Luke 19:1-10 (NRSV)
Salvation makes a home with Zacchaeus
He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Salvation makes a home with Zacchaeus
He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Reflection
We are all Zacchaeus...we all have some physical limitation of some sort...I really don't see a Superman or Superwoman around...we all have sinned in some way...we all have been gifted with a blessing...so...we are all Zacchaeus.
It's a wonderful way that Jesus comes to us. Jesus comes by, and as we try to catch, just a glance of him, he invites us into a much deeper relationship with him. We just want a peek at Jesus. We just want to be able to acknowledge that we have seen Jesus and know all we need to know about Jesus. But Jesus...he wants something much more.
Jesus knows we have physical limitations of some sort. Jesus knows that we have sinned. Jesus knows that God has blessed us in bounteous ways, and we live in the excess of those gifts. Jesus knows all this, yet he wants a deeper relationship. Jesus wants an intimate relationship. Jesus wants to come to the place that we live and stay there a while.
Will we invite Jesus to stay in this place we have built? Will we invite Jesus to stay with our illness, or physical limitation? Will we invite Jesus to stay and see the evidence of our sin? Will we invite Jesus to see how we have ravished the blessings God has freely given us? Will we?
But then Jesus calls us and tells us that he "must stay at our house today." Jesus is coming into relationship with us...like it or not! And he does. Jesus comes to us and stays with us and leads us and calls us and forgives us and makes us his...even with our physical limitations...even with and in our sin...even with the excess of our blessings that we have squandered...Jesus stays with us...Jesus calls us...Jesus loves us...Jesus chooses to die for us and saves us. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Come Lord Jesus come! Oh yeah, come to my house to stay! --- Amen
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