We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk.
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Luke 19:1-10 (NRSV)
19 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 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.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
Devotional Thought: Turning Points
Here is a story about change of direction. Zacchaeus changes direction, but so does Jesus. What prompted such changes?
We are told that Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus because he was “short in stature” (3). Kenneth Bailey asserts that had Zacchaeus been respected, people would have allowed him to move forward to see Jesus. Zacchaeus was not only short in stature but also despised because of his job. The only chief tax collector mentioned in the Gospels, he presumably had others working for him. He was short, but not short of cash. Zacchaeus acted in ways that would further ostracise him from his community: he ran, and he climbed a tree – neither of which a self-respecting Jewish man would do. Although he hides in a sycamore tree, his actions mark him out for attention and contempt.
If Zacchaeus hoped he could observe without being noticed, he was wrong. Like the woman who surreptitiously touched Jesus’ cloak seeking healing (Luke 8:44-48), Zacchaeus’ action does not go unnoticed. Jesus calls him to come down – though for acceptance, not humiliation. Jesus, the holy man of God, wants to spend time with the chief of sinners, a despised Jewish man who has become rich by collaborating with the hated Roman occupiers and ripping off his fellow countrymen.
Jesus sees this man as worthy of his time, his attention, and his change of plans. Instead of passing right through Jericho, Jesus turns around and stays. He chooses the worst person to stay with. Everyone is horrified, not just the Pharisees and leaders.
What does Jesus see in Zacchaeus? Has this man already repented? Or is it curiosity that takes Zaccheus to seek Jesus, and is his response due to Jesus’ acceptance? The sequence of events is not clear – but Jesus doesn’t wait for Zacchaeus to put his plans for restitution into action – he accepts him as he is.
Are we as accepting as Jesus? Do we base our opinion of people on what they have done and who they have been, or on who they might become with Jesus’ assistance? Perhaps our acceptance of others might lead to significant turning points in their lives.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us to view people through your eyes of acceptance not judgment; possibility not impossibility; and love not hate. Turn us around to see new ways of relating to those who are our neighbours. Amen.
Pam Reed
Registrar and Student Support Tutor