“So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, because Jesus was going to pass that way.” Luke 19:4

Poor Zacchaeus, if we know anything about him it’s this: the dude was short. He was ‘short in stature’. And evidently he was a bit short on ethics as well, being not only a tax collector, but a ‘chief tax collector’. A corrupt and despised collaborator with the Roman occupiers of Israel.

And yet, Jesus chooses Zacchaeus as his lunch companion. Maybe not because of his ‘shortcomings’, but not despite them, either.

Perhaps Jesus sees the effort Zacchaeus is making to see him, to observe him, to connect with him. And Jesus understands that Zacchaeus is ready to turn his life around.

That’s the thing about Jesus. He is open to our desire to make different choices, and willing to help empower us to follow through on those choices. That’s the Christian path of faithfulness. And it is always open to us.

K

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