Restoration

Luke 19:1-10 (The Message)

1-4 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.

5-7 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.

Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"

8 Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned.

He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages."

9-10 Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."

I know people who are good at restoration.

What a great word. It's a wonderful thing for us to practice in our lives, and especially with our economic and environmental challenges.

The skill of "restoration," whether it's with cars, furniture, art...it means seeing the intrinsic value of something that might otherwise be cast off and thrown away.

Restoration is the best way to recycle. I've seen people who can walk through a junk store, find a steal that nobody wants, go to work on it, and turn it back into a treasure.

How many people would have liked to throw Zaccheus away? How many folks just walked by him, sure that he was headed for the trash heap?

Almost all of them (us).

After all, he was a tax collector (still not most folks' favorite person even today). He was a "short man," and nobody was making a way for him in the crowd.

Nobody saw the intrinsic value of what could be restored...except for Jesus.

Think about this...the best and brightest of Jericho may well have been in that crowd. Maybe there were already dinner plans. Certainly there were prominent folks who planned to invite Jesus to their homes.

And Jesus invites himself to Zaccheus' place.

Restoration was the reason.

Zaccheus had a heart turned toward repentance. He was willing to find a new way of life. And Jesus was willing to honor that turn...and help him find a new way.

If we're willing to put ourselves in Zaccheus' shoes, the great good news is that his story can be our own.

What kind of sycamore tree would we be willing to climb? For restoration...to be all that God has made us to be...restored...with our real value shining brightly in the world.

Prayer: Thank you for the example of Zaccheus. May he remind us of the intrinsic value of all people, and that we have a value of our own that only you can make complete.

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.