Listen

Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.”

Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. The Human One came to seek and save the lost.”

Luke 19:7-10

Think

My favorite time at school was recess. I loved playing games with friends. But it was no fun when I realized another player was cheating. Games only work if everyone agrees to the same rules and then plays by those rules.

Though life is not a game, some people get cheated. This is true today. And it was true in ancient times. Zacchaeus is talking to Jesus. Remember that he was a tax collector. I wonder if any tax collectors ever cheated people out of money.

In his comments to Jesus, Zacchaeus may indicate this was the case. He says he will give half of his possessions to the poor. He promises to pay back anyone he cheated way more than he took from them. Zacchaeus probably tells Jesus all this because he has seen and heard about how Jesus lived his life – never cheating but only helping. Jesus taught that we should rewrite the rules of life, so we do not take advantage of the vulnerable.

Patrick Kangrga

Pray

God, teach me your love and grace.

In looking to Jesus, let me learn how to treat others, especially the poor and vulnerable.

Help me to make the world a place that provides equal opportunity to all people.

Amen.

Go

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You’ll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend

from “For Good” in Wicked by Stephen Schwartz (2003)