Climb

Luke 19:1-6 (The Message)

Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him.

Someone once said...

"The only sure things are death and taxes."

And, throughout time and place, all humans truly have known the reality of those two things.

Zaccheus, we're told, was the "chief tax collector" in Jericho. That position was one of corruption and probably violence. If you didn't pay your taxes, and then some above and beyond, Zaccheus probably knew people who could make the "death" part happen, too.

He wasn't a sweet, little children's Sunday School cartoon character.

He was a real...bad...dude.

But he knew he needed help...or something...from Jesus.

Maybe he was just curious, but he sure was willing to work at seeing him.

Whatever we learn from Zaccheus, maybe we ought to just be really aware of the fact that when the "spirit" moved, he followed. He was impulsive, in a good way, in that moment in time. What happened next must have changed his life forever.

Today, God will lead us, if we listen.

That little nudge you feel in your mind, or heart, or gut...to do something good, to say something you might otherwise hold, to pick up the phone and make that call...

Take the chance. Be Zaccheus. We're all pretty bad dudes sometimes. Exactly the kind of folks that Jesus likes to redeem, if we'll take the risk of tree-climbing.

Prayer: We imagine Zaccheus, running ahead and climbing a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus. May we have that same energy to see him at work in our lives today.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Luke 19:7-10