"Zacchaeus, hurry and come down."
Luke 19:5

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.
He climbed into the sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.
And when the Saviour passed that way, He looked up in that tree
And Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, you come down from there,
For I'm going to your house for tea -- for I'm going to your house for tea."

Soon after I was confirmed, I became a Sunday school teacher for the preschool class at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Ronkonkoma, NY. This may have been partly because my father, the Sunday school superintendent, wanted to make sure I continued to attend Sunday School each week, or because there was a shortage of teachers. Either way, it was the beginning of many years of experiencing the joy of teaching little ones about Jesus.

Zacchaeus was one of the first songs we taught the kids. They liked it ... maybe because they, too, were very small people, or that they could stand up and shake a finger at the imaginary little man in the tree and order some adult around.

Zacchaeus, the tax collector, was not one of the most beloved persons in Jericho. He was wealthy, and he had not earned his wealth fairly, but by overcharging the citizens of the city. Tax collecting was not as regulated as it is today, and there were no rebates. The people resented the fact that Jesus would pass up their engraved invitations to dine with one they considered a sinner and altogether not nice guy. The event turned Zacchaeus into a changed man. The repentant Zach announced that he would give half of his possessions to the poor and repay quadruple amounts to anyone whom he might have cheated. He did this because he was forgiven by Jesus for all his wrongdoings and his faith now counted him among God's people. Jesus came to bring salvation to everyone who will seek him and turn over their life to Him.

Later, I found out the usual last line of the Zacchaeus song was really, "for I'm going to your house TODAY." Someone in our group must have decided that taking tea was a more appropriate thing to do for a government official.

Suppose Jesus came to your town and announced He was coming to your house today. What would you do? Would you, like Martha, prepare a great feast? Would you hurry home to vacuum, mop, and polish the silver? Dust the family Bible and place it in a conspicuous place on the coffee table? How would a visit from Jesus change your life?

And Zacchaeus came down from that tree,
And he said, "What a better man I'll be.
I'll give my money to the poor.
What a better man I'll be, what a better man I'll be."

Dear Lord, help us to be honest in all our doings.
Let us ask for forgiveness from anyone whom we have wronged,
and be generous with our time, money and goods... Amen.

Contributed by Rosemary S.
Published Sunday September 18, 2005
Week 43 of Liturgical Year A