Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. ... Luke 19:1-4

If you are already familiar with this story, or the Gospels in general, the first thing that may jump out at you in reading these verses is "tax collector". After all, it is well known that tax collectors were despised in Jesus' day because they were not only wealthy, usually much more wealthy than the average person, but they were also collaborators with the Romans, participating in what many saw as stealing money from the Jewish people to further support the occupation.

Jesus' socializing with tax collectors, among others, was clearly one of the scandalous activities which drove a wedge between the Jewish leaders and him. Men such as Zacchaeus were considered unclean, and Jesus would have been defiling himself by eating and entering the home of such a person (verses 5-7).

Often overlooked, however, are the details found in verse 4. First, Zacchaeus runs, which was not considered proper for a grown man. Interestingly, later in Luke's Gospel, the same tidbit is found in the story of the Prodigal Son, where the father runs to meet his younger son. The fact is also telling in that case, as the father is willing to cast aside common convention to indicate his enthusiasm to meet and offer forgiveness to the son. In the same way Zacchaeus is willing to expose himself to shame by running to seek Jesus.

Second, it was considered undignified for a grown man, and certainly an important man such as a chief tax collector, to climb a tree. Again, Zacchaeus is willing to open himself up to ridicule from the crowd, who already dislike him anyway, in order to take a chance and put himself in Jesus' sight.

What is the result of his "childish" behavior? Jesus does notice him; he invites himself over for dinner at Zacchaeus' house; Zacchaeus pledges to restore any fraudulent earnings and pay back four times the amount; and Jesus proclaims (verse 9), "Today salvation has come to this house".

Are we willing to expose ourselves to ridicule to stand up for Jesus? Are we willing to act "childish" to receive the blessings of the Kingdom? Are we willing to restore ill-gotten gains for salvation to enter our house? The good news for all of us who are trying to figure out a way to "see" Jesus is found in verse 10. . . "For the Son of Man came to seek out and save what was lost."

Father in heaven, as we struggle to find a way to see your Son Jesus in our daily path, may we have the courage to risk the shame that Zacchaeus did in order to stand up and open the way to our salvation. Amen

Contributed by David M.
Published Sunday December 12, 2004
Week 3 of Liturgical Year A