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 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.”
Lectio (Reading)
Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.Meditatio (Reflecting)
Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.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.
Oratio (Responding)
Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.Zacchaeus was a bad man. Not only was he a tax collector, but he was the chief tax collector. Tax collectors would make their living by charging the subjects more than the tax that was levied by the roman kings. This “extra” charge was their fee for doing the work of collecting taxes. So these jewish tax collectors were really hated. They were not only betraying their own people by taking money from their kinfolk, and out of the temple, but they were making a profit by it as well.
But Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, and he was hated by even the other tax collectors, because he would extort money from the other tax collectors, making it even more expensive for the jews. But even in this bad man Jesus saw something worth redemption, and called him out. And more amazingly he responded.
When Zacchaeus said that he would give his money away and repay everyone he ever harmed 4 times, what he took from them, he was in fact saying that he would be giving ALL of his money away. But there is an even more important aspect to this number four. Jewish law stated that if by your actions, you harmed another jew, you were only required to repay the other jew 2 times what was lost. But if your actions harmed another jew to such an extent that his livelihood was threatened, then you were required to pay the other back 4 times the value of the loss. In the book of leviticus, the example given, is that you kill another mans ox. In that case you were required to repay 4 times the cost of the lost ox.
So zacchaeus, was not only recognizing that his actions were harmful to the other jews, but even more he is recognizing that his actions threatened the other jews very livelihoods. This is a true conversion of the soul from persecution to repentance, and thus this is why Jesus is so pleased by the response, and thus why Jesus told the whole of the jewish community that this too is a son of abraham. And in that simple statement, Jesus, the great high priest, restores Zacchaeus’ stature among the jewish people, making him a jew again.
So what is the thing that is keeping you separated from your Christian community? Is it money, pride, friends, spouses? What must you do to rejoin your community, and to be fully restored like Zacchaeus? Start working on making that right today.
Contemplatio (Contemplating)
Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.Resolutio (Resolving)
Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.Oh lord, help me today to put away all things that keep me from you. Give me the courage to live without them.