Luke 19
1-4 Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn’t see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.
5-7 When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.” Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, “What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?”
8 Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.”
9-10 Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.”
Commentaries I've read on this passage seem to focus on the role of Zacchaeus as a rich man and a toll collector who has abused his role, sinfully. Therefore it is about repentance and redemption, the necessity of surrendering riches, etc.
Instead, I want to focus on Zacchaeus as every-person, and the 'everyone' as ourselves.
My thought is this: The spirit of God is working on everyone, in ways that we cannot fully understand. One temptation is to criticize another for not leading the life of holiness as we understand it, or as we would have them lead it, or as we lead ours. We assume we know what God is doing in that person, and if they are not responding to what we know, we think they are rebellious or care-less.
Instead, we might be praying that we ourselves open up our hearts and minds to see more clearly what God is doing in the other person, even if the outward signs are messy, or chaotic, or even repulsive. It calls for faith that God is always active in everyone's lives. And the prayer should end with a plea to God to help us not only see what God is doing in that person, but how God is inviting us to help God.
At Laundrylove HB, there is a woman, I'll call her Carol, who is sometimes difficult. I want her to understand how difficult she is, and reform herself so that Laundrylove runs more smoothly. But perhaps I should first embrace the truth that God is actively working in Carol, and look for how God is calling me to help out. Maybe this just starts with patience and understanding, and letting go of my need to have her meet my standards for completing a load of laundry. Or by asking her in a loving way whether there is anyway she can think of that would allow others to help her with her laundry, when she seems determined to do it all by herself.
So if I'm in this crowd, indignant and grumpy, and Jesus works his grace and insight into a conversion event for Zacchaeus, I should be asking myself, "how did I miss what God was doing in this man?". "Where was God calling me to help in Zacchaeus' transformation?" "Can I help now?"
