The Zacheus Story

19th-November 2013

Luke 19:1-10

1 At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 2 Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, 3 was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 5 When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 7 When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

 

 

Today's gospel is one of my favourite gospels. It is an affirmation of how God loves us, we are His Beloved. It also talks about Zacheus, his persistence to know and experience Jesus, his humility to admit that he is a sinner, his conversion and his courage to give up everything to follow Jesus.
There are 4 characters in the gospel, Zacheus, Sycamore tree, grumbling audience and Jesus. Are we like Zacheus? Do we find ways or persistent enough in knowing and experiencing more of Him? Are we humble to admit that we are sinners? Do we have courage to give up everything and carry our crosses so we can follow Him?

"Heavenly Father, thank You and Praise you for allowing us to experience everyday of Your magnificence. May we be like Zacheus persistent to experience more of You. Take away our Pride Lord so we can be just like Zacheus a repentant sinner. Give us the courage to let go of our worldly desires so we can fully accept You in our lives."

Are we the present day sycamore trees? Are we allowing ourselves to be instruments of love and mercy just like the sycamore tree which allowed Zacheus to see Jesus?

"Heavenly Father, may you continue to tap our shoulder and use us as your instruments of Love and mercy especially to our brethren who seek to experience it. May we be like the sycamore tree, helping them to see more of You. May you continue to equip us through the community, teachings, conferences and the people we get along with.

Are we like the grumbling audience? Do we always see the faults, shortcomings and frailties of others? Are we so critical in our lives that we didn't see the goodness of each other?

"Heavenly Father, take away our pride, our envious nature. May you continue to mold us into a person who carries a humble and grateful heart. May we continue to be loving, embracing the shortcomings and failures of others. Allow us to grumble encouraging words so we can uplift the spirit of those who are down."

Lastly, are we like Jesus? Do we have a forgiving heart willing to accept especially those who have hurt us?

"Heavenly father, thank You and praise You for sending your son Jesus for our sins. You have allowed your beloved son to experience condemnation, false judgement and even death for our salvation. Thank You Heavenly Father for Your everlasting love. Allow us Heavenly Father to experience more of Him. Heavenly father continue to mold us into somebody who is forgiving and loving just like You and your son Jesus. Keep us reminded always that we should love because you have loved us first. Thank you Father... Amen.