recognized my own unlovableness, was humbled and marveled at the greatness of God's love for me, and learned to love them, too. Sometimes, being willing to learn to love myself and others with the great love of God is still a struggle.