February 27, 2025
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho
and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost."
In our modern world, it is easy to view each other with suspicion or at least a certain guardedness. We are told at the airport to watch out for our luggage and report any suspicious activity. We install security systems in our homes and alarms in our cars. We scroll through our phones in waiting rooms rather than make eye contact and small talk with the people sitting near us.
Of course, it’s wise to be careful in our dealings with people. But Christ-like living calls us to a different outlook towards others. It calls us to approach people with an open heart, not through a lens of suspicion but quite the opposite, through the lens of loving hospitality.
Jesus models this transforming hospitality in His encounter with Zacchaeus, the tax collector, in today’s reading from Luke. The passage begins, “At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.” Our Lord had plans that day and a mission to fulfill. He did not intend to stop in Jericho. But as one writer puts it, “Zacchaeus was in Jericho and Zacchaeus needed Jesus.” So, our Lord, who is the embodiment of hospitality, graciously set aside His plans for the sake of the tax collector.
Jesus seeks him out of the crowd and insists on having dinner in his home. “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” This was a gesture of intimacy and true fellowship in that day and culture. Of course, we read that this gesture was sneered at by the crowd who viewed the tax collector with great suspicion.
But Jesus saw something in Zacchaeus that the crowd didn’t, perhaps Jesus saw goodness within the man that others did not. Jesus open and welcoming attitude (His hospitality) resulted in Zaccheus being transformed. “Behold half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay it four times over.”
Let us as followers of Jesus resolve to practice this kind of radical hospitality towards people we encounter this week. Let us pray that God will open our minds and soften our hearts to those around us so that we are ready to set aside our own plans for their sake.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost."
In our modern world, it is easy to view each other with suspicion or at least a certain guardedness. We are told at the airport to watch out for our luggage and report any suspicious activity. We install security systems in our homes and alarms in our cars. We scroll through our phones in waiting rooms rather than make eye contact and small talk with the people sitting near us.
Of course, it’s wise to be careful in our dealings with people. But Christ-like living calls us to a different outlook towards others. It calls us to approach people with an open heart, not through a lens of suspicion but quite the opposite, through the lens of loving hospitality.
Jesus models this transforming hospitality in His encounter with Zacchaeus, the tax collector, in today’s reading from Luke. The passage begins, “At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.” Our Lord had plans that day and a mission to fulfill. He did not intend to stop in Jericho. But as one writer puts it, “Zacchaeus was in Jericho and Zacchaeus needed Jesus.” So, our Lord, who is the embodiment of hospitality, graciously set aside His plans for the sake of the tax collector.
Jesus seeks him out of the crowd and insists on having dinner in his home. “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” This was a gesture of intimacy and true fellowship in that day and culture. Of course, we read that this gesture was sneered at by the crowd who viewed the tax collector with great suspicion.
But Jesus saw something in Zacchaeus that the crowd didn’t, perhaps Jesus saw goodness within the man that others did not. Jesus open and welcoming attitude (His hospitality) resulted in Zaccheus being transformed. “Behold half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay it four times over.”
Let us as followers of Jesus resolve to practice this kind of radical hospitality towards people we encounter this week. Let us pray that God will open our minds and soften our hearts to those around us so that we are ready to set aside our own plans for their sake.
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
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