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JANUARY 29
SEPARATED BY RELATIONSHIPS
“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.’…” (Lk 19: 1-6)
Zacchaeus is not able to see Christ in the crowd, and this isn’t only because
he was short. Zacchaeus was despised by the crowd, and deservedly so,
because he was a corrupt tax-collector. So, pushing his way to the front
of this crowd would not have been an easy option for him; he may have
ended up with a black eye.
Zachhaeus’s relationships with other human beings force him, a
wealthy, accomplished man, up a tree. It’s the best he can do under these
circumstances, which distance him not only from the crowd, but from
seeing Christ. So the first thing Zacchaus resolves to do, after the Lord
unexpectedly sheds His grace-filled light on Zachhaus’s predicament,
is to make amends with others: “Lord,” he says, “…if I have defrauded
anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” (Lk 19: 8)
Today let me see if any broken relationships keep me from seeing Christ,
from letting Him into my “house.” And let me become willing to make
amends, where I can. Because my Lord is willing to enter my house, even
among any mess I have made, if only I am willing to let Him in. “Lord,” I
say today, come “to be the guest of one who is a sinner,” and shed Your
light on my predicament. Amen.
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