Invisible
Sometimes we have to do strange things to get noticed.
He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 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.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 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.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” - Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus was ready to meet Jesus. He was so eager to be seen by him, that he climbed a tree to get noticed.
He was used to being invisible, overlooked, because of his size, so he took drastic measures when it mattered most.
And because he was seen, he wound up hosting Jesus in his home.
He was ready to make a dramatic change in his life, and so he took advantage of the situation. He decided to give away half of his possessions and make restitution to all he cheated.
It wasn't his wealth that made him visible, but his desire to be redeemed.
I may look at Zacchaeus and say he was a sinner who needed redemption, but that isn't me. I haven't cheated people or made a fortune off anyone.
So, why does Luke want us to know this story?
Perhaps he wants us to see that we are not this man. We are the ones following Jesus without being noticed at all. We are the invisible ones, afraid to speak up for fear of being judged.
We should be approaching Jesus with the same desire, to be seen, to be healed, to be redeemed.
It is not how bad we are that matters, but how serious we are about being the best we can be, loving others and doing what needs to be done to make life better for all.
God could do this, but he wants to give us the joy of doing it ourselves.
More to come...