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| Zacchaeus being called down from the tree - by William Hole |
The tale of Zacchaeus, the tax collecting tree climber, is our gospel and once again, the Lord invites himself to the House of Z for dinner. Zacchaeus gives up his practice of extortion and the Book of Wisdom reminds us that the Lord "rebukes offenders, warning them and reminding them of their sins that they might abandon their wickedness and believe..." St. Paul prays that God will make the Thessalonians (and us!) worthy of the calling we have received.
In the gospel it appears that Zacchaeus is looking for Jesus (thus the sycamore ascent) but truly, it's the Lord who's seeking the lost one to rescue him.
How are we lost, you and I?
What is lost within us and needs finding?
And how is the Lord seeking us out?
Update:
And, what trees have we recently climbed?
As always, it's important not to let the familiarity of the story lead us to presume we know what it's all about...
The scriptures for Sunday and commentary on them will be found here and if you're bringing children to church with you, check here for hints on helping them prepare to hear the Word.
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I have always related to the story of Zaccheus. I am short and can never see over the crowd, I think I would like to have been up there with him in the tree! Lori
ReplyDeleteoh, how I wish I could answer these questions!
ReplyDeletebecause these are questions that I struggle with every single day-
a lot of the time I feel like I am blind- and my faith is the only thing that is keeping me going- I am going, and doing- I'm not sure what or why or where- but I keep going and doing-
so I feel lost a lot of the time-
and I pray-
I think I am trying to find the tree(s) that I want and need to climb-
but I can't see them-
I don't know where to go-
You're very close to the scripture, 2 Corinthians 5:7
ReplyDelete"We walk by faith and not by sight..."