Lent: Day 3

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.

Lent: Day 2

As Jesus came to Jericho with his disciples and a crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” Many told him to be quiet, but he cried out much more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stood still, and said, “Call him.”

They called the blind man, saying to him, “Cheer up! Get up. He’s calling you!”

Bartimaeus, casting away his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man said to him, “Great Master, I want to see again.”

Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your faith has made you well.” Immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus on the way.

Reflection

Everyone else saw the blind man who wouldn’t be quiet as a nuisance; Jesus saw him as a child of God and a man of faith. How do you react when people complain and protest? Are you more likely to listen to them or argue with them?

Prayer: Open my ears, Lord, to the cries of those the world tries to silence.

Lent: Day 1

The crowds were on the way, going up to Jerusalem. To their amazement, Jesus was in front of them; those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside, and began to tell them what was going to happen to him. “We are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, who will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

They understood none of these things. This was all hidden from them, and they didn’t understand what was said.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.”

He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

They said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory.”

 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink, and be baptized in the way I will be?”

They said to him, “We are able.”

Jesus said, “You shall indeed drink the cup I drink, and be baptized in the way I will be, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give.”

When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant towards James and John.

Jesus summoned them, and said, “Those who are recognized as rulers over nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you: whoever wants to be great among you shall be your servant. Whoever wants to be first among you, shall be slave of all. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Reflection

The contrast between Jesus and his disciples can be clearly seen here: Jesus was resolutely moving toward his destiny of sacrifice and service; the disciples were seeking positions of power and privilege. They had spent three years with Jesus, but much in their life had changed little. In what ways has your life been shaped by a call to sacrifice and service? In what ways do you still feel feel the attraction of power and privilege?

Prayer: Challenge my thinking, Lord, when I began to focus on my self-interest instead of your call on my life.